9-2! That is the win-loss record that the Oklahoma City Thunder currently holds. In fact, Zion Williamson and Co. haven’t been able to get the best of their Western Conference peers since November 2023. The upcoming matchup provides the perfect opportunity to change that, while it provides OKC with the chance to not only add to its win record against the Pelicans but also improve its standing on the points table. Unfortunately, both teams will have to go into the matchup without some key players making up their main lineup.

According to OKC’s Injury Report highlighted by ESPN, Chet Holmgren’s status has now been shifted from ‘Day-To-Day’ to ‘OUT.’ This is unfortunate news for the franchise, which had started depending on the player’s offensive prowess to generate memorable totals. The other residents of the report continue staying in the same spot, as seen with Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nikola Topic continuing to be ‘OUT.’ On a positive note, however, Kenrich Williams’ name is nowhere to be found. This means that, after having spent a sufficient period recovering from his right knee surgery, the 29-year-old shooting guard/small forward will make his season debut anytime in the upcoming games, either against the Pelicans or even the Suns.

During OKC’s previous matchup against the Golden State Warriors, Chet Holmgren sustained a right iliac hip fracture. In the game’s first quarter, the Warriors were setting up an offensive play by making several passes against each other. Eventually, the ball landed with Andrew Wiggins. He drove to the rim for a layup, and Holmgren was waiting for him, ready to defend. As the Warriors player leaped, however, he and Holmgren collided, causing the latter to fall hard on his right side. Visibly in pain, he lay on the ground until the trainers assisted him back to the locker room. He did not return to the game.

The team initially listed Holmgren under the ‘Day-To-Day’ category for the next game against the Clippers. However, they eventually ruled him out of the same. In a social media update, ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed that Holmgren will receive a return-to-play protocol, but not for another 8 to 10 weeks. This means that the 22-year-old Center/Power Forward can be away from OKC’s games for quite a while. With an average score of 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2 assists, the player had established himself as the 3 highest average scorer of the season. Without him, the team will have a significant gap to fill.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ situation is nowhere close to being better than OKC’s. After all, the franchise has their main lead scorer ‘OUT’ for the upcoming matchup: Zion Williamson. The team ruled the star player out indefinitely after he was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. He was sidelined after having only played 6 of his team’s 11 games this season. The situation couldn’t get worse for the Pelicans, right? Well, Jose Alvarado has now joined their Injury Report, and the team ruled him ‘OUT’ of the OKC matchup. After reports emerged that he sustained an injury while competing against the Nets, they later confirmed that the ailment was, in fact, a left hamstring strain.

Alvarado will be out for at least six weeks. This further creates doubts on how the Pelicans squad can succeed in the upcoming games. After all, along with the main duo, the trio of Herbert Jones, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray continue to recover from their ailments that have kept them off the court for quite some while now.

With these injury updates, both teams will need to make adjustments to their starting lineups for the matchup.

What will the Starting Lineup and Depth Chart for the Thunder-Pelicans clash look like?

With Chet Holmgren set to be unavailable, the Thunder will have to look for another player. Ousmane Dieng and Isaiah Joe earned some extra minutes during the Clippers matchup, which may have stemmed from Holmgren’s absence. However, with Kenrich Williams now absent from the Injury Report, he may take up some of Dieng’s minutes.

Additionally, CBS Sports reports that Alex Caruso can take up Isaiah Hartenstein’s responsibilities. Taking all of this into consideration, we expect the starting lineup for the OKC to look something like this:

Similarly, looking at the updates for the New Orleans Pelicans, analysts expect the franchise’s starting lineup to look something like this:

The Oklahoma City Thunder or the New Orleans Pelicans? Who will you be rooting for during the upcoming matchup? Let us know in the comments down below.