The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the L.A. Clippers in a Sunday evening matchup inside the Paycom Center for the front end of a back-to-back set. This is the Thunder's first back-to-back of the season with the Phoenix Suns coming to town on Monday to cap off a three game home stand.
Oklahoma City enters this contest with a 2-0 record as they earned a win in Tuesday's season opener in San Antonio and followed it up with a home opening win against the division rival Nuggets.
The Thunder's initial injury report only features Brooks Barnhizer and Josh Dix signaling that everyone will play on the front end of this two game in two night affair. Time will tell how Mark Daigneault's squad will handle the second leg of their first back-to-back of the season.
This should be a take-care-of-business game for the Bricktown Ballers to push their record to 3-0. Still, there are plenty of storylines to follow over the course of this 48-minute game.
3 Critical Storylines to Watch in OKC Thunder vs. L.A. Clippers
1) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Taking on Former Team, Fresh off streak ending
On Thursday, Gilgeous-Alexander only posted 17 points despite catching fire in the fourth quarter. This snapped his 141-game regular-season streak of turning in at least 20 points. The back-to-back NBA MVP had perspective in his postgame media availability that he can start a new streak. Sunday is his first chance to, and he always produces against his former team. Gilgeous-Alexander started his career with the L.A. Clippers before a blockbuster trade sent the guard to Oklahoma City and launched the rebuilt squad seen in Bricktown today.
2) Chet Holmgren continuing his strong start to the season
Holmgren has been a talking point all summer. His shortcomings against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals brought on plenty of doubt from fans and prognosticators. The All-NBA big man, through two games, is averaging 13 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and a jaw-dropping four blocks while shooting five free throws a night, having yet to miss from the stripe to help aid the Thunder to a 2-0 record. The Clippers do not pose the same front-court threats as the Spurs and Nuggets and could be a spot for a massive Holmgren outing.
3) Ajay Mitchell Getting Going
It has been a slow start to the season for Mitchell; while he has shown tremendous growth on the defensive side of the floor, his offense has not consistently been up to par. The touch on difficult paint touches has vanished, and his ability to read the floor has been off the mark as well to this point. But it is only two games, and the Spurs' defense is tough for anyone to crack, especially in the first game of the season, and that makes up 50% of his season-long sample size. Against the Denver Nuggets, Mitchell settled into the game well in the second half. The Clippers, despite being 1-1, are projected to be among the league's worst. The small backcourt of the No. 2 team in LaLa Land should be just what the doctor ordered to get Mitchell fully back on track.
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