Inside The Thunder

Thunder Injury Update

Adams and Noel to be re-evaluated on Friday, Nader is listed as out. Plus, the Suns are interested in Gallinari and Schroder.

Erik Gee

The latest NBA injury report, which comes out at 1:30 central time, has Abdel Nader listed as out for Friday's game with the Heat, while Nerlens Noel is questionable. Nader and Noel are dealing with left ankle sprains, and both were out for the Thunder's loss to the Raptors on Wednesday. Steven Adams, is questionable, according to Maddie Lee of the Oklahoman Adams, and Noel will be re-evaluated on Friday. Adams suffered a knee contusion and left after playing 6:33 vs. Toronto.

With Adams out Mike Muscala stepped up and scored a season-high 17 points. Friday is the first meeting between the Heat and Thunder this season. Maimi is 3-2 in their last five and coming off a 106-100 win over the Spurs. Rookie Tyler Herro is questionable. Herro is dealing with a left knee bruise. He's averaging 13.4 points in 28 minutes of action. 

Herro is a guy Thunder fans covet; whenever a trade for Chris Paul is mentioned, Herro's name is the first to come up. As of now, any swap between Miami and Oklahoma City seems dead; however, if Paul preforms to his usual level (16 points 6.5 assists), vs. the Heat it could spark Pat Riley's interest. Miami is 28-12 and a game up on the Celtics for second in the East. 

Speaking of trade rumors, Sam Veceine of the Athletic says the Suns could have an interest in Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder. Gallinari could bring the Thunder a first-round pick and guard Tyler Jhonson. Johnson scoring and three-point shooting average have taken a significant dip this year. For his career, Jhonson averages 10.5 points per game and shoots 35.7 percent from beyond the arc. This year Johson is only scoring 5.7 points per game and shooting just 27 percent from three. He is also due 19-million next season. Jhonson had knee surgery and missed the final three games of last season.

Schroder could yield center Aaron Baynes, forward Dario Saric, and a minimum salary player. Neither Baynes or Saric are expensive ( 3 and 5 million respectively), but a move like this suggests you would also be trading Adams or Noel, with Adams being the more likely candidate because of his 27-million dollar contract.

Thunder/Heat Friday at 7 pm on Fox Sports Oklahoma.`

 

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Erik Gee
ERIK GEE

With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa. 

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