Thunder Gameday: Final Road Game of Regular Season Utah

The Oklahoma City Thunder have continued to drop games of late, but still control their own destiny. It’s officially a two-team race to the play-in between them and the Dallas Mavericks. Both squads have two games remaining and an identical record, although Oklahoma City owns the tiebreaker.

Just a few days ago, the Utah Jazz were also in the mix to earn that final play-in spot, but have since been almost mathematically eliminated. As such, they’re being extra cautious down the stretch with their key players as they play the Thunder tonight.

Will OKC keep its postseason dreams alive with a win tonight on the road in Utah?

ODDS:

The Thunder enter the day as 6-point underdogs to the Jazx, and the total over/under is 231.5 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Utah will be without nearly every single one of its best players in this contest with a variety of injuries. The list of players listed as out entering today includes Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Rudy Gay.

That’s a significant chunk of production that will be missing, but that doesn’t mean the Jazz will be easy to beat tonight. This will be a real test of the Thunder’s ability to lock in and take care of business in a must win game. These are situations that end up being value experience for such a young team.

From a talent standpoint, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be the best player on the floor all night and it isn’t particularly close. If he’s truly a player that’s ascended into All-NBA First Team status, he should be able to take over this game.

These late season games are always tricky, so keep an eye on guys that normally don’t get big minutes for Utah playing their best as they look to showcase their talent.

RECORDS:

Oklahoma City Thunder (38-42) vs. Utah Jazz (36-43)

WHEN:

Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 8:00 PM CT

LOCATION:

Vivint Arena - Salt Lake City, UT

TV/RADIO:

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

FINAL WORD:

Following this contest, the Thunder head back to OKC to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Meanwhile, the Jazz remain at home to host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

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