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Washington Wizards vs. Thunder preview (Game 6 of 82)

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Alex Roig

Washington Wizards (1-3) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (5-0)
When: Thursday, 30 October 2025 at 7:00pm CST
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: FDSN-OK
Offensive Rating: WAS: 111.0 (23rd) / OKC: 111.9 (21st)
Defensive Rating: WAS: 119.1 (24th) / OKC: 103.6 (1st)
Net Rating: WAS: -8.1 (25th) / OKC: 8.4 (6th)

The Set-Up

Little brothers. I never had one growing up, but I hear they can be a little annoying from time to time. Always copying what you do and then trying to eventually one up you. The Washington Wizards are currently in the “copying” phase of their little brother-dom. In the summer of 2023, after years of mediocrity, the Wizards finally charted a course towards a total rebuild. One of their first steps was hiring Will Dawkins, who had previously held the position of Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Oklahoma City Thunder, under the tutelage of Sam Presti. Dawkins played a big part in overseeing the OKC rebuild which began in the summer of 2019 and saw them be a play-in team by the time he departed in 2023.

Under Dawkins, the Wizards are charting a similar path in their rebuild. They started by offloading their aging, expensive star in Bradley Beal in exchange for Chris Paul and a haul of draft picks (sound familiar?). Then they traded Kristaps Porzingis and somehow acquired Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala (again, sound familiar?). In all, they’ve started to build through the draft and a currently in the “roster exploration” phase of their rebuild. The team looks like they have some good pieces, but the question in any rebuild is always: do you have a potential top-5 player on your team? And that answer is currently “No” for the ‘Zards.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the Thunder and Wizards. The Thunder have won 6 straight games against Washington, dating back to 2022, by an average margin of 21 points.

Betting Info presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC -15.5
O/U: 230.5

Injury Report

OKC

Chet Holmgren – OUT (back)
Isaiah Joe – Questionable (knee)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee – ACL)
Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
Jalen Williams – OUT (wrist)
Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

WAS

Marvin Bagley III – Questionable (ankle)

Three Big Things

Upset Potential – I wouldn’t say this is a trap game, because the previous game and the next game after this one aren’t necessarily match-ups of interest. But, for as young as the Wizards are, they’ve at least been competitive in their first four games. With the champs coming into this game tired and injured, this could be a game where the young Washington squad comes into it inspired, trying to win one for their general manager.
Scoring in the Paint – The Thunder are 9th in the league in points in the paint at 54 points per game. The Wizards are the 8th worst team in defending points in the paint, allowing 55 points per game. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell consistently getting into the paint, this could be how the Thunder take control of this game.
Nikola Topic – As I was typing this up, I just received the news that Topic, who had a testicular procedure several weeks ago, is confirmed to be suffering from testicular cancer. It’s another tough break for the young man who sat out his rookie season recovering from a torn ACL and now sees his sophomore season in jeopardy because of this God-forsaken ailment. Prayers up that they caught it early and it becomes just a blip on Topic’s life journey. As someone who lost a parent to cancer, this cuts deep. As always when it comes to this subject matter: Fuck Cancer! If you want to help in the fight, please consider donating to the American Cancer Society. And if you donate because of this, please mark it down as: in honor of Nikola Topic.

Wizards vs. Thunder preview (Game 48 of 82)

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Alex Roig

Washington-Wizards okc thunder

When: Thursday, 25 January 2018 at 7:00 pm CST
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: TNT
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
Line: OKC -5.0 | O/U – 213

The Set-Up: There’s a purveying thought in the NBA that the mark of a good team is taking care of business at home, beating the teams you are supposed to beat handily, and winning some of the games against the teams either at your level or above you. While that all may be true, one of the “shhhhh, it’s a secret” signs that you are a good team is the ability to coast through much of a game against an inferior opponent and then completely snatch their heart out at the end of the game. Continue reading →

