Rolling Toronto Raptors look to upset injury-riddled NBA champs Oklahoma City Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder were dominant against the Eastern Conference last season, losing just one inter-conference game in the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season.

While the Thunder have not been bad against the East this season, they have not been as commanding as they were a year ago.

Oklahoma City go into their Jan 25 (Jan 26, Singapore time) home game against the Toronto Raptors having dropped two of their last four games against Eastern Conference opponents, including the 117-114 home loss to the struggling Indiana Pacers on Jan 23.

The Thunder are 9-3 against the East overall.

Oklahoma City had plenty of success early this season without Jalen Williams in the line-up.

Now, they are once again learning how to play without Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain on Jan 17 in Miami and will miss at least two weeks.

But it is not just Williams, the NBA champions are also without starter Isaiah Hartenstein, who has missed the last 14 games with a calf injury.

Key reserves Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell and Aaron Wiggins were also out of the Jan 23 loss.

“It’s tough, because we’re missing a lot of our main guys, but you’ve just got to have that next-man-up mentality,” Kenrich Williams said.

“Speaking for myself and the guys who are playing extra, you’ve just got to take advantage of your opportunity. So far, for the most part we’ve been doing that.”

Toronto have been without Jakob Poeltl since Dec 21, while Ja’Kobe Walter has missed the last seven games with a hip injury. Collin Murray-Boyles has missed the last three with a thumb injury.

The Raptors enter the game at Paycom Center on a three-game winning streak, coming off a 110-98 win at the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan 23.

Toronto guard Gradey Dick’s play has been up and down most of the season as he is adjusted to coming off the bench. He had 10 points against Portland.

While Dick’s scoring has not been as much of a piece of the Raptors’ offence this season, Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic spoke of the improvement he has made away from the ball and on defence recently.

“I’m trying to build my confidence on the defensive end first,” Dick said. “I’ve grown up. I’ve been used to just finding my rhythm strictly from scoring... I’m learning that with my defence first, if that builds my rhythm, I need to do that and lock in there.”

Defence figures to be at a premium for both teams for their matchup.

The Raptors (28-19) lead the league in fast-break points with an average of 19.2 per game.

Oklahoma City lead the league in limiting them, allowing just 11.3 fast-break points per game, while Toronto are second at 12.5.

The Thunder average just 13.9 fast-break points per game.

Their Jan 25 meeting is the first of two between the teams this season.

The Thunder (37-9) have swept the season series in the last two seasons, with the Raptors’ last win in Oklahoma City coming in February 2022.

Elsewhere in the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo was still awaiting the results of an MRI scan on Jan 24, but the Milwaukee Bucks star says he expects to miss at least a month with a calf injury.

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player exited late in the Bucks’ 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Jan 23 after playing through the injury for much of the contest.

“I was feeling it majority of the game but did not want to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game. “But at the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop.”

He said he felt a “pop” in his calf, and he expected an MRI scan to reveal an injury to his soleus (lower calf muscle). “This is from my experience being around the NBA,” the Greek forward said.

“I’m going to work my butt off to come back. Probably be end of February, beginning of March. Hopefully, the team will be in a place that we can make at least the play-in or make the play-offs.” REUTERS, AFP