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Thunder @ Denver Nuggets preview (Game 8 of 82)

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OKC Thunder vs Denver Nuggets: Betting Odds, Game Preview, Keys to Game

  • Oklahoma City Thunder (7-0) at Denver Nuggets (4-3)
  • When: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 8:00pm CST
  • Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
  • Offensive Rating – DEN: 114.5 (7th) / OKC: 110.9 (19th)
  • Defensive Rating – DEN: 113.0 (17th) / OKC: 93.8 (1st)
  • Net Rating – DEN: 1.5 (11th) / OKC: 17.1 (1st)
  • TV: FanDuel Sports Network – Oklahoma

The Set-Up

This is the second meeting of the season between these two division rivals. The Thunder won the first game 102-87 behind an incredible (and as we’ve come to expect) defensive effort. The Thunder have now won four straight meetings against the Nuggets dating back to last season.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -7.5
  • O/U: 223.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (hand)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)
  • Jaylin Williams – OUT (hamstring)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

DEN

  • Vlatko Cancar – Doubtful (ankle)
  • Aaron Gordon – OUT (calf)
  • DaRon Holmes II – OUT (Achilles)
  • Jamal Murray – OUT (concussion protocol)

Three Big Things

  1. Free Throws – Surprisingly, for a team featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder rank dead last in both free throw attempts and makes. If Oklahoma City is trying to emulate Boston’s style of offense, they are forgetting to allow the threat of 3-point shots set-up their ability to drive to the basket. SGA, usually a staple at the top of the drive per game stat, ranks 4th in drives at 19.4 drives per game. The “free throw merchant” is only averaging 5.7 free throw attempts per game in this early going. Jalen Williams is the next highest on the team at 2.6 FTA per game. While this has yet to be an issue for the team, free throw attempts and scoring were a major part of the Thunder’s game plan last season.
  2. Injured Animal – This game is good in testing the Thunder’s psyche. It’s human nature to look at your successes and wonder why you have to keep working so hard if you are going to succeed regardless. The Thunder find themselves facing an injured Denver squad that is missing two of their main components in Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon and likely looking to play in desperation mode in order to keep up in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. An injured animal is a dangerous one…unless the animal on the opposite side has a dangerous mindset also.
  3. Tired Chet – While Chet may be playing less minutes this season, he is shouldering a lot more of the load, especially as the defensive anchor on the best defense in the league. Add to that the fact that both his back-ups (Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams) are both out with injury, and you start to see why Holmgren is looking tired so early in the season. He has to guard the opposing team’s best big and usually, that involves a large discrepancy in mass and strength. He has held his own, don’t get me wrong. But he hasn’t had a chance to breathe early on in this season.

Thunder @ Portland Trailblazers preview (Game 5 of 82)

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Oklahoma City Thunder demolish the Portland Trail Blazers by 62 points in record-breaking win | CNN

  • Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0) at Portland Trailblazers (2-3)
  • When: Friday, 01 November 2024 at 9:00pm CST
  • Where: Moda Center, Portland, OR
  • Offensive Rating – POR: 107.2 (25th) / OKC: 108.5 (23rd)
  • Defensive Rating – POR: 113.0 (15th) / OKC: 91.3 (1st)
  • Net Rating – POR: -5.8 (23rd) / OKC: 17.1 (3rd)
  • TV: FanDuel Sports Network – Oklahoma

The Set-Up

Trap games. These are the games where a dominant team can get tripped up. We saw it last season. The Thunder head into Detroit for a matinee game on Super Bowl Sunday and get absolutely demolished by the Pistons. Maybe looking ahead. Maybe not respecting the opponent, but it happened. As the Thunder start the season at a blistering pace, especially defensively, these are the types of games where they could get tripped up if they don’t bring it. For great teams, these games can become “meh” games. But for the opponent, this game may be their early season Super Bowl.

This is the first of four meetings this season between these two division rivals. The Thunder swept the season series last year, winning the first two games collectively by 105 points, while then winning the final two meetings by 10 points combined. One game in the 2nd half of the season even necessitated a Jalen Williams game-winner.Β 

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -11.5
  • O/U: 221.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (hand)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)
  • Jaylin Williams – OUT (hamstring)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

POR

  • Shaedon Sharpe – OUT (shoulder)
  • Matisse Thybulle – OUT (knee)
  • Robert Williams III – OUT (hamstring)

Three Big Things

  1. Give and Take – So far this season, the Thunder have absolutely punished teams who turn the ball over. They lead the league in steals and blocks as a team, force the most turnovers in the league, and score 19.4% of their points off of turnovers. Portland, on the other hand, is the 5th worst team at protecting the ball, coughing it up 17 times a game.
  2. Defensive Rebounding – While the Thunder have improved immensely in the rebounding department, the reality is that Chet Holmgren is the only true big that can play currently. Portland trots out a pretty physical big man duo in DeAndre Ayton and rookie Donovan Clingan, while having Jerami Grant at the 4. Portland grabs 13.8 offensive rebounds per game (6th in the league) and score 19 points per game in 2nd-chance points (4th in the league). If there is any facet of the game where Portland may sneak up on the Thunder, it’s in this department.
  3. SGA inefficiency from deep – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled a bit from deep this season. He is currently shooting 27.3% on 8.3 3-point attempts per game. But what about the rest of his game? He’s still shooting 51.8% on 2-point shots and 90.5% from the line. He’s increased his assist numbers, while keeping his turnovers low. He is one of the leaders in stocks on the defensive end. The 3-point shot thing may just be an extension of the preseason. Just trying things out. In fact, Dylan Huntzinger (@Thunderchets on Twitter) lays it all out in a recent article.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Thunder Preview (Game 4 of 82)

