The Denver Nuggets’ players were preparing to take the court, but only nine of them were present since they ruled out all five of their usual starters in their penultimate regular-season game against OKC.
OKC also ruled out 10 players, having already clinched the top seed in the West. This made for a very different look at a matchup that has created plenty of classic games in recent memory.
Thunder Rest Players After Securing Top Seed
OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said that if they hadn’t clinched coming into the game, everybody would have been playing. He explained that the team had earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies.
Daigneault said that last year, Jalen Williams got hurt in a game that they’d already clinched the one seed. He stated that could’ve changed the course of their season, so they’ve learned from experience on that one a little bit.
The Thunder decided to take a pretty conservative route physically so the highest-minute guys that are dealing with the most injury management and thus the most risk get the most time heading into the playoffs. Daigneault said it’s a good opportunity for them to get healthy, get off their feet and get rested.
Dort’s Playing Time and the 65-Game Rule
Lu Dort was the only starter who suited up for OKC. Daigneault said this was “strictly” because of the 65-game rule for end-of-season awards.
Dort had already played 67 games. He played fewer than 15 minutes in one game and between 15-20 minutes in five games. The NBA only allows two “near-miss” scenarios where a player logs between 15-20 minutes in a game, leaving him needing to play two more games of at least 20 minutes.
Dort recorded five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes before subbing out of the game. He didn’t return and will likely log the same minutes total during OKC’s regular-season finale against Phoenix.
Nuggets Secure Victory Over OKC’s Reserves
Denver ultimately secured a 127-107 victory. Branden Carlson led OKC (64-17) with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.
The game against Denver was OKC’s road finale.
Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of an under-the-radar OKC game against Phoenix.
The Thunder submitted a lengthy injury report, ruling out 10 players for its road matchup with Denver.