The Oklahoma City Thunder blew away their three-game winning streak with their recent defeat against the Detroit Pistons. The Thunder will look to move past that result as they need to be prepared to host the Denver Nuggets on Friday, February 27, at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Ahead of this game, there’s a lot of chatter around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s availability, as the reigning MVP is close to regaining full fitness and could feature in this home game. While the Thunder have eked out results without him, his return will surely boost their chances during the business end of the regular-season.

Overall, the Thunder have dropped some games in Shai’s injury absence, but despite that, they are still at the top of the standings in the Western Conference with a dominant 45-15 record. Second-best team in the conference, the San Antonio Spurs are still 1.5 games behind the reigning champions. So it gives an idea about how good an outfit they have become under head coach Mark Daigneault. On the other hand, the Denver Nuggets also shared a similar fate with injury to their talisman, Nikola Jokic. The Serbian center has returned and regained the same momentum from where he left. The Nuggets are fourth in the West with a 37-22 record, winning four of their last eight games.

Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playing tonight against the Nuggets?

Fortunately for the Oklahoma City Thunder fans, the wait is over, and their favorite is back in action. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not included in the official injury list and is all set to suit up for the Thunder in Friday’s home game against the Nuggets. Interestingly, this will be his first game since February 3, so he will surely take some time to get back in the groove, and the Thunder would possibly put him in a minutes restriction.

SGA has featured in 49 games this season, racking up big numbers from the Thunder. He has averaged  31.8 points, 6.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per performance. He is returning right in time to be eligible for the MVP award this season again as long as he doesn’t face another injury setback.

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This is the Thunder’s second game against the Nuggets this season. Thunder won the first game 121-111, where SGA finished with a game-high 34 points alongwith 13 rebounds and five assists.

Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report

While Shai is off the injury list, the Thunder still have a few players unavailable for this game. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have been plagued with injuries throughout this season, and that unfortunately remains the norm for them in this game aswell. Let us take a closer look at the injury reports ahead of the game.

Denver Nuggets Injury Report

There’s a lot of uncertainty around several players for this game. The biggest of them all is Jamal Murray getting listed as questionable for an illness, as he may not feature in Friday’s game. Apart from him, Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones are also questionable with toe sprain and shoulder sprain, respectively. Other than them, young guard Jalen Pickett is also questionable for this game with a knee issue.

Among unavailable players, Aaron Gordon tops the list with his nagging hamstring injury. He has almost missed the major of this season due to hamstring issues, whereas Peyton Watson is also out for a few weeks for a hamstring strain of his own. Lastly, Tamar Bates remains on the sidelines as their long-term absentee with a toe injury.

Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report

The biggest news for the hosts has to be the availability of SGA. Other than that, the Thunder will miss the services of Ajay Mitchell, who is out with abdominal and ankle issues. Similarly, Jalen Williams is also out due to a hamstring issue and will be re-evaluated in a week.

Backup center Branden Carlson is also out for this game with a back injury, and lastly, Thomas Sorber remains sidelined after sustaining a torn ACL during an offseason workout. He will miss the remainder of the ongoing season.

Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder predicted starting lineups

Based on the latest injury report, here’s how both teams could lineup for Friday’s All-West clash.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s return, the Oklahoma City Thunder are definitely looking like the favorites as they are also at home. In his absence, the likes of Aaron Wiggins and Jaylin Williams have also been in fantastic form, so they are definitely not a one-trick pony team. On the other hand, a lot will depend on Nikola Jokic, who is also in contention for the MVP award this season. A lot will depend on Jamal Murray’s availability. If he manages to suit up, then it will be an extremely close game. We still believe the Thunder have a slight edge.