What to Watch For in OKC Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers

The Oklahoma City Thunder are playing the Portland Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back. The Thunder enter this game with an undefeated 8-0 record, the best start in franchise history. Portland holds a 4-3 record overall, improving to 3-1 in their last four games.

Coaching and Team Status

Portland is led by Tiago Splitter as the acting head coach while current head coach Chauncey Billups is on leave due to ongoing investigations. The Trail Blazers have several key players out for this game:

Scoot Henderson
Matisse Thybulle
Blake Wesley
Damian Lillard

Shaedon Sharpe is listed as probable despite a calf strain.

Injuries on Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder will be without All-NBA swingman Jalen Williams, veteran big man Kenrich Williams, and rookie guard Nikola Topic. Rising star big man Chet Holmgren and bench guard Ajay Mitchell both took hard falls in Tuesday's game against the Clippers but continued playing. Defensive specialist Lu Dort left that game early with a shoulder contusion. The Thunder are expected to release an official injury report on Wednesday afternoon.

"The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Portland Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back with the Thunder checking in with an unblemished 8-0 record –– the best start in franchise history."

Monitoring the health and performance of Holmgren and Mitchell will be crucial as the Thunder aim to maintain their winning streak.

Author’s summary: The Thunder aim to continue their historic 8-0 start against a Trail Blazers team managing key absences and coaching changes in a critical back-to-back matchup.

Sports Illustrated — 2025-11-05