2 Potential Steph Stoppers Ruled Out for Warriors-Thunder Game

OKC is thinner than usual in its guard rotation

Lu Dort tries to block Steph Curry's layup attempt | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be short-handed against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Guard Jalen Williams, who was was an All-Star and a third-team All-NBA selection last year, is out with a wrist injury. He hasn't appeared in a game this season, and yet the Thunder are 10-1 without him.

Oklahoma City will also be without first-team All-Defensive wing Luguentz Dort for the fourth straight game due to a shoulder injury.

Dort was the Thunder's primary Stephen Curry defender last year. In two games, Dort guarded Curry for 11:48, per NBA.com's matchup tracking. Curry cooked him for 22 points (53.3 FG percentage), five assists and no turnovers in their matchups.

Williams fared better, albeit in a much smaller sample size. He held Curry to two points on 1-of-4 shooting while guarding him for 2:29.

Overall, Curry averaged 28.5 points on .500/.522/.875 shooting splits against the Thunder last year. The Warriors won both games he appeared in. Overall, Golden State went 2-1 against Oklahoma City, finishing as one of just two teams to have a winning record (playoffs included) against the NBA champs.

Expect Alex Caruso to guard Curry frequently Tuesday. Last year they barely matchup up at all, but two years ago while with the Bulls Caruso held Curry to seven points on 2-of-13 shooting in 9:24.

Second-year guard Cason Wallace will start and likely get plenty of chances guarding Curry. Dunks and Threes has Wallace in the 97th percentile in Defensive EPM.

Guard Aaron Wiggins is also out for the Thunder, leaving them much thinner than normal in the backcourt. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will likely to take a few possessions guarding Curry, but the Thunder will want to avoid that in general to keep SGA fresh on the offensive end.

The two-time MVP went 1-of-4 with five points when guarded by SGA last year.

Curry has missed Golden State's last three games with an illness, but he's playing Tuesday. The Warriors have six road games in the next nine days.