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Divison

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Alex Roig

Southeast Division Preview

1. Washington Wizards

Last season: 44-38 (2nd in the Southeast Division, 5th in the Eastern Conference)

Season ended: Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Indiana Pacers

Key Additions:

DeJuan Blair – Sign and trade from the Dallas Mavericks
Kris Humphries – Sign and trade from the Boston Celtics
Paul Pierce – Free agent signing

Key Departures:

Trevor Ariza – Signed with the Houston Rockets
Trevor Booker – Signed with the Utah Jazz

Season Preview – The young players for the Wizards finally started coming into their own last season. John Wall became an All-Star for the first time, and Bradley Beal showed signs of being one of the best 2-guards in the league. In addition, the acquisitions of Nene and Marcin Gortat have given this team an inside/outside balance that is one of the better ones in the league. The loss of Trevor Ariza may show itself more on the defensive end, but Pierce should be an adequate stop-gap as the Wizards wait on the development of Otto Porter. The only trip up I see with this team is perimeter depth. If Wall or Beal go down for any extended amount of time, this team could be in trouble.

2014-15 will be successful if: The Wizards make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Projected 2014-15 Record: 49-33

2. Charlotte Hornets

Last season: 43-39 (3rd in the Southeast Division, 7th in the Eastern Conference)

Season ended: Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Miami Heat.

Key Additions:

P.J. Hairston – Draft (No. 26 in the 2014 NBA Draft)
Brian Roberts – Free agent signing
Lance Stephenson – Free agent signing
Noah Vonleh – Draft (No. 9 in the 2014 NBA Draft)
Marvin Williams – Free agent signing

Key Departures:

Luke Ridnour – Signed with the Orlando Magic
Josh McRoberts – Signed with the Miami Heat
Anthony Tolliver – Signed with the Phoenix Suns
Brendan Haywood – Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Chris Douglas-Roberts – Signed with the Los Angeles Clippers

Season Preview – The Hornets (formerly the Bobcats) come into this season with as high of expectations as they’ve ever had in their 10 year reincarnation. Michael Jordan and GM Rich Cho have slowly put together a balanced team that is built on defense. The key now will be developing the young talent they’ve obtained over the past 2 seasons, while also learning how to consistently win. Al Jefferson provides the Hornets with a go-to scorer, while Stephenson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will be nightmares on the defensive end for opposing wings. If the Hornets can find consistent scoring from the perimeter, they may be a surprise team in the East.

2014-15 will be successful if: The Hornets make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Projected 2014-15 Record: 47-35

3. Miami Heat

Last season: 54-28 (1st in the Southeast Division, 2nd in the Eastern Conference)

Season ended: Game 5 loss in the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs

Key Additions:

Luol Deng – Free agent signing
Danny Granger – Free agent signing
Josh McRoberts – Free agent signing
Shabazz Napier – Draft (No. 24 in the 2014 NBA Draft)

Key Departures:

LeBron James – Signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers
James Jones – Signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Ray Allen – Unsigned
Shane Battier – Retired
Rashard Lewis – Signed with the Dallas Mavericks
Toney Douglas – Signed overseas
Michael Beasley – unsigned

Season preview – It was a good run, boys. The four year “Big 3” experiment yielded four consecutive trips to the Finals and two championships. “Not 1, not 2…” wait, yeah, only 2. LeBron James returning back to Cleveland has brought the Heat back down a notch or two on the NBA spectrum. While Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh are still in tow, the engine that made the team run is no longer there. The team that we’ve seen for the past four years will be completely different. No longer will the threat of a driving James cause defenses to collapse into the paint, leaving a plethora of wide open shooters. Instead, Miami will likely run its offense inside/out through Bosh. Gone are the shooters that provided that floor spacing for James and Wade to operate. And the lingering concern over Wade’s health still remains. The Heat will still win games, but there will be a significant drop-off from the previous four seasons.

