Category Archives: Game Previews

Pre-game post

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Thunder preview (Game 55 of 82)

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  • Los Angeles Clippers (36-17, 3rd in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-17, 2nd in the West)
  • When: Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: PayCom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – LAC: 119.7 (3rd) / OKC: 119.2 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating – LAC: 114.3 (13th) / OKC: 111.9 (4th)
  • Net Rating – LAC: 5.4 (5th) / OKC: 7.3 (2nd)

The Set-Up

And we’re back to your regularly scheduled program. From the studio that brought you “28 Days Later”, “28 Weeks Later”, and “28 Years Later” comes the latest film, “28 Games Left”. An action-drama-comedy that follows a young cast of characters as they battle numerous villainous foes on their way to the promised land. A land, they once thought their ancestors would capture, but never could. The film stars up and coming action star and poet laureate Shay Gilly, eye-wear model Squints Diaganolt, comedian Dub Will-I-Ams, and method actor extraordinaire Sticks Homegren. The movie will be directed by 20-time Oscar winner and head of the Boston chapter of the Mensa Institute, Samson Prezzi.

This is the third and final meeting of the season between these two teams. The Thunder won the first meeting, 134-115, in Oklahoma City in December. The Clippers returned the favor on their homecourt, 128-117, the following month.

Magic Number

  • To lock up the 10th seed (play-in guarantee) – 20
  • To lock up the 6th seed (playoffs guaranteed) – 24

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -1.5
  • O/U: 235.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • None

LAC

  • None

Three Big Things

  1. Pace – There isn’t a ton that separates these two teams statistically. They are both great shooting team that are both disruptive defensively. Where they differ a bit is in their pace of play. The Thunder rank 10th in pace while the Clippers rank 22nd. In their win against the Clippers in December, the Thunder made it a focus to push the ball early in possessions and catch the Clippers off-balance defensively. The Clippers were more aware of that in their 2nd meeting and consistently shut that off for the Thunder.
  2. Gordon Hayward and Bismack Biyombo – The new acquisitions for the Thunder will make their debuts tonight. If you haven’t already read Dylan’s article, there are many reasons why the debut of Hayward should make you excited. Don’t expect to see too much of Biyombo. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault already said that he would be more of a situational player. We will also see the debut of married man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. If the All-Star game was any indication, married man SGA may be a completely different animal for the NBA to handle.
  3. Games of hella consequence – These are the games we were longing for when we were watching Jaylen Hoard and Georgios Kalaitzakis ball out there for the Thunder several years ago. The tie-breaker between these two teams is at stake tonight. Second place in the West is at stake tonight. Keeping pace in the top of the West is at stake tonight. And SGA’s continued MVP campaign is at stake tonight. All the rotation players for the Clippers have been in similar situations to this multiple times in their careers. For the Thunder, games like tonight are continued learning experiences, but at an accelerated pace. It’s like they are in an NBA honors class.

Thunder @ Orlando Magic preview (Game 54 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (36-17, 2nd in the West) @ Orlando Magic (29-24, 6th in the East)
  • When: Tuesday, 13 February 2024 at 6:30PM CST
  • Where: Kia Center, Orlando, FL
  • Offensive Rating – ORL: 112.6 (24th) / OKC: 119.1 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating – ORL: 112.6 (4th) / OKC: 112.0 (5th)
  • Net Rating – ORL: 0.9 (15th) / OKC: 7.2 (2nd)

The Set-Up

Let’s rewind to last year’s offseason. The schedule comes out and the only nationally televised game for the Thunder is an early season jaunt against the Orlando Magic in OKC. The number 1 pick, Paolo Banchero, versus the number 2 pick, Chet Holmgren. This was back before anyone realized the Thunder were going to do aight that season. It was going to be OKC’s time to shine.

But Chet decided to play in a Seattle pro-am that featured LeBron James. A fastbreak drive by James led to Holmgren planting his foot wrong and suffering a broken foot. Holmgren out for the season and the NBA moved quick to flex that spot to another game. Silly, NBA. But here we are nearly 16 months later and we are replaying that event. Orlando vs. OKC on TNT (this time in Orlando).

