OKC Thunder vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: What to know for this historical matchup between the NBA's top-two teams | Sporting News

After defeating the second best team in the Eastern Conference in the Boston Celtics Sunday 105-92, the Oklahoma City Thunder now look to play the number one team in the East in what is seen as the best NBA game of the 2024-25 season.

The number one offense versus the number one defense.

One seed versus one seed.

A collection of MVP-caliber players and All-Star supporting casts.

This game has it all.

Time and Location The OKC Thunder will play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse today, Jan.

8, at 7:00 PM EST/6:00 PM CST as well as on ESPN and FanDuel Sports Network - Oklahoma.

Lineups For the Thunder, here is what coach Mark Daigneault may have as his starting five: Position: Name: Number: Point Guard Shai Gilgoeus-Alexander 2 Shooting Guard Cason Wallace 22 Small Forward Lu Dort 5 Power Forward Jalen Williams 8 Center Isaiah Hartenstein 55 As for the Cavs, here is what their potential lineup may look like: Position: Name: Number: Point Guard Darius Garland 10 Shooting Guard Donovan Mitchell 45 Small Forward Dean Wade 32 Power Forward Evan Mobley 4 Center Jarrett Allen 31 Injuries When it comes to Oklahoma City, Chet Holmgren (hip) and Nikola Topic (ACL) are out for tonight's matchup.

Alex Caruso is currently listed as day-to-day with his hip injury.

MORE: Chet Holmgren nearing return for OKC: Latest news on Thunder's star center.

For Cleveland, Isaac Okoro is out with a shoulder injury and Sam Merrill is questionable with an ankle injury.

What to know While some people may see this matchup as just another regular season game, it is far from it.

Not only does this game have seeding implications come playoff time, but this game could very easily be the building block for an NBA Finals series.

Moreover, this game has so many historical statistics tied with it as it is very rare that two teams this successful play one another at this point in the season.

Boasting some of the best net-ratings in NBA history, longest winning streaks in franchise histories, and much more, this matchup is truly one of a kind.

MORE: Why OKC Thunder vs.

Cleveland Cavaliers matchup is the best game of the year.

Headed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , who is having a season only comparable to Michael Jordan and Dwayne Wade, and Donovan Mitchell, who is having the best shooting season of his career, the Thunder versus the Cavaliers will be must-see TV for all sports fans.

Getting the road trip started in Cleveland FanDuel Sports Network @sportsanimal pic.twitter.com/09InZ6yqeB MORE THUNDER CONTENT: Best records in NBA history: How Cavaliers, Thunder compare to Michael Jordan's Bulls, Stephen Curry's Warriors The Oklahoma City Thunder are severely undermarketed, and here's why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the league MVP, and it isn't even close.

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