The Thunder’s first back-to-back of the season arrives Sunday night with a home date against the L.A. Clippers at Paycom Center, and Oklahoma City already has a chance to keep rolling before the Phoenix Suns come in Monday to finish off a three-game homestand.
Oklahoma City is 2-0 after winning its opener in San Antonio and then taking care of business in the home opener against the division rival Nuggets. The initial injury report lists only Brooks Barnhizer and Josh Dix, a sign that everyone else should be available for the front end of this two-game stretch. How Mark Daigneault manages the second night is still to be determined.
For now, the focus is on the matchup in front of the Thunder. It looks like a game they should handle, but there are a few things worth watching as the night unfolds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets another crack at his old team after a rare quiet scoring night by his standards on Thursday. He finished with 17 points, ending his regular-season streak of 141 straight games with at least 20.
Even with that streak snapped, Gilgeous-Alexander sounded calm afterward, and Sunday gives him a new shot to start another one. He’s usually at his best against the Clippers, the team he began his career with before the blockbuster trade that sent him to Oklahoma City and helped shape the Thunder roster in Bricktown.
Chet Holmgren is another major piece to watch, and his start has been strong enough to keep the conversation focused on him all over again. After the doubts that followed his struggles against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Holmgren has answered with production through two games: 13 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and four blocks per night, while also getting to the line five times a game and not missing a free throw yet. Against a Clippers front line that does not bring the same kind of pressure as the Spurs and Nuggets, this could be the kind of matchup where Holmgren puts up a big number.
The Thunder also need a better offensive night from Mitchell, whose season has started slowly even as his work on defense has stood out. His touch on tough finishes around the paint has been missing, and his reads have not been as sharp as usual.
Still, it’s only two games, and one of them came against a Spurs defense that is difficult for anyone to solve, especially in a season opener. He looked more settled in the second half against Denver, and the Clippers’ smaller backcourt, as the No. 2 team in LaLa Land, could give him the kind of game that gets him fully back on track.
In Other News...
Thunder May Make A Brutal Choice On Two Recent First Rounders
The Thunder are heading toward a familiar kind of problem for a contender: success now, but a payroll crunch looming behind it. With extensions for key players pushing the books higher over the next several seasons, Oklahoma City is already being forced to think ahead about how it can keep its roster intact without inviting even heavier luxury tax and cap penalties.
One possible answer is harsh for two recent first-round picks who have not had much chance to establish themselves because of health and playing time concerns. By Nov. 2, 2025, the Thunder will need to decide whether to move forward with their 2027-28 team options, and that deadline should say plenty about how aggressively the front office plans to manage the cost of keeping this core together. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Two-Way Move Reveals Early Roster Pressure In OKC
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In his place, the Thunder added Micah Peavy on a one-year two-way contract, bringing in a player who has already spent time with the New Orleans Pelicans. The move gives Oklahoma City another piece to work with between the NBA roster and the OKC Blue, and it also underscores the pressure that can surface fast when injuries change the picture before the games really begin. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Return Home With Clippers Already Facing A Big Problem
The Thunder are back at Paycom Center on Sunday night looking to keep an early unbeaten start intact against a Clippers team already dealing with roster uncertainty. Oklahoma City enters at 2-0, while Los Angeles comes in at 1-1 for the 6 p.m. CT tip, with the matchup set to air on the usual local and national broadcast outlets and featuring projected starters on both sides.
Injury reports are already shaping the games early edge. Oklahoma City will be without Nikola Topi, Thomas Sorber and Otega Oweh, while the Clippers have their own notable absence to manage with Brandon Ingram sidelined after right heel surgery. With both teams still sorting out roles this early in the season, the availability sheet may end up being just as important as the opening lineup card. [Read more 🡒]