Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playing for the Thunder on Tuesday vs. the Kings?

The Oklahoma City Thunder were expected to be part of the teams tanking after the All-Star break, and we may slowly start seeing that if they drop a couple more games. The Thunder are within striking distance of a play-in spot and have enough draft picks coming where they can afford to go for the postseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team’s star point guard, is battling an ankle injury ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Here’s the latest on his status.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander injury updates

Update: SGA has entered health and safety protocols, so he’s going to miss at least a couple games for Oklahoma City. The team is in tank mode, so there’s definitely some cynicism that comes with this move but for now we’ll say the point guard genuinely does need to be isolated.

Gilgeous-Alexander has officially been listed as out with the ankle injury, so he’s set to miss his third straight game. Given how valuable he is to the team, the Thunder might be “resting” him for better draft positioning while managing his workload at the same time. Eventually, Oklahoma City will be competitive with SGA at the helm but it seems like the team is trying to gain some games back in the tank race.

With SGA sidelined, Josh Giddey, Tre Mann and Isaiah Joe will all get big minutes in the backcourt. Lu Dort could also see some more shots with Gilgeous-Alexander out.