This is the 2nd and final meeting of the season between these two team. The Thunder won the first meeting in OKC, 112-100, on Topic: Thunder Fan Night in January.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -2.5
  • O/U: 223.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Bismack Biyombo (Return to Action protocol) – OUT
  • Gordon Hayward (calf) – OUT

ORL

  • None

Three Big Things

  1. Franz Wagner – I know that I should probably be worried more about Paolo Banchero. But in their last three wins, Wagner has scored 36, 34, and 38 points. He’s a lot like Jalen Williams in that he can navigate the dribble through multiple screens and score from all three levels. Wagner’s assignment will likely fall on Lu Dort or Jalen Williams, which should make for an interesting match-up.
  2. Zone-busting – Orlando has some long, physical defenders. They will likely zone a lot tonight, so the Thunder will have to find ways to bust the zone. They will have to make open shots tonight. Guys like Dort, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins will need to have efficient nights to make the lives of SGA and J-Dub a little easier.
  3. Dueling strengths and weaknesses – Another game where the strengths of one team (rebounding by Orlando) is the weakness of the other, while the strengths of one team (creating turnovers by OKC) is the weakness of the other. Here’s to OKC’s strength being more impactful than their weakness.

Thunder @ Utah Jazz preview (Game 51 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (35-15, 1st in the West) @ Utah Jazz (25-26, 10th in the West)
  • When: Tuesday, 06 February 2024 at 8:00pm CST
  • Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
  • Offensive Rating – UTA: 115.6 (16th) / OKC: 119.3 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating – UTA: 117.9 (25th) / OKC: 111.2 (4th)
  • Net Rating – UTA: -2.3 (23rd) / OKC: 8.1 (2nd)

The Set-Up

The top-4 teams in the Western Conference are separated by half a game. HALF A GAME! A rough night at the office and a team could tumble from 1st to 4th pretty quickly. The Thunder have gone from hardly playing any games of consequence over the last three seasons to playing a game of consequence almost nightly. The Thunder and Timberwolves have seemingly been tit for tat for the better part of the new year. The Clippers are the hottest team in the league right now and the Nuggets likely haven’t even started playing their best brand of basketball yet.

With all that said, I’ve been very impressed by Oklahoma City’s poise and maturity throughout the season. The start the season as the “hunters” and still have the same hunger and focus once they became the “hunted”, takes a perspective way beyond the age of most of the players of the roster. Once they win the games, though, you see this team’s age in their post-game interviews. Here’s to continuing to win while young.

This is the third meeting of the season between these two division rivals. The Thunder have won the previous two, 134-120 in December and 134-129 in January. Their fourth and final meeting of the season is on March 20th.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -3.5
  • O/U: 240.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Davis Bertans (knee) – Questionable
  • Ousmane Dieng (hip) – Questionable
  • Isaiah Joe (chest) – OUT
  • Vasilije Micic (ankle) – Questionable
  • Cason Wallace (shoulder) – Questionable
  • Lindy Waters III (ankle) – Questionable
  • Jalen Williams (ankle) – Questionable
  • Jaylin Williams (Achilles) – Questionable

UTA

  • Ochai Agbaji (illness) – Questionable

Three Big Things

  1. Trade Deadline Shenanigans – The game before the trade deadline and the game after the trade deadline always have the possibilities of being weird, roster-wise. The Thunder haven’t had an injury report that looked like that all season long. And now, the game before the trade deadline, half the roster is on the injury report. It may mean something. It may mean nothing. But it’s always shenanigans.
  2. Turn them over – The Utah Jazz are the most turnover-prone team in the league. They don’t have any real “floor-general” type players. All their point guards are undersized combo guards that aren’t great at playmaking. This plays immensely into what the Thunder do best defensively and what they like to do offensively (transition).
  3. Rebounding – Conversely, where the Jazz are great, the Thunder struggle. If the Thunder can’t turn the Jazz over and this turns into a half-court affair, the Thunder will need all-hands on deck in the rebounding department. Between Walker Kessler, John Collins, and Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz boast three guys that average 7.4 rebounds or more per game. The Thunder have only one in Chet Holmgren (7.5 rebounds per game).

Charlotte Hornets vs. Thunder preview (Game 49 of 82)

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  • Charlotte Hornets (10-36, 13th in the East) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-15, 2nd in the West)
  • When: Friday, 02 February 2024 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – CHA: 109.6 (27th) / OKC: 119.0 (6th)
  • Defensive Rating – CHA: 121.4 (30th) / OKC: 111.2 (4th)
  • Net Rating – CHA: -11.8 (30th) / OKC: 7.8 (2nd)

The Set-Up

Consistency. Getting things done in a manner that become almost habitual. When it comes to winning basketball teams, consistency usually takes the form of performance over a certain amount of time. We always hear things like “This team is 8-2 over their last 10 games”. But to remain consistent over an entire 82-game season is not just the mark of a good team. It’s usually the mark of an elite team. Also a lucky one, at that.

