Thunder Gameday: Hosting Kings With Final Standings Implications

Four the fourth and final time this season, the Thunder will take on the Kings.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, with the outcome having large implications on final standings.

Currently owning the fourth-worst record in the NBA, the Thunder are just 2.0 games ahead of the Kings in the reverse standings. Sacramento has won two of three contests this season against OKC, with this matchup being a potential tiebreaker.

What can be expected in this final game of these season between these two teams?

Kelley L Cox / USA TODAY Sports

ODDS: 

The Thunder enter the day as 4.5-point underdogs to the Kings, and the total over/under is 222.5 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME: 

The Kings are one of the five worst rebounding teams in the entire NBA. With newly acquired star Domantas Sabonis, crashing the boards should start to trend in a better direction moving forward. The former Thunder big was part of a huge trade deadline splash that brought a new running mate alongside D'Aaron Fox in Sacramento. On the season, Sabonis is averaging 18.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest.

He'll be a handful for the Thunder tonight, being a force in the paint against the undersized Oklahoma City roster.

What's been the biggest struggle for the Kings this season has been their defense. Their defensive rating of 114.4 is the second-worst in the entire NBA. 

On the flip side, the Thunder's 108.8 defensive rating is eighth in the league, as that end of the floor has kept them afloat many times this season. 

Oklahoma City rookie Josh Giddey will miss tonight's game with hip soreness. It will be the second-straight contest he's missed.

RECORDS: 

Oklahoma City Thunder (19-41) vs. Sacramento Kings (22-40)

WHEN: 

Monday, February 28, 2022 at 7:00 PM CT

LOCATION: 

Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

TV/RADIO: 

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

FINAL WORD: 

The Thunder are still very shorthanded, with a variety of players out due to injury. Most notably, being without Giddey could be detrimental to the team's offensive flow if Gilgeous-Alexander can’t get it going.

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