Thunder fans – the day has finally come. We get to see SGA and company ball out after what seems like ages! But that’s the price you have to pay for being the best. They did end the season top of the entire NBA, with a 68-14 record. After a terribly one-sided series against the Grizzlies, they face an exhausted Denver Nuggets side, fresh off the roller-coaster 7-game ride that proved to be their round 1 against the Clippers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. might’ve swept aside teams in the regular season, but Denver still held them 2-2 in the four games.

The Grizzlies proved cannon fodder, and OKC may yet come to appreciate the week’s rest they got to prepare for Denver. It took SGA just one game to engage playoff mode. The first game of the first round series really showed the Thunder’s quality, when they had a historic win despite their star point guard just having 15 points to show for it. But guess what followed- 27, 31, and 38 points in Games 2, 3, and 4. Does he need any more justification to be the frontrunner for the NBA’s MVP this season? It’s a delight that he’s fit to play tonight – who knows how badly he might deep-fry the Nuggets.

The spotlight might be on Shai, but they’d not be who they are without Isaiah Hartenstein. Their early injury troubles gatekept the joy of watching both Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren play alongside each other as the big men. In fact, the pair saw just 679 possessions together. But they held opponents to a mere 109.9 points per 100 possessions and saw a point differential of +13.5 with both Chet and I-Hart on the floor. This also gave Chet the freedom to be their power forward, averaging 15/8 while shooting 49% from the field. And the big men will both be available for tonight, so Jokic and Co. will have a tough time attacking the rim.

Considering the hefty break they had, their squad is squeaky clean. The only confirmed out is that of Nikola Topic, who’s suffering from a torn ACL. Ousmane Dieng had missed 19 straight games due to a calf injury, but he’s available for tonight too.

Thunder predicted lineup vs Nuggets

So it’s all greens for the Thunder blue. But the Nuggets blue have the same situation too. Only DaRon Holmes II misses out due to a torn Achilles. They’ll need to bring their A game tonight, and try not to repeat any regular-season woes against the Mile High Club. So on that note, this is the squad they’re expected to field at the Paycom tonight:

There could be two sides of the Thunder we could see tonight- either a side struggling to get back into the thick of things, or a team re-energised, on the rampage. Past stories indicate the latter, but you never can tell in the NBA. Who do you think will come out on top tonight?