The Thunder will be wrapping up their regular season on Friday when they square off against the Los Angeles Clippers, and the team will be far from full strength when they do so.
The team announced on Thursday that Chris Paul and Lu Dort will each be out of the lineup. The news doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise considering the fact that the Thunder are already locked into a first-round matchup with the Houston Rockets.
While it’s still possible that the Thunder could finish the season as the fourth or fifth seed, in the Orlando bubble, the distinction doesn’t matter. The fourth and fifth seeds would normally be competing for home court advantage, but since all games will be contested in Orlando without fans, the distinction doesn’t seem important.
Lu Dort has a right knee sprain and will he out tomorrow against the Clippers, and is listed as day to day going forward. Also, Chris Paul is out tomorrow with a left hand sprain.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) August 13, 2020
Similarly, the difference between the fifth and sixth seeds, for example, would be of importance considering the way the NBA’s playoff brackets work. If the sixth seed were to advance, it would play the winner of the series between the second and seventh seed, whereas, in the second round, the fifth seed would draw the first seed (assuming it won its first round series).
Again, there’s no difference to the Thunder. Whether they finish fourth or fifth, they’d be looking at a matchup with the winner of the 1-8 playoff series, regardless.
On a related note, Dennis Schroder — who recently returned to the Orlando campus — will also be missing from the contest. He is completing his mandatory quarantine but is likely to be available to the team by the time the first round tips off on Aug. 17.
Friday’s contest — the final of the regular season — will commence at 5:30 p.m. CT.