Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Cavs vs. Thunder)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) is set to miss his seventh game in a row on Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

SGA was injured before the All-Star break, and the Thunder ruled him out for at least a week before their matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. That means the earliest that SGA will return to action would be Friday, Feb. 27 against the Denver Nuggets.

The Thunder are 5-3 in the eight games that the reigning league MVP has missed this season, but they're going to be in a tough spot without him on Sunday against Cleveland team that has won seven games in a row.

With SGA ruled out for this matchup, oddsmakers have set the Thunder as home underdogs -- by 3.5 points -- for the first time all season. DraftKings Sportsbook has OKC set at +136 on the moneyline to win this game.

Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP odds have taken a major hit, falling to -145, due to his injury. Earlier this season, the star guard was a heavy favorite to win MVP with Nikola Jokic (knee) out of the lineup for 16 games. Now, it seems to be far from a sure thing that SGA will capture his second MVP of his career.

Part of that is due to injury concerns for the star guard. If Gilgeous-Alexander misses another week like OKC announced, he'll be up to 11 missed games this season, meaning he can only miss six more to still be eligible for postseason awards.

Still, the number are there for the star guard. SGA is averaging 31.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while shooting an impressive 55.4 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from 3.

Since he's sidelined on Sunday, there is a Thunder guard I believe is worth targeting in the prop market in this matchup.

Best Thunder Prop Bet vs. Cavaliers

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Jared McCain OVER 11.5 Points (-123)

Oklahoma City acquired former first-round pick Jared McCain at the trade deadline this season, and he's immediately been thrust into a major role with SGA, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell all banged up.

All three players will miss Sunday's game, putting McCain in a good spot to play major minutes off the bench. He's played over 20 minutes in three straight games, scoring at least 12 points in all of them.

I expect a similar showing from the young guard in his matchup, especially since McCain is coming off his best performance with OKC, scoring 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the win over the Nets. The usage for McCain may not be super high -- he only has one game with 10 or more shot attempts with OKC -- but the Thunder need shot creation and playmaking with so many key pieces out on Sunday.

Since McCain was traded, he has played well, averaging 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from 3.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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