What to Watch For in OKC Thunder vs. Utah Jazz

Oklahoma City has dominated the NBA. They hope to continue to do so on Sunday against the Utah Jazz, the second time the Thunder have played in Salt Lake City this season. In the first meeting, OKC overcame a red-hot shooting night to eventually blow out the Jazz after Utah put themselves in a great position following the opening frame.

In that game, the Thunder were short handed, much like they will be in this contest. So far this season, Oklahoma City has missed multiple games from All-NBA swingman Jalen Williams, Rising Star big man Chet Holmgren, Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, Top Bench Bucket Getter Aaron Wiggins, Defensive-Aces Alex Caruso and Lu Dort, veteran Kenrich Williams and starting big man Isaiah Hartenstein.

For this Sunday affair, the Oklahoma City Thunder will see their superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, miss his first game of the season with elbow bursitis. Joining him in street clothes will be Joe, Caruso, Dort and Hartenstein.

This will make Mark Daigneault’s job a bit trickier but the OKC Thunder are still favored to win this road contest. Here is what to watch for tonight.

What to Watch For

Oklahoma City is having to navigate its first game of the season without superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. To take an automatic 30 points out of the lineup will be hard to replace; he has been the lone constant in this season for the short-handed Bricktown Ballers. This will take Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren stepping up in a big way in the scoring department to replace that production.

The big question remains the Thunder’s depth, Oklahoma City will have to shuffle their rotation and likely include lineups without any of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams or Holmgren on the court. How will OKC handle that outcome on the offensive end?

This game will likely come down to who performs the best shooting from distance, the great equalizer in basketball and if either team is red-hot it can help mask deficiencies for both clubs.

Game Information

• Date: Dec. 07
• Matchup: OKC Thunder (22-1) vs. Utah Jazz (8-14)
• Time: 07:00 PM CT
• Location: Delta Center –– Salt Lake City, UT
• TV: Fanduel Sports OK
• Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to cap off a 3-0 week with a win tonight over the Utah Jazz. The Thunder then get to enjoy two more days off before opening up the knockout round of the NBA Cup tournament on Dec. 10 against the Phoenix Suns. That game holds the right for the winner to advance to Vegas and continue their pursuit of the cup championship and cash prize at the end. Oklahoma City sits 22-1, two games shy of the Warriors’ 24-1 start way back in 2015-16.

Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of this Oklahoma City Thunder season as the Bricktown Ballers continue to make history this season.