Adams out vs. Bucks
Oklahoma City head coach Billy Donovan confirmed that Thunder center Steven Adams would miss tonight's game with the Bucks. Donovan says he "doesn't think it's serious and that Adams has been dealing with this for a little bit of time." Dovan- went on to say that Adams has had soreness since the original injury happened against Houston a couple of nights before Halloween. Donovan thinks with where Adams is at this time; it is best to sit him out.
Adams was warming up before tonight's game and was showing no ill effects from the knee. Understandably, Thunder wouldn't take unnecessary chances with a lack of depth at the five. However, with the Lopez brothers in town, tonight, having your strongest most physical player out of the lineup will put Mike Muscala and Danilo Galiniari in some tough positions guarding Brook Lopez when the Bucks put him in the post. This would have been the ideal game to get Justin Patton some work, but Patton is on assignment with the Blue in Ontario, California.
The Thunder only have twelve players active for this, the second of back to back. One could argue that with the Bucks being one of the association's best teams, you're better off having your full allotment of players for more winnable games. Oklahoma City is only one game below.500 and just a game out of the eighth seed in the West. Not that the Bucks would underestimate the Thunder, but they're coming off two hard-fought games with the Jazz and Clippers, and even the best teams can get a bit lazy.
The Thunder will keep a tight lip on just how serious things are with Adams; however if pre-game was any indication, Adams should be back Tuesday in Indiana.
