Thunder And Blazers Shorthanded Tonight

By Randy Renner

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks says Kevin Durant hasn't suffered any setbacks, "he's just not ready yet and he's not going to play until he's ready." 

Brooks insists Durant's injury is nothing more than a sprained ankle and a mild one at that and that his superstar forward is "getting a little better every day."

Portland won't be at full strength tonight either. Center Robin Lopez and small forward Nic Batum are out and coach Terry Stotts told reporters about 90 minutes before tipoff that he "doesn't know" if star forward LaMarcus Aldridge will be able to play. 

However,  few minutes later the Trail Blazers official Twitter feed announced that Aldridge would be "active" tonight.  The doesn't mean he WILL play though. With the injuries Portland has they already have enough players on their inactive list.

He missed last night's game in Houston with an upper respiratory infection and remained at the team hotel. Aldridge came over to The Peake earlier this evening so that's another sign that he will at least attempt to go tonight.

The Blazers will still have their hands full tonight dealing with fatigue. They're playing the second game of a road back-to-back and their fourth game in five nights. 

As usual we'll have complete coverage tonight including postgame videos with comments from Coach Brooks and players in the lockerroom. 

For live updates be sure to check out our Twitter feed page. Tipoff is set for 7:10.