2014-15 will successful if: The Heat make it to the Eastern Conference Finals

Projected 2014-15 Record: 44-38

4. Atlanta Hawks

Last season: 38-44 (4th in the Southeast Division, 8th in the Eastern Conference)

Season ended: Game 7 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Indiana Pacers

Key Additions:

Kent Bazemore – Free agent signing
Adreian Payne – Draft (No. 15 in the 2014 NBA Draft)
Thabo Sefolosha – Free agent signing

Key Departures:

Lou Williams – Traded to the Toronto Raptors
Elton Brand – Unsigned
Gustavo Ayon – Signed overseas
Lucas Nogueira – Traded to the Toronto Raptors

Season preview – If there is a team in the league that wants the season to start already, it is the Atlanta Hawks. The offseason can be a cruel time for a team that is embroiled in controversy. The Bruce Levenson/Danny Ferry race fiasco is a situation that probably won’t be completely resolved until next season. On the court, Atlanta is one of those teams that’s always good enough to win more games than it should, but loses out on getting a good draft pick because of that. Al Horford returns after missing most of last season with a torn right pectoral muscle. Their front line of Horford, Pero Antic, and Paul Millsap will be one of the more dynamic front courts in the league. The addition of Sefolosha will help shore up the perimeter defensively, but will provide little from an offensive standpoint.

2014-15 will be successful if: The Hawks make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Projected 2014-15 Record: 40-42

5. Orlando Magic

Last season: 23-59 (5th in the Southeast Division, 13th in the Eastern Conference)

Season ended: Last day of the regular season

Key Additions:

Evan Fournier – Obtained in a trade with the Denver Nuggets
Channing Frye – Free agent signing
Aaron Gordon – Draft (No. 4 in the 2014 NBA Draft)
Ben Gordon – Free agent signing
Willie Green – Claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Clippers
Elfrid Payton – Draft (No. 10 in the 2014 NBA Draft)
Luke Ridnour – Free agent signing

Key Departures:

Jameer Nelson – Signed with the Dallas Mavericks
Arron Afflalo – Traded to the Denver Nuggets

Season preview – The Magic are at the point in their rebuild where they need to decide on what to do with some of their young guys. Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris will be coming up on restricted free agency next offseason, with Andrew Nicholson, Maurice Harkless, and Fournier coming up with offseason after that. The Magic will probably be a big player at the trade deadline as they need to start moving some of their young pieces for either a big name player or assets. On the court, the Magic will continue to be an uptempo transition team, especially with Payton manning the point. Victor Oladipo will need to show improvement on his jump-shot, but Ben Gordon and Frye will provide some of the spacing Oladipo needs to operate. I see the Magic slightly improving, but still struggling to consistently win.

2014-15 will be successful if: The young guys continue to develop and the Magic end up with a Top 7 pick.

Projected 2014-15 Record: 26-56

Washington Wizards vs. Oklahoma City Thunder preview (Game 6 of 82)

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Alex Roig

When – Sunday, 10 November 2013 at 6:00 PM CST
Where – Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

The Oklahoma City Thunder return home from a one game road trip to face the Washington Wizards. The Thunder come into the game having won 3 in a row to coincide with the return of Russell Westbrook. They find themselves 4-1 on the season and have used these first 5 games, against easier competition, for the most part, as an extended training to help assimilate Westbrook back into the mix. So far, it has yielded positive results.

For whatever reason, regardless of record, the Wizards always seem to give the Thunder problems. Its just one of those teams that matches up well against us. The teams have split their season series in the previous two full season and the Wizards won the only meeting between the two teams in the strike shortened season.