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San Antonio Spurs' Losing Streak Continues in Oklahoma City Thunder Blowout - Sports Illustrated Inside The Spurs, Analysis and More

  • San Antonio Spurs (1-2) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-0)
  • When: Wednesday, 30 October 2024 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – SAS: 108.1 (24th) / OKC: 109.2 (18th)
  • Defensive Rating – SAS: 114.1 (16th) / OKC: 90.8 (1st)
  • Net Rating – SAS: -6.0 (22nd) / OKC: 18.4 (2nd)
  • TV: ESPN

The Set-Up

I don’t want to over-react, but what the Thunder is doing so far this season is historic. Their defense has been exceptionally great. The fact that it hasn’t really mattered that the offense has been average, at best, and they are still beating teams by an average of 19.3 points is amazing to me. The Thunder’s Guard Dawgs (Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, and Cason Wallace) have caused fits for perimeter players, while Chet Holmgren patrols the paint to the tune of 4 blocks per game (1st in the league) and 13 rebounds per game (3rd in the league). In addition, you have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams ball-hawking the passing lanes. If the Thunder’s offense ever jumps into the Top-10, this team could be looking at being historic for margin of victory also.

This is the first of three meetings this season between these two teams. The Thunder won the season series last year 3-1, with an average margin of victory of 33.3 points.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -12.5
  • O/U: 221.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (hand)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)
  • Jaylin Williams – OUT (hamstring)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

SAS

  • Tre Jones – OUT (ankle)
  • Devin Vassell – OUT (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. Chet vs. Wemby – One of the budding rivalries in the league. This had Christmas Day game written all over it. You dropped the ball on that one, Silver. Luckily, all three of the meetings this year are nationally televised games. These two players always get up for this match-up. And rightfully so. This rivalry has the possibility of being an all-timer when it is all said and done between these two. Many of their match-ups last season were cut short by the score of the game, but the one game where the Spurs won, it showed how intense this rivalry could get.
  2. Pace – The Thunder and Spurs find themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to pace. Oklahoma City is 3rd in the league, while San Antonio is currently 28th. It’s no surprise when you look at the point guards for each team. That said, Chris Paul is still savvy enough to know how to control the pace and be efficient while doing it. But as long as the Thunder use their defense to jump-start their offense, there should be no reason why this game isn’t in the Thunder’s favor pace-wise.
  3. Jalen Williams – There’s a lot of buzz around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren…and deservedly so. J-Dub, the third part of that triumvirate, has yet to really catch his rhythm this season. As good as he is though, it’s only a matter of time. He showed signs of shaking off his preseason ankle injury in the last game and here’s hoping that continues moving forward.

Golden State Warriors vs. Thunder preview (Game 21 of 82)

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  • Golden State Warriors (10-11, 11th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (13-7, 2nd in the West)
  • When – Friday, 08 December 2023 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where – Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – GSW: 113.6 (15th) / OKC: 117.2 (6th)
  • Defensive Rating – GSW: 113.2 (16th) / OKC: 109.5 (3rd)
  • Net Rating – GSW: 0.4 (17th) / OKC: 7.6 (2nd)

The Set-Up

Yesterday, I was busy. So busy, in fact, that I didn’t have time to do my favorite “work, but not work” activity, which is to scroll through my Twitter timeline. When I did finally have some time to myself, I went to my adult pacifier and opened up my Twitter app. And, my word, was it a shit show. Listen, I get it. Sometimes a passionate fanbase can lend itself to hyperbolic statements from time to time. But, in the words of the youths: Bruh…stahp!. It was one bad game. Yes, it was against Houston. The team we’ve formulated this weird Twitter rivalry against ever since the James Harden trade. The team that probably killed the Thunder’s best chance at winning a championship (I’m looking at you, Pat Bev). But it was, honestly, just a weird vibes game. The Thunder had no energy from the start and Houston had a player that went supernova (Aaron Holiday). In an 82-game season, it’s going to happen from time to time.

The picture of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looking disappointed on the bench was turned into a call for the GM’s job, the coach’s job, and the trading of every player not named SGA. Building a contender takes time (years). The Thunder are 2-3 over their last 5 games. They lost to the No. 1 seed in the West by three points, the No. 4 seed in the East by 4, and then to Houston. In the process, they beat the In-Season tournament finalist Lakers by 23 and the Mavs in Dallas by 6. This team is honestly ahead of schedule and progressing just fine. Patience in a virtue, not just in life, but also in fandom. Woo-sah, people.

