Latest OKC Thunder Injury Could Set Stage for Hot Start for Ajay Mitchell

Oklahoma City is set for another year of title contention, and its guard rotation should look a bit different.

Last season, the Thunder capped off their franchise-best 68-win season with their first NBA title. While they dominated the league throughout the season, the Thunder were rarely at full strength.

That will be the case to begin this season as well, as the Thunder announced on Monday that Nikola Topic underwent a testicular procedure and will be out for four to six weeks. After the Thunder had health issues last season and Topic missed the entire season with a torn ACL, he will have to wait a bit longer to make his debut.

One of the other key players to miss significant time was rookie guard Ajay Mitchell. After breaking out in the first couple of months of the season, toe surgery kept him sidelined for 46 games.

He averaged 6.5 points, 1.8 assists and 0.7 steals in 16.6 minutes a night across his 36 appearances and appeared to be on his way to a potential All-Rookie selection. After returning from his injury for the final two regular season games, there was simply no path to a playoff role for Mitchell.

With some spotty opportunities in the postseason and some games in the offseason under his belt, the point guard could be ready to pick up where he left off in January last season. However, it appeared that he would be in a heated battle for minutes in the backcourt off the bench.

Of course, with Topic out for at least the first few weeks of the season, Mitchell will likely just be competing with Cason Wallace for backcourt opportunities off the bench. Coming back stronger for this season, Mitchell could be ready to contribute even more to the Thunder this season, which could be key later in the year if Oklahoma City wants to rest its stars throughout the year after a deep postseason run.

Without Topic in the battle early in the season, there should be a bit of pressure taken off of Mitchell. Being able to play free and effectively have the backup point guard spot locked up over the first few weeks, Mitchell shouldn’t have any issue getting out to a fast start.

Although he won’t be coming in as a surprise rookie like last season, Mitchell could easily be in for a breakout season again if he can start quickly and begin to force his way into the regular rotation.