The Opponent

The Washington Wizards come into this game with a 2-3 record. They started the season losing their first 3 games, but have rebounded in the last two, to include a 112-108 OT victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Wizards are led by their back court duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal who combine to score 38 points and dish out over 13 assists per game. Their biggest issue is that they aren’t very efficient in how they score as both guards are shooting under 42% from the field. Defensively, Trevor Ariza is probably their best wing defender and will take on the duties of guarding Durant. Up front, Nene and Marcin Gortat form a formidable duo capable to putting up double-doubles if allowed. The bench is led by veterans Al Harrington, Martell Webster, Kevin Seraphin, and Eric Maynor. Continue reading →

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Washington Wizards Preview (Game 34 of 82)

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Alex Roig

When: Monday, 07 January 2013 at 06:00 CST
Where: Verizon Center, Washington D.C.

This is literally the NBA’s best versus the NBA’s worst. When the Oklahoma City Thunder meet the Washington Wizards on Monday night, Washington will be 21.5 games behind the Thunder with 32 games already played. The Thunder come into the game having defeated the Toronto Raptors in a Sunday matinee, 104-92. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant led 5 Thunder players in double figures with 23 and 22 points, respectively. After dropping 3 of 6, the Thunder have won 2 in a row by an average of 18 points.

In their only meeting last season, the Wizards defeated the Thunder 105-102. That was the Thunder’s only loss in a 12 game stretch during the early portion of the strike shortened season. Wizards’ point guard John Wall led the way with a near triple double of 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Russell Westbrook had 36 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists, while Kevin Durant had 33 points, but the Thunder could never catch up after digging themselves a hole early in the game.

The Opponent

The Washington Wizards find themselves with the worst record in the NBA at 4-28. They score an anemic 88.9 points per game, good for last in the league, while allowing 97.2 points per game. Part of the reason for their slow start is the absence of John Wall, who has been sidelined with a knee injury the entire season. The Wizards start Garrett Temple and rookie Bradley Beal in the back court. Beal was rumored to be a target of the Thunder’s in a possible draft day deal involving then Thunder guard James Harden. After averaging 11 points per game his first month of the season, Beal has increased his scoring to 14.4 point per game in December and January. He has also nearly doubled his assists numbers in that same time frame from 1.6 to 3.4 assists per game. Three point specialist Martell Webster is the other starting wing at small forward. The Wizards are formidable inside with a trio of veteran big men in Emeka Okafor, Nene, and Kevin Seraphin. Together the trio combines for 31.6 points, 18.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. Off the bench, the Wizards deploy some fire power in the form of guard Jordan Crawford and Cartier Martin, who can easily rattle off 15-20 points in a game.

Probable Starters

Washington Wizards

PG – Garrett Temple
SG – Bradley Beal
SF – Martell Webster
PF – Nene
C – Emeka Okafor

Oklahoma City Thunder

PG – Russell Westbrook
SG – Thabo Sefolosha
SF – Kevin Durant
PF – Serge Ibaka
C – Kendrick Perkins

3 Keys to Victory

1) Long-term and short-term memory – The Wizards were 1-12 when the Thunder faced them last season and lost 105-102. The Wizards were 1-13 this season when they beat the Miami Heat, 105-101. Regardless of record, this is still a collection of professional players that plays in the NBA. With their record, they view the big time opponents as their playoff games.

2) Wizards inside trio (Okafor, Nene, Seraphin) vs. the Thunder’s inside trio (Perkins, Ibaka, and Nick Collison) – Though not as effective as they used to be, Emeka Okafor and Nene can still come up with double double games if given the opportunity. Seraphin is a lot like Ibaka from 2 years ago, still raw, but polished enough to give big minutes. The Wizards are the 7^th best rebounding team in the league with an average of 43.6 rebounds per game. If the Thunder big men are not on their post games, the Wizards could collect second chance boards and make a game out of this.

3) Kevin Durant – Trevor Ariza is the only player on the Wizards that has a sliver of hope of guarding Durant, and he’ll probably be out with a strained calf. Martell Webster is too short, Chris Singleton is too slow, and Jan Vesely is too European to guard Durant one on one. Hometown Durant could be on full display tonight. The only person stopping Durant tonight is Durant…and the bench if he doesn’t get off of it in the 4^th quarter.