This is the fourth and final meeting this season between the Thunder and Warriors. The Warriors won the first meeting in Oklahoma City, while the Thunder won that last two in the Bay Area.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -2.5
  • O/U: 236.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • None

GSW

  • Gary Payton II (calf) – OUT

Three Big Things

  1. Rebounding – The ugly rebounding monster is rearing it’s ugly head again. After a couple of weeks of improved rebounding, the Thunder fell off the wagon, losing the rebounding battle 30-53 on Wednesday. Every attempt for OKC to come back in that game was thwarted by a back-breaking offensive rebound by Houston and by Super Saiyan Aaron Holiday. The Warriors are one of the better rebounding teams in the league, so the Thunder will need to be hyper-focused on making sure the rebounding battle isn’t too unbalanced.
  2. Tre Mann – I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the minutes Mann gave the Thunder on Wednesday. Thought to be lost to the abyss that is lack of developmental minutes, Mann came in and performed extremely well on both sides of the court. If teams are going to completely slack off of Josh Giddey, this may be the opportunity for the Thunder to try a new look at times in the game with Mann in as the de facto point guard. Orrrrrr, he could go back to the bench and play “victor cigar/blowout loss” minutes. It’ll be interesting to see how Coach Daigneault moves forward in this situation.
  3. Chris Paul – As we head towards an important arena vote on December 12th, I just want to give my flowers to the man who was OKC’s first professional superstar…even as a rookie. Paul’s rookie and sophomore seasons were played in OKC as a member of the OKC/NO Hornets and his passion for the game spilled over into the fan base pretty quickly. We’ve all had a love/hate relationship with CP3 over the years, but there’s no doubt the importance he’s had on Oklahoma hoops.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Thunder preview (Game 7 of 82)

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  • Atlanta Hawks (4-2) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3)
  • When: Monday, 06 November 2023 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – ATL: 119.3 (3rd) / OKC: 113.2 (10th)
  • Defensive Rating – ATL: 111.8 (19th) / OKC: 114.4 (21st)
  • Net Rating – ATL: 7.4 (6th) / OKC: -1.2 (15th)

The Set-Up

Perspective. We could be 5-1. The Pelicans and Warriors games both came down to the final possession. A change of a call here, a different outcome of a play there, and the Thunder come out victorious. We could also be 2-4. Those final possession games plus the game in Cleveland could have all finished in different ways for the Thunder. But alas, we currently sit at 3-3 and, honestly, it feels about right.

Offensively, the Thunder seems to be right where it needs to be at 10th. They love the transition game and have an improving half-court game. But defensively, is where I thought the Thunder would make their mark. When healthy last season, they were a top-10 defensive team, if not higher. With the addition of Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace, it was thought that this would catapult the team into at least a consistent top-10 outfit. But they currently stand at 21st. If the Thunder are going to improve their record, it’s got to start on the defensive end of the floor.

Injury Report

OKC

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (knee) – Questionable
  • Kenrich Williams (back)

ATL

  • Kobe Bufkin (thumb)
  • Wesley Matthews (calf)

Three Big Things

  1. Trae Young – Oklahoma doesn’t lay claim to many basketball greats, but since the Thunder have been in town, Trae Young and Blake Griffin have been the top basketball players associated with Oklahoma that don’t wear Thunder jerseys. While Griffin’s time in basketball appears to be nearing an end, Trae’s prime is likely just beginning. Currently averaging 21.7 points and 10.3 assists, Young is the head of what has been an offensive juggernaut here to begin the season. The Hawks boast nine players averaging double figures and are second in the league in points per game at 122.8. Many fans will cheer for Young at the beginning of the game, but may change their tune as the game continues.
  2. Very Similar – In doing my research for this game, I noticed that the Thunder and Hawks were very similar, in terms of stats. They are 1st and 2nd in the league in percentage of field goals from the mid-range. They are 4th and 5th in pace, true shooting percentage, and field goal percentage. They are 1st and 3rd in free throw percentage. They are 15th and 16th in number of possessions.
  3. Rebounding – Where these two teams deviate heavily is on the boards. By all stats, Atlanta is one of the top rebounding teams in the league and OKC is one of the league’s worst. It has actually cost the Thunder some games this season and should be a point of emphasis for the team moving forward.

ClickTown – August 19th, 2019

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clicktown

Read the latest Thunder happenings here on ClickTown.

Nick Friedell (ESPN) with an in-depth look at Darius Bazley’s unique path to the NBA: “While some endorsers get a taste of that with their sneaker companies, Bazley got far more up-close experience, not just getting a tour on a quick visit, but having the opportunity to spend days sitting in meetings, doing product testing and contributing in meaningful ways beyond just picking a sneaker he liked.Β In true 21st century NBA fashion, Bazley also got to learn about building a personal brand from New Balance’s digital and social teams, even using his Instagram account to provide insight into what his internship was like.”

Per EuroHoops, Billy Donovan went overseas to meet with Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder: “I am here to meet with Danilo Gallinari who is our new player in Oklahoma City. Before arriving here, I was in Germany and met with Dennis Schroder. We like to meet with our players during the summer in their home countries and of course, it’s great to see them competing at this level.” Continue reading →