CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Oklahoma City Thunder take a thin rotation on the road Monday night, facing the Cleveland Cavaliers at 6 p.m. Central with several key players unavailable.
Guard Alex Caruso is out with a sprained right ankle, the third game in a row he will sit. The 32-year-old was hurt in the Oct. 26 win over the Phoenix Suns.
He is far from alone on the injury list. Chet Holmgren (knee), Jalen Williams (ankle) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) are all ruled out, while Nikola Topic (back) and Thomas Sorber (knee) are listed as day to day.
Even so, Oklahoma City has opened 4-1 and sits fifth in the Western Conference. The Thunder were the class of the league a year ago at 64-18, and they went 30-10 away from home, so a road trip is nothing new for this group.
Cleveland enters at 4-2, fourth in the East, and has won three straight on its own floor. The Cavaliers were 27-14 at home last season on the way to a 52-30 record, and they put up 119.5 points a night while making 48.2% of their shots.
Cleveland also connected on 36.0% of its 3-point tries last season, which puts pressure on an Oklahoma City perimeter group missing two of its best defenders in Caruso and Wallace. The Cavaliers are trying to stretch their home winning streak to four games.
The Cavaliers have injury issues of their own, with Nae’Qwan Tomlin out with a back problem and Jaylon Tyson sidelined by an ankle injury.
Ball movement has been an Oklahoma City strength. Oklahoma City handed out 25.8 assists a game last season on 43.1 made baskets a night, numbers that will matter with so many regulars in street clothes.
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