Nerlens Noel and LeBron are out. Anthony Davis Could go, and Chris Paul's "Fuel Level"
The latest on the injury situation for Saturday's with the Lakers is this. Nerlens Noel is still out with a left sprained ankle, and that is the only Thunder injury. Noel will miss his fourth consecutive game, and Billy Donovan said before the Houston matchup, there is no timetable on when he expects Noel to return.
The Lakers are the walking dead. LeBron James has flu-like symptoms and will not play. According to one of the Los Angles beat writers James "didn't quite look himself" on Friday vs. Dallas. The flu or whatever illness it is didn't stop him from scoring 35 and grabbing 16 rebounds. Anthony Davis could play tonight despite "gluteus maximus contusion" feel free to insert jokes here. Davis hasn't played since taking a nasty fall vs. the Knicks four nights ago. Davis is averaging 27 points, 9 rebounds, and shooting 29.7 percent from three. Avery Bradley is listed as probable. Bradley is also suffering from flu-like symptoms. In 24 games (19 starts), Bradley is averaging 8.1 points and 2.4 rebounds. Danny Green will not play due to right hip soreness. Tonight will be the first game Green has missed all year. Green racked up 25 against New Orleans back on January 3rd.
Donovan was asked if there was any concern about there being a letdown tonight considering how emotional Thursday's game vs. the Rockets was. "We talk about those things quite often."..."This schedule for us in the month of January is challenging in terms of having one day between any single game, and that's a grind." Donovan also adds that the Thunder need to play to a high standard at both ends of the floor.
The subject of Chris Paul being motivated by the talk of him not having much left in the tank came up. "He's just naturally competitive."..."I don't think he needs a lot of fuel."..."I give him credit for as many years as he's been in the league that he still has an incredible amount of attention to detail." Donovan says that Paul is always disciplined enough to watch film eat right and get himself ready to play.
Thunder/Lakers tonight at 7 pm on Fox Sports Oklahoma.
