- Portland Trailblazers (10-26, 14th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (25-11, 2nd in the West)
- When: Thursday, 11 January 2024 at 7:00pm CST
- Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
- Offensive Rating – POR: 108.0 (29th) / OKC: 119.9 (4th)
- Defensive Rating – POR: 116.0 (19th) / OKC: 112.3 (7th)
- Net Rating – POR: -8.0 (26th) / OKC: 7.6 (3rd)
The Set-Up
I need a show of hands of everyone who had “Mark Daigneault coaching in the All-Star Game” on their 2023-24 Thunder bingo card. Nobody? Nobody. But here we are, 36 games into the season, sitting a half-game back of the top spot in the West. In order for Daigneault to coach in the All-Star game, the Thunder would need to be first in the West two weeks prior to the All-Star game, which is on February 18th. The Thunder play 14 games in that time frame, with two of those games being against the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves and one of those games being against the no.3 team in the West, the Denver Nuggets. Denver coach Mike Malone is disqualified from coaching in this year’s All-Star game due to having coached in the game last season. So if for some reason, Denver ends up 1st in the West and OKC 2nd, Daigneault would still end up as the All-Star game coach. The ball in the Thunder’s court.
This is the 2nd meeting of the year between these two Northwest division rivals. The Thunder won big in their last meeting, winning 134-91 in Portland. They play two more times after today (Jan. 23rd and Mar. 6th).
Betting Info
- Line: OKC -12.5
- O/U: 235.5
Injury Report
OKC
- Davis Bertans (illness) – Day to Day
- Olivier Sarr (illness) – Day to Day
POR
- DeAndre Ayton (knee) – Doubtful
- Robert Williams III (knee) – OUT
- Moses Brown (shoulder) – OUT
- Jabari Walker (knee) – Questionable
Three Big Things
- Dominate the Paint – The Trailblazers are one of the worst teams in defending the paint (currently ranked 28th in the league). The Thunder are one of the best at scoring in the paint (currently ranked at 5th in the league). On the other end of the floor, the Thunder are the 2nd best team at defending the paint, while the Trailblazers are the 2nd worst team at scoring in the paint. When you add to that the fact that all three centers for the Trailblazers are likely out, this becomes a much easier game for the likes of Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
- Turn Them Over – The Trailblazers are the 28th ranked team in terms of protecting the rock. The Thunder rank first in the league in scoring points off turnovers and blocks and 5th in steals. This totally plays into the Thunder’s hands.
- Fight for First – If the Thunder win tonight, they’ll be tied with the Timberwolves for the best record in the West. Unfortunately, they’ll still be listed at no. 2 by virtue of a tiebreaker. The head to head match-up between the two teams is tied at one apiece, but the Wolves currently have a better division record than the Thunder. Damn you, tiebreakers!