Is The Thunder's Biggest Weakness Injuries?

Oklahoma City had its historic undefeated season start disrupted Wednesday night, as the Portland Trail Blazers crawled back from a 22-point deficit to beat the Thunder 121-119.

Wednesday was the second game of back-to-back, and it looked like it was on the court as three of the Thunder’s five normal starters did not play. It was not only the starters that were healing up, but key role players as well, as Alex Caruso didn’t play because of rest on Wednesday night. 

The Thunder have had to deal with injuries all year, as Jalen Williams is yet to make his debut, and Chet Holmgren has been battling nagging injuries. Not to mention Thomas Sorber being out the whole year and Nikola Topic for the foreseeable future. 

Nonetheless, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA and have continued to play well this season. With the Thunder not having issues on the court that have been a ginormous problem, does that mean the Thunder’s biggest weakness is fatigue?

The Thunder won’t be able to know for sure until they are completely healthy, but luckily for the Thunder, it seems like that’s the case. OKC was able to have its best start in franchise history, and its All-Star forward wasn’t even playing. Meaning, the Thunder have more room for growth, and it just hasn’t been seen yet. 

Injuries and fatigue can harm the Thunder, as they learned Wednesday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Aaron Wiggins tried their best to take over the game, but the Trail Blazers were too much. 

All-NBA defensive first team guard Lu Dort didn’t suit up due to a right upper trap strain suffered Tuesday night against the Clippers. No Dort, as well as no Caruso, limited the Thunder’s defensive capabilities as they had below their average steals with only nine. 

The Thunder were also forced to play small-ball as Holmgren missed Wednesday’s game due to a lower back issue. Oklahoma City has done well about adapting to players missing time, but on Wednesday, they had no cards left to play with the limited players they had. 

The Thunder shouldn’t be too worried about this issue, as most of their key players are just day-to-day injuries, but it can’t be something that evolves into something worse. 

MVP Gilgeous-Alexander can only take the Thunder so far by himself, and will need the full support of the roster to bring OKC back to the Finals. 

The Thunder have played well, and just imagine how well they’ll play when they are finally back to full health.