logo
Full injury report for Monday's Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 1 matchup

Full injury report for Monday's Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 1 matchup

USA Today05-05-2025

Full injury report for Monday's Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 1 matchup
The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Denver Nuggets on Monday for Game 1 of their Round 2 playoff series. Both teams will seek to get the first lead of the series.
The Thunder are back in action after over a week off. They swept the Memphis Grizzlies in their Round 1 series last weekend and have waited for their next playoff opponent. They've gone nine days between games because of it.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are fresh off a 120-101 Game 7 win over the LA Clippers. The Round 1 series finale happened on Saturday. This means Denver only had one day between playoff series.
Both teams are about as healthy as you could hope for. The Thunder will only be without Nikola Topic (torn ACL). Meanwhile, the Nuggets will only be without DaRon Holmes II (torn Achilles). Both rookies have missed the entire season.
Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 8:30 p.m. CT.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Thunder vs. Pacers: Playoff series schedule, scores, TV channel, how to watch
Thunder vs. Pacers: Playoff series schedule, scores, TV channel, how to watch

Fox Sports

time38 minutes ago

  • Fox Sports

Thunder vs. Pacers: Playoff series schedule, scores, TV channel, how to watch

The NBA Finals features a matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Check out everything you need to know about the series: When is Thunder vs. Pacers Game 1? The Thunder and Pacers will face off on Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Tip off time will be at 8:30 p.m. ET with coverage on ABC. Thunder vs. Pacers Series Schedule Below is the full schedule for the Thunder-Pacers playoff series: (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (4) Indiana Pacers *if needed How many times have the Thunder played the Pacers? The Oklahoma City Thunder have played the Indiana Pacers a total of 2 times in the regular season. The Thunder won the season series 2-0. Thunder vs. Pacers History (2024-25 Regular Season) recommended Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic

Rick Carlisle gives Jarace Walker injury update. Will we see him in NBA Finals vs. Thunder?
Rick Carlisle gives Jarace Walker injury update. Will we see him in NBA Finals vs. Thunder?

Indianapolis Star

timean hour ago

  • Indianapolis Star

Rick Carlisle gives Jarace Walker injury update. Will we see him in NBA Finals vs. Thunder?

INDIANAPOLIS – Pacers second-year forward Jarace Walker will miss at least the first two games of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sprained right ankle, coach Rick Carlisle said Monday morning in his weekly radio interview with James Boyd and Kevin Bowen on 107.5 FM The Fan. Carlisle said Walker will be out for "a while" but the spread-out nature of the NBA Finals would give him time for treatment and possibly heal. However, he said Walker was still on crutches Sunday and the ankle had swollen significantly, and Walker would be listed as "out" on the injury report for the first two games. He turned the ankle severely early in the fourth quarter of the Pacers' Game 6 win over the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals when he was trying to defend a drive, leaped to block a shot and landed on side of his right foot. He struggled to get up and had to crawl off the floor after a change of possessions. He was on crutches for the conference championship ceremony. NBA Finals: Celebrate Pacers' amazing season with our commemorative book Carlisle said he wouldn't release the grade of the sprain but did not at any point suggest Walker's ankle sustained a fracture. Walker, the No. 8 pick in the 2023 draft out of Houston, was in and out of the Pacers' second unit this season, but the Pacers have been playing up to 11 men in playoff games to try to create a "wear-down effect" with full-court pressure defense, fast-breaking offense and fresh legs. The 6-8, 240-pounder averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, appearing in 75 games after playing just 33 as a rookie. He appeared in 12 of the Pacers' 16 playoff games in the first three rounds, averaging 3.0 points per game in 9.8 minutes per game. (*-if necessary; all games are ET and on ABC)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton lead fascinating 2025 NBA Finals MVP race
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton lead fascinating 2025 NBA Finals MVP race

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton lead fascinating 2025 NBA Finals MVP race

