The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Charlotte Hornets at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday.

The Hornets (25-24) have been stung by the injury bug recently, losing LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward to some serious injuries over the last two weeks. Those are two guys you couldn't afford to lose, and it makes it shocking that they enter this matchup, winning five of their last eight games. It's going to put a lot on the shoulder of Terry Rozier, who's already in the midst of a breakout season. The big problem with the Hayward and Ball absences is that they are two of their primary ball-handlers on this shallow roster. That means someone needs to come in and dominate the ball, and hopefully, it doesn't hinder Rozier's elite scoring abilities. Those two have this club ranked fifth in assists this year, and that total is inevitably going to drop as the season comes to an end.

The Thunder (20-30) have been dealing with some injuries themselves, sending out an unrecognizable roster night after night. It would be one thing to have lost Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Al Horford, but Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Roby, and Darius Bazley have dealt with some injuries themselves. That's essentially the starting unit, and it's left this club in shambles. In fact, they've lost six of their last seven games in total, with the five most recent losses all coming by 21 points or more. The simple fact is, this club doesn't have the talent right now to compete with other NBA teams. The only silver lining is that it's giving some of these youngsters extra time to prevail. Guys like Moses Brown, Theo Maledon, and Kenrich Williams have shown some flashes, and they'll be nice complementary pieces for this franchise when all of those guys eventually return, even if it's next year.

These teams played back on December 26, with Oklahoma City winning 109-107. That gives the Thunder five-straight victories in this series dating back to 2018