There are only four teams in the league that have yet to have suffered a 3-game losing streak on the season. And those four teams consist of the top two teams in each conference. We’re almost 50 games into the season. That’s not an anomaly…that’s the trend for these four teams. Even through a hellish schedule, the Thunder have remained as consistent as possible in keeping pace in the West. With a little bit of rest in the horizon, the Thunder are in prime position to make a push heading into the playoffs.

This is the first meeting of the season between these two teams. They meet again on April 7th in Charlotte.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -16.5
  • O/U: 225.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Isaiah Joe (sternal contusion) – OUT
  • Jalen Williams (ankle) – OUT

CHA

  • LaMelo Ball (ankle) – Doubtful

Three Big Things

  1. Miles Bridges and PJ Washington – For some reason, these two players terrify me (and it’s not just because Bridges can get a little physical, if you know what I mean (I’ll be here all week)). Tweeners that can masquerade as small ball 5’s give the Thunder fits. And it always seems like these two players choose their games against Oklahoma City to turn into big-bodied Stephen Currys. If LaMelo Ball is out, I know these will be the only options for the Hornets and the Thunder’s defense will be keyed in. But still….
  2. Run ‘Em and Attack the Paint – By most metrics, Charlotte is the worst defensive team in the league. They are a bottom-10 team in allowing the most points off turnovers, the most 2nd-chance points, and the most points in the paint. Surprisingly, for being such a young team, they are 22nd in pace. They are bottom-10 in turnover percentage. They are bottom-3 in true shooting percentage. Simply put, they are a bad team.
  3. Just take care of business – Simple as that.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Thunder preview (Game 47 of 82)

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  • Minnesota Timberwolves (32-14, 2nd in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (32-14, 1st in the West)
  • When: Monday, 29 January 2024 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – MIN: 114.2 (19th) / OKC: 119.4 (6th)
  • Defensive Rating – MIN: 108.9 (1st) / OKC: 111.3 (4th)
  • Net Rating – MIN: 5.2 (6th) / OKC: 8.1 (2nd)

The Set-Up

All I could think about yesterday as the clock was counting down on the Thunder’s loss to the Pistons was the scene in Avengers: Infinitiy War where Thanos is speaking to Red Skull on how to obtain the Soul Stone and Red Skull responds with “A soul for a Soul”. I rewind back to Saturday night, as I was cheering the San Antonio Spurs on for beating the Thunder’s current rivals, the Minnesota Timberwolves. At the time, I remember thinking, “Yes! We’re now officially a half game up on Minnesota and we play Detroit tomorrow.”

The assumption was that OKC would take care of business against the Pistons and put themselves a full game up on Minnesota in the standings heading into their Monday night tussle. Damn you, trap game. The Thunder were caught looking ahead and played one of their worst games of the season. The 16-point defeat was the Thunder’s worse since they lost to Denver by 33 in the third game of the season. The mentality of going from the hunter to the hunted is something that is new to this young Thunder squad. When you are on top, you get everyone’s best shot.

This is the final meeting of the season between these two teams. The Thunder lead the season series 2-1.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -2.5
  • O/U: 224.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Tre Mann (personal) – Day to Day

MIN

  • Jaylen Clark (Achilles) – OUT
  • Mike Conley (hamstring) – Questionable

Three Big Things

  1. Turn Them Over – Minnesota isn’t very adept at protecting the ball. They turn the ball over at the third worst clip in the league, averaging 15.2 turnovers per game. Conversely, the Thunder do a great job at protecting the ball (4th best) and score the most points in the league off of turnovers (20 per game). If the Thunder win this battle, they likely win the game.
  2. Pace – The Thunder love to run the pace up a bit against Minnesota, in order to prevent them from getting into their defense. If you allow Rudy Gobert to set-up in the paint, it makes it that much more difficult for the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to play their brand of basketball. The Thunder are 6th in the league at Fastbreak Points, while the Timberwolves are 4th best at defending against Fastbreak Points. If the Thunder can up the pressure because of their pace, it plays more into their brand of basketball.
  3. Lots at stake – Win today, and you win the season series against the Timberwolves outright. Meaning that if a tie occurs at the end of the season, the Thunder would finish ahead of Minnesota because of their head to head matchups. In addition, the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers don’t appear to be slowing down. Keeping pace with them will help the Thunder keep them at bay.

Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans preview (Game 45 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (31-13, 2nd in the West) @ New Orleans Pelicans (26-18, 6th in the West)
  • When: Friday, 26 January 2024 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
  • Offensive Rating – NO: 117.9 (8th) / OKC: 119.9 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating – NO: 112.7 (8th) / OKC: 111.6 (4th)
  • Net Rating – NO: 5.2 (7th) / OKC: 8.3 (2nd)

The Set-Up

If you follow me on Twitter at all, you know the disdain I have for Bally Sports. Their parent company, Sinclair, bought Fox Sports after the Disney merger for an exorbitant amount and then thought that they could bully the various cable networks and streaming services into paying a high dollar amount to show sports on their various platforms. It blew up in their face and eventually they filed for bankruptcy. But my issue is that watching games on the TV allowed many Oklahomans to fall in love with the first iteration of the Thunder. Not everyone can afford to go to games. Not everyone lives close to OKC. So the TV was their way to connect with the team.

In sports, generations are measured in 3-5 year bursts. Take a snapshot of your team now and see how it looks in 3-5 years. More than likely, it is completely different. Because of all the Bally-caused blackouts, there are a lot of people in Oklahoma, of all ages, that haven’t been able to “grow” with this new iteration of the Thunder since the rebuild started. To me, I’ll always have a sore spot for Bally for preventing a “generation” of fans from not being able to connect with this team from it’s inception.

But fast forward to the news that has been coming out over the last couple of weeks. First, Bally Sports is belly-up and only covering regional sports for the rest of this season. Secondly, Amazon seems to be making a play to somehow show the games on their platform (that is still being worked out). And, thirdly, the team, itself, came to an agreement with Bally to show all the rest of the Friday games on local cable TV throughout the state (and neighboring states). Tonight is the first game for that arrangement. The Friday games will only be shown on local TV. They will not be shown on Bally. For information regarding what channels will be showing these games, please visit: https://www.nba.com/thunder/watchlocal

This is the 2nd of three meetings this season between these two teams. The Pelicans won the first meeting early in the season, 110-106.

Betting Info

  • Line: NO -1.5
  • O/U: 239.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Olivier Sarr (hip) – OUT

NO

  • Zion Williamson (foot) – Questionable

Three Big Things

  1. Combating Size – The New Orleans Pelicans are a big team. Their front court rotation of Jonas Valanciunas, Zion Williamson, Cody Zeller, and Larry Nance Jr. are all big and beefy and their wings (Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones, and Trey Murphy III) would all be power forwards if this was the 90’s. The Thunder struggled with New Orleans’ size as the game wore on the last time they played. It’ll be interesting to see how the Thunder will combat that. They may need to use the blueprint that was used against the Minnesota Timberwolves the last couple times the team has played them. Also, this is Chet’s second time playing against Valanciunas and Chet usually does a good job of adjusting once he has a scouting report on someone.
  2. Defending the 3-point line – When you think of the Pelicans, you think of Zion’s inside prowess and Ingram’s mid-range game. But what makes New Orleans dangerous is their 3-point shooting. On the season, the Pels are shooting 38.6% from the 3-point line, which is 4th best in the league. While 3-pointers don’t account for a huge part of their offense, if they are hitting them, it makes them almost unguardable.
  3. Jalen Williams – SGA will be preoccupied a lot of the evening with Jones and Murphy. While SGA does okay against the Pels, it’s usually an inefficient night by his standards. This may be a game where Jalen Williams can go to work against a 2nd-rate defender instead of Pels main big wings.

Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs preview (Game 44 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (30-13, 1st in the West) @ San Antonio Spurs (8-35, 15th in the West)
  • When: Wednesday, 24 January 2024 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
  • Offensive Rating – SAS: 109.3 (28th) / OKC: 119.6 (6th)
  • Defensive Rating – SAS: 118.2 (25th) / OKC: 111.6 (5th)
  • Net Rating – SAS: -8.8 (26th) / OKC: 8.0 (3rd)

The Set-Up

Now comes the hard part. It’s easy to be the hunter. It’s the position most teams in the league are. But when you are at the top, you become the hunted. And that’s an entirely different set of circumstances. In a perfect world, every team would be receiving another team’s best shot in every game. But we know motivation can be a hell of a weapon. Just look at last night’s game. The Thunder needed a last second game winner (and some controversy) to come away with a 2-point victory against a team OKC had beat the previous two times they’ve played by a combined 105 points. Now when teams look at OKC, they’ll see a metaphorical crown to snatch.