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton lead fascinating 2025 NBA Finals MVP race Later this week, we'll finally dig into one of the more intriguing (and surprising?) NBA Finals matchups in recent memory. In one corner, you have reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's historically dominant Oklahoma City Thunder, who have only really been pushed this postseason by Nikola Jokić's Denver Nuggets. These great Thunder will enter the 2025 Finals with over a week's rest. Gulp. In the other corner, you have the scrappy Indiana Pacers, who few saw making a Finals run before they ripped out the New York Knicks' heart. Factor in the small-market aspect between Oklahoma City and Indianapolis, and I'm not really confident about what to expect in this series over the next few weeks. Nonetheless, while the Pacers have a chance to win it all after slaying multiple giants in the Eastern Conference, the Thunder are overwhelming favorites for a good reason. It'll probably take a Herculean effort from Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Co. to stave off Gilgeous-Alexander and his friends to win the first title in Indiana's franchise history. That's where this year's NBA Finals MVP conversation comes in. Both the Thunder and Pacers are remarkably deep, with everyone on both rosters understanding and playing to their respective roles to a tee. While there are a couple of obvious choices at the top of this Finals MVP race, the make-up of both of these teams throws a wrench in firmly predicting other possible options. Below is my best attempt at a 2025 NBA Finals MVP ranking with a rationale that considers each individual player's skillsets and their responsibilities to their respective teams. Please note that I'm sticking with the idea that the Finals MVP can only come from the winning team. It's a personal sports preference, but we don't crown second place in any fashion. All odds courtesy of DraftKings. 6. C Myles Turner (+20000) I'd be floored if Turner was Finals MVP in a Pacers win. Full stop. But that's not a knock on the 10-year veteran. Turner is one of the NBA's better stretch centers with a good 3-point shot on solid volume. He's a decent rim protector, too. Of course, we're talking about a role player here, but Turner is undoubtedly high-level. His persistence in Indiana has paid off. 5. C/PF Chet Holmgren Like Turner, I'd be shocked if Holmgren left these Finals with MVP honors. The second-year big man is a talented young player, but he still has a ways to go (and mature) before he's the veritable best player on the NBA's championship stage. With that said, Holmgren already has plenty of merits. He's an elite shot-blocker, a great rim-runner, and he also shoots well from the 3-point line at a decent clip. And who knows? Maybe Holmgren goes off in a few key Thunder wins and puts himself in this conversation. 4. SF Jalen Williams Williams is the first truly reasonable bet on this list for this year's Finals MVP. After all, the versatile two-way forward did qualify for an All-NBA team this year. As a great defender and proficient scorer, Williams is one of the few guys in this series who could break a game open on both ends of the court. Depending on who you talk to, he is the third or fourth-best player in these Finals, at worst. However, Williams remains a younger player who has struggled to consistently deliver on the offensive end during this postseason. Ultimately, that might be what keeps him from being a legit Finals MVP candidate. 3. PF Pascal Siakam As another All-NBA-caliber player, Siakam has been a revelation for the Pacers during these playoffs. The veteran forward and 2019 NBA champion had three games of at least 30 points during the Eastern Conference Finals en route to series MVP honors. On the whole in these playoffs, he's averaging roughly 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists with a true shooting percentage of 60.8. Those are exemplary numbers. Those are perfect contributions from a Finals team's No. 2 option. Siakam's path to Finals MVP is continuing this tear, while acting as an X-factor that Oklahoma City's defense has no answer for. It can happen. 2. PG Tyrese Haliburton If the Pacers go on to win the title, the clear choice for Finals MVP is Haliburton. Haliburton is the straw that stirs Indiana's drink. He is the floor general who makes the Pacers' offense hum. He's the leader and true talisman that the Pacers organization has been missing since the halcyon days of Reggie Miller. Haliburton will face a daunting individual matchup during this series, as the Thunder have more great perimeter defenders to throw at him than anyone else in the NBA. But if he can overcome this hurdle in a moment of glory for Indiana, it's hard to see another Pacers player winning Finals MVP. 1. G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander In the event of a Thunder victory, the reigning MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander will likely be the catalyst behind Oklahoma City's first-ever championship. He's just too good and too crafty to say otherwise. As an elite defensive team that thrives on live-ball turnovers, the Thunder aren't necessarily slouches in their half-court offense per se, but they do look a lot more mortal if Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't have it going. He is their coherent offensive engine in every fathomable way. In other words, Gilgeous-Alexander is way too important to the Thunder's general operation to assert anyone else should be the frontrunner for 2025 Finals MVP.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store