OKC Thunder Must Stay Afloat During Tough Upcoming Stretch

The schedule isn't getting any easier for the Thunder in the next couple of weeks.

Oct 28, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Oklahoma City’s season is already being decimated by injuries, and it needs to weather an upcoming tough stretch.

As if the Thunder needed more bad news on the injury front, they announced on Friday night that Chet Holmgren will miss the next 8-10 weeks after undergoing a procedure to address a patellar tendon tear in his right knee. With Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams already out for significant time with injuries, this is just another blow to the Thunder. 

While it seems like everything is going against Oklahoma City on that front, the NBA schedule won’t be taking any breaks. The Thunder are set for a matchup in Houston on Saturday night as they look to steady the ship amid this flurry of injuries. 

The Thunder are no strangers to dealing with injuries, given how the past couple of years have gone, but this season starting with injury issues to this degree is tough to handle. Most importantly, the Thunder will need to find ways to win in the short term and not allow their injury situation to cause an immediate slide down the standings. 

Of course, that will be easier said than done. Not only because Oklahoma City is dealing with so many injuries, but also because its upcoming schedule is filled with tough competition. 

Five of the Thunder’s next seven games will be on the road, including six games against teams over .500 thus far. With a couple of back-to-backs also coming in that span, the Thunder will certainly feel the grind of the NBA season with a limited number of players at their disposal. 

On Saturday, the Thunder will be missing Alex Caruso, Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber in addition to those who recently suffered major injuries. Ideally, the Thunder will get one or multiple players from that group back within that span, but the group Oklahoma City has in Houston on Saturday and had in Dallas on Wednesday could be what the team has to work with for a bit. 

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor, the Thunder will always have a chance to win, but his supporting cast being so depleted will make things difficult. The season is 82 games, but these next couple of weeks could give a glimpse into where the Thunder will finish in the standings. 

The Thunder need to steady themselves and grind out some wins in the next few weeks, because falling behind in the standings will only make things more difficult, even as the team steadily gets more help.