Trail Blazers Injury Report: 6 Portland Players Ruled Out Vs OKC
Your Portland Trail Blazers will be without several starters for tonight's matchup against one of the Western Conference's best, the Oklahoma City Thunder, when the two teams clash at the Moda Center.
Per the Trail Blazers' own X/Twitter account, the team will be missing two of their Game 1 starters in point guard Scoot Henderson (left adductor strain), and center Deandre Ayton (right hand sprain). The club will also be without oft-injured sixth man point guard Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow tendinitis), rookie forward Toumani Camara (illness), as well as young former lottery pick guard Shaedon Sharpe (lower abdominal surgery). Backup Blazers center Robert Williams III underwent a probably season-ending surgery for right kneecap bone and ligament damage in November and has been sidelined ever since.
Forwards Matisse Thybulle and Jerami Grant, both of whom were questionable heading into the matchup, have seen their statuses upgraded to available.
On paper, yes, this makes them heavy underdogs in any Vegas sports book (they're +13, per The Action Network). But at 17-42, Portland is only playing for the lottery at this point in the 2023-24 season. It behooves the Trail Blazers to sink as low as possible, in order to maximize their chances at a top pick. Granted, this year's is not a particularly well-regarded draft, but the club needs as many shots at elite young prospects as it can get.
