Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a restriction? Oklahoma City Thunder superstar set for cautious return against Denver Nuggets in high-stakes clash

Tonight, the Denver Nuggets (37-22) head to the Paycom Center to play the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-15), a rematch of the exciting Western Conference semifinals from the previous year. OKC won the first encounter between these two teams this season, 121-111, in Denver, and this is only the second of four matchups.

Fortunately, after a nine-game absence, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back. On Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder will meet the Denver Nuggets in a nationally televised game on ESPN, marking the superstar point guard’s comeback from an abdominal strain. It’s unclear, though, if Gilgeous-Alexander will have limited playing time throughout the match.

ESPN will broadcast the Nuggets vs. Thunder game live on Friday from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at 9:30 p.m. ET. The Thunder have had a terrible season due to injuries. A crucial player returns tonight, but four of the Thunder’s five starters have missed at least 11 games.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current MVP, has received the all-clear to resume his abdominal injury. He has already missed 11 games, but he is still eligible for regular-season accolades if he misses six more.

SGA is not yet on the team’s injury report for Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. As head coach Mark Daigneault attempts to ease his lead guard back into action, Gilgeous-Alexander, the current NBA MVP, will probably have his minutes monitored in some way even if he is off the injury report and will play a part in the game.

However, Daigneault has not yet disclosed whether Gilgeous-Alexander will be subject to a minute restriction for the Denver game, which begins at 8:30 p.m. Central. The Thunder are still leading the Western Conference, after all. Their star player does not need to return to the court right away.

However, considering that the Thunder’s superior depth has shown itself able to handle his absence over the past several weeks, it is realistic to expect that Gilgeous-Alexander will be limited to about 25 minutes.

Gilgeous-Alexander needs to miss just six more games this season to meet the NBA’s 65-game requirement and be eligible for MVP and other postseason honors. The Thunder, however, had a 5-4 record in their nine games without SGA. Oklahoma City continues to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, two games ahead of San Antonio. Nonetheless, the Spurs hold the season tiebreaker between the two teams and have won ten straight games.

Jalen Williams, an All-NBA forward, and Ajay Mitchell, an important role player, are still absent from the Thunder. However, Gilgeous-Alexander is within striking distance of Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers in the scoring battle after averaging 31.8 points per game in 49 games this season.