Hamidou Diallo out with a Hyper-Extended Right Elbow.
Hamidou Diallo will be on the shelf for Monday's game against the Golden State Warriors. Diallo hyper-extended his right elbow in Friday's loss to the Lakers. A Thunderspokes says the team will know more about his condition in the coming days. Head coach Billy Donovan says the one positive about the injury is that it is an upper-body injury, and it won't impact him getting on the treadmill and running. Donovan also says there will be plenty of time for the coaching staff to be around Diallo and get him up to speed as they tweak things.
No Diallo means we'll see more of Abdel Nader and Deonte Burton. In Los Angeles, this past week with Diallo out Nader played 26 minutes and shot over 50 percent in losses to the Lakers and Clippers. Billy Donovan praised Nader for his work ethic and says that he is in the gym before and after practice. Nader was at the Thunder's workout facility Saturday which was a day off. Donovan says Nader still has to get better within the Thunder's system and stay aggressive. Nader's most significant issue is overthinking what he should be doing on the court. Donovan says the team must find a way to help Nader have a balance on the floor of doing what the team needs him to do, but also playing to his strengths.
As for Deonte Bruton, he only played 13 minutes in those two games in Los Angeles. 11 of those came against the Lakers, where he was the only Thunder to have success guarding LeBron James. Donovan says he feels confident in Bruton and wants to keep him aggressive; we'll see if that leads to more time on the floor with Diallo's status being uncertain.
One other note: After practice today Andre Roberson was working on free-throw and threes. Billy Donovan says Roberson is still not ready to play from a comfort standpoint.
Thunder and Warriors Monday night at the Chase Center. Tipoff is set for 9:30 on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa and Fox Sports Oklahoma.