This is the second of four meetings this season between these two teams. The Thunder won the first game convincingly, 123-87, in Oklahoma City, in mid-November.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -7.5
  • O/U: 242.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Olivier Sarr (hip) – Day to Day

SAS

  • Charles Bassey (knee) – OUT
  • Sidy Cissoko (ankle) – OUT
  • Tre Jones (ankle) – Questionable

Three Big Things

  1. Mental focus – There were times in the game against the Trailblazers where the Thunder weren’t necessarily playing like themselves. Going for steals which then set the back line defenders up for failure. Taking inefficient shots. Turning the ball over. It was classic “we’re better than this team and we know we can coast and still win”. And they did. It felt very 2015-2019’ish, when the Thunder would consistently play down to their opponents and need a monster comeback to win the game.
  2. The Chet vs. Wemby match-up we’ve been waiting for – The previous match-up between these two was a bit disappointing. Not necessarily disappointing because of the individual players. But disappointing because they hardly ever matched up against each other throughout the evening. San Antonio usually deploys Zach Collins to tackle the opposing center, while the Thunder look for match ups that keep Chet closest to the rim. Luckily for us, the Spurs have recently been using starting line-ups that feature only Wembanyama as the center.
  3. Pace Race – These two teams love to push the ball up the floor. They are top-7 in the league in both pace and fast-break points. Should make for a fun game for the national TV audience.

Portland Trailblazers vs. Thunder preview (Game 43 of 82)

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  • Portland Trailblazers (12-30, 4th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (29-13, 2nd in the West)
  • When: Tuesday, 23 January 2024 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – POR: 107.6 (30th) / OKC: 119.8 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating – POR: 117.2 (23rd) / OKC: 111.7 (5th)
  • Net Rating – POR: -9.6 (28th) / OKC: 8.1 (3rd)

The Set-Up

The number one seed in the Western Conference is within the Thunder grasp. A win tonight, and the Thunder tie the Timberwolves for first in the West, while also owning the tie-breaker against Minnesota. Hot on the Thunder’s tail, though, is the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. This just shows you the competitiveness of the West. In the Eastern Conference, the first and sixth seeds are separated by 9.5 games. In the West, the first and sixth seeds are separated by only 5 games. If you have a bad week in the West, leap-frogging will occur.

This has made the Thunder’s rise even more impressive. Young teams tend to ride the highs and focus too much on the lows. But the Thunder seem to be the most even-keeled young team in recent memory. The ability to not only keep climbing, but also keep the teams behind them at bay has been very surprising. How this bides for them for the rest of the season remains to be seen. But early returns have been extremely positive.

This is the third of four meetings this season between these two teams. The Thunder have been dominant in their first two meetings, beating the Trailblazers by 43 and 62 points, respectively.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -13.5
  • O/U: 233.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • None

POR

  • Moses Brown (shoulder) – OUT
  • Shaedon Sharpe (lower abdominal strain/thigh) – OUT
  • Robert Williams III (knee) – OUT

Three Big Things

  1. Number 1 Seed in Sight – A win tonight accomplishes several things for the Thunder. If the Thunder get the W, then they would be tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for first in the West. They would be the number one seed because they own the tie-breaker against Minnesota by virtue of their win on Saturday. But a win tonight also gives the team one more division victory, which could pay dividends for future tie-breakers. The top three teams in the West are all from the Northwest division. It also allows them to stay ahead of the fast-charging Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers.
  2. Trap-Game Possibilities – When you beat a team by a combined 105 points in your two meetings against them, it would almost be human nature to look past them. Despite their putrid record, the Blazers have won two of their last three games. Even though the Thunder have shown a propensity to not fail in trap-game situations, the possibility is always there.
  3. Second-Chance Points – The Trailblazers aren’t good at a lot of things. But one thing that they are good at is offensive rebounding and 2nd-chance points. These are all things that keep bad, young teams in games. Eliminate these things and you eliminate one of their main sources of offense.

