The Oklahoma City Thunder can’t afford to pass up a chance to play in the Western Conference play-in tournament with just six games remaining.
The Thunder will play the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, one night after losing to them at home against the Charlotte Hornets.
Coach Mark Daigneault of Oklahoma City stated that the possibility would not affect the organization’s development plan, despite the fact that his team is fighting for its first playoff appearance since 2020.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could miss the Thunder’s (37-39) second straight game. In a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, the All-Star suffered a sprained left ankle.
Aleksej Pokusevski returned to Oklahoma City for Tuesday’s game. With a non-displaced fracture in his left leg, the forward, who was in his third year, had missed 41 games. During the Thunder’s 137-134 loss to the Hornets, Pokusevski did not score for nearly ten minutes.
Isaiah Joe paced Oklahoma City with 33 focuses on Tuesday, and Josh Giddey just missed a triple-twofold, ending up with a profession high 31 focuses in addition to 10 bounce back and nine helps. At the buzzer, Jalen Williams attempted a 3-point shot that would have forced overtime. However, he missed.
The Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks are 37-39 in a tie for 10th place in the Western Conference, the final play-in spot.
Six games in a row and 17 of their last 18 games have been lost by the Pistons (16-59). They had lost five games in a row by at least 12 points before losing 126-117 on Monday to the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.
Jaden Ivey, a rookie, has been a bright spot for Detroit during yet another disappointing season. He just scored 32 points, a career high, against the Bucks.
However, his teammates and coaches are paying the most attention to Ivey’s activities outside of scoring. On Monday, he also had eight rebounds and eight assists.
Ivey has also settled into his position as a point guard, forming a connection with rookie center Jalen Duren in particular.
The teams will play in their final two games of the season on Wednesday. On Nov. 7, the Pistons defeated the Thunder 112-103 in Detroit.
On Wednesday, Ivey is expected to be the only Pistons starter from that game. While Cade Cunningham, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Isaiah Stewart are all out with long-term injuries, Saddiq Bey was traded.
