Thunder leave Gilgeous-Alexander and 11 other regulars home for preseason game at Atlanta

The Oklahoma City Thunder will play the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at State Farm Arena without any of their established rotation players, as head coach Mark Daigneault kept 12 regulars, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, at home in Oklahoma City.

The decision turns the 7 p.m. ET preseason game into a showcase for the back end of the roster. It also shows how Oklahoma City is treating October: as a ramp, not a proving ground, with the regulars pointed at a home date against Indiana a night later.

Sports Illustrated’s Thunder outlet and Clemente Almanza of the USA Today network’s Thunder site both listed the same group staying behind. In alphabetical order, the 11 besides Gilgeous-Alexander are:

• Alex Caruso
• Isaiah Hartenstein
• Chet Holmgren
• Jared McCain
• Ajay Mitchell
• Thomas Sorber
• Nikola Topic
• Cason Wallace
• Jalen Williams
• Jaylin Williams
• Kenrich Williams

Daigneault framed the move around scheduling rather than health. “We are going to not travel a number of guys just based on the rhythm of preseason and the fact that it’s a back-to-back,” he said, adding that the goal was to have them ready to face the Pacers.

Who plays in Atlanta

Oklahoma City is bringing only nine players, every one of them a rookie, a two-way player or a camp invitee on an Exhibit 10 deal. By last name, that group is Brooks Barnhizer, Josh Dix, Andrew Holifield, Aday Mara, Otega Oweh, Anthony Pritchard, Zhaire Smith, Bennett Stirtz and Christoph Tilly. For Mara, Stirtz and Oweh in particular, a full night of minutes against an NBA opponent is rare playing time this early in their careers.

The team gave a single reason for the whole group, but ESPN’s injury listing attaches a physical note to several of the absent players: a quadriceps issue for Holmgren, an ankle for Hartenstein, a heel for Jaylin Williams, a back problem for Topic and a knee for Sorber. The other seven are listed for rest. The Thunder have not announced injury details for any of them.

Almanza reported that Topic and Sorber, both limited through camp and the preseason so far, remain undecided for Tuesday, while the rest of the top of the rotation is expected to play.

What comes next

The Thunder host the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, October 13, at 8 p.m. ET (Game Center), then close the preseason at Houston on Thursday, October 15. Follow Monday’s game against the Hawks in the Thunder-Hawks Game Center, and check the latest designations on our injury report.