Thunder @ Los Angeles Clippers preview (Game 40 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (27-12, 2nd in the West) @ Los Angeles Clippers (25-14, 4th in the West)
  • When: Tuesday, 16 January 2024 at 9:00pm CST
  • Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
  • Offensive Rating – LAC: 119.0 (6th) / OKC: 119.8 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating – LAC: 113.7 (13th) / OKC: 111.1 (5th)
  • Net Rating – LAC: 5.3 (6th) / OKC: 8.7 (2nd)

The Set-Up

The saying goes, “It’s a make or miss league”. When you are making the shots, things look beautiful. But when you are struggling to make the shots, what does your team rely upon? This is the question as the Thunder continue on in a season where the expectation is no longer just the play-in or the playoffs. The expectation is now high seed and playoff advancement. That question will become a lot louder because playoff teams will try their hardest to make the Thunder do the things that make them the most uncomfortable. Last night, the Lakers allowed players like Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Jaylin Williams, and Cason Wallace to have open looks from deep. Combined, those four players shot 9/26 overall (34.6%) and 7/20 from deep (35%). The 3-point shooting was not terribly bad from that collective, but every shot that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Joe don’t take, is a win for the defense.

This is the second of three meetings this season between these two teams. On December 21st, the Thunder beat the Clippers 134-115 in Oklahoma City, on a night where the Clippers were coming into town riding a 9-game win streak.

Betting Info

  • Line: LAC -5.5
  • O/U: 237.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • None

LAC

  • Moussa Diabate (hand) – OUT
  • Ivica Zubac (calf) – OUT

Three Big Things

  1. Make Shots – Simple as that. Last night’s game turns out very differently if the guys just shoot their averages. The other team’s defense gets a little more comfortable camping out around the lane when the shots aren’t falling. Softening that by making shots will make life a little bit easier for SGA and Jalen Williams.
  2. Chet – Holmgren is still figuring out the Rubix cube that is a couple of centers around the league (namely Anthony Davis and Domantas Sabonis). But tonight, with Ivica Zubac out, Chet will be facing the two-headed monster of Daniel Theis and Mason Plumlee. I, hopefully, only say that in jest. He should be due for a big game tonight.
  3. Fire extinguisher – The Thunder once again face the Clippers as they come into this contest as one of the hottest teams in the league. Los Angeles has won 8 of their last 10 and is quickly moving up the standings in the West. As a team that the Thunder want to keep at bay, it will be interesting to see how the Thunder bounce back from yesterday’s loss.
  4. Bonus – Just want to say “hi” to Russell Westbrook.

Thunder @ Los Angeles Lakers preview (Game 39 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (27-11, 2nd in the West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (19-21, 11th in the West)
  • When: Monday, 15 January 2024 at 9:30pm CST
  • Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
  • Offensive Rating – LAL: 112.2 (24th) / OKC: 120.2 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating – LAL: 114.0 (14th) / OKC: 111.0 (3rd)
  • Net Rating – LAL: -1.8 (21st) / OKC: 9.2 (2nd)

The Set-Up

Listen, I’m still reeling from Saturday. The love you guys showed us on Saturday was amazing. Getting to meet many of you guys at The Parlor and then hanging out at the game was a frickin’ movie. Thank you for the motivation to continue showing up and putting together this page and this podcast. We could not do it without you guys. Here’s to many more years of love and success. Now, before I get too sappy, there is a game tonight.

This is the third of four meetings this season between these two games. The Thunder won the first meeting, 133-110, back on November 30th. The Lakers returned the favor on December 23rd, winning in OKC, 129-120. Their final game of the season is on March 4th, 2024.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -3.5
  • O/U: 237.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (knee) – Questionable

LAL

  • Anthony Davis (ankle) – Questionable
  • LeBron James (ankle) – Probable
  • Cam Reddish (knee) – OUT
  • D’Angelo Russell (illness) – Questionable
  • Gabe Vincent (knee) – OUT

Three Big Things

  1. SGA – When the day first started, the Lakes were favored. But as the day progressed, the line shifted towards favoring the Thunder. Which likely means, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be available to play tonight. If he is, watch out, because SGA loves to play under the bright lights in LA.
  2. Physicality – One of the biggest issues the Thunder face when battling the Lakers, is their size up front. Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Christian Woods are just large individuals. And when they play against the Thunder, who start a “still thin” Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, they do struggle, at times, to match the size and strength of other teams. Expect Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams to play some minutes in this game.
  3. Defending Without Fouling – The Lakers attempt the 7th most amount of free throws in the league at 24.4 attempts per game. The Thunder, on the other hand, foul the 10th most in the league. Players like James and Davis are foul-magnets and the Thunder have a tendency to be hyper-aggressive defensively, which can lead to dumb fouls and an unbalanced free throw count between the two teams. The Thunder have to play their game defensively, but play it intelligently.