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Phoenix Suns vs. Thunder preview (Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals)

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  • #8 Phoenix Suns (0-1) vs. #1 Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0)
  • When: Wednesday, 22 April 2026 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: ESPN
  • Series Record: OKC leads 1-0

The Tip-Off

With 8:05 left in the first quarter, Phoenix held a 12-9 lead and had a little momentum in the early going of the game. The jump shots were falling on their end and the Thunder were missing on the other end. If the Suns were going to steal a game, this is the recipe that would need to be used.

Then Jalen Williams happened.

An open three off a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kickout. Then an immediate steal and transition dunk off a Jalen Green turnover and the Thunder held their first lead of the game. A lead, they would never relinquish. A couple possessions later, Dillon Brooks tried to physically back Dub down, but was met with equal physicality and lost the ball, which popped up right into the waiting arms of Chet Holmgren. And, as Brooks is prone to do, he swiped in the direction of the ball, but caught Holmgren’s face. The ref reviewed it, hit Brooks with a Flagrant-1, and Holmgren hit four free throws (two from the flagrant and then two on a subsequent foul on the offensive possession). By the end of the first quarter, OKC held a 15-point lead.

If you are going to come back on OKC, though, the time to do it is when SGA is sitting on the bench. And that usually occurs in the first six minutes of the 2nd quarter and first six minutes of the fourth quarter (if the game is close enough (wink!)). So there was a little ray of hope for Phoenix (see what I did there?) heading into the 2nd quarter.

Then Jaylin Williams happened.

The Thunder led 37-23 when Jaylin Williams checked into the game for Isaiah Hartenstein. For the next 4.5 minutes, J-Will put on a defensive clinic, the likes we’ve never seen from Williams. In that time span, J-Will had 4 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist, and 2 points. That 14-point lead ballooned up to 23 by the time Williams sat back down with 6:01 left in the quarter. It was pretty much game after that…all on the back of two guys with the initials J. Williams.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -17.5
  • O/U: 215.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Thomas Sorber – OUT (knee/ACL)

PHX

  • Grayson Allen – Questionable (hamstring)
  • Jordan Goodwin – Questionable (calf)
  • Mark Williams – Questionable (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. 0-0 Mentality – I know this is the Thunder’s mantra. And they seem to be living by it 100% of the time. But we also know that human nature is real. And the possibility of letting up after demolishing a team while your best player has a subpar game is there. We kind of saw that in the Memphis series last postseason. OKC won the first game by 51 points and then won the second game by 19. But in Game 3, Memphis came out like an injured animal with their back against the wall and had the Thunder down by 29 points before Ja Morant left the game with an injured hip. It took a historic comeback in the second half for OKC to escape with a narrow victory in that game. By Game 4, Memphis kind of started to figure out the Thunder’s Rubik’s cube, even without Morant, and gave the Thunder a helluva game, losing by only two in the series clincher for OKC. There are many lessons that can be gleaned from last year’s postseason run, and these may be two of the most important ones: Sometimes your toughest opponent is complacency and you can’t take your margin of victory from the last game Linto the next game.
  2. SGA – OKC won by 35 despite SGA having shooting splits of 28/0/88. We used to make fun of Kyle Singler for having a shooting split total under 100, and SGA nearly did that in this game. With all that said, Phoenix was being physical with him and was sending doubles at various points in the game. But the evolution of SGA’s game is that he also had 7 assists and 0 turnovers. If “the others” are making enough shots and the defense is up to the Thunder standard, there may not be a necessity for a hyper-efficient SGA game.
  3. Take Care of Business – While the series on the other side of the bracket are both tied at 1 game apiece, the Lakers are taking care of business against the Rockets on OKC’s side of the bracket. The hope was that the 4/5 matchup would be a 6 or 7 game series, but the reality is this Kevin Durant-led team appears to be heading down the path most Durant-led teams have gone, and that’s implosion. A Lakers sweep would give them time to rest, heal up, and be ready for the second round. Not that it worries me that much, but making sure that OKC gets the same amount of time to rest up would be beneficial.

Thunder @ Philadelphia 76ers preview (Game 72 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (56-15, 1st in the West) @ Philadelphia 76ers (39-32, 7th in the East)
  • When: Monday, 23 March 2026 at 6:00pm CST
  • Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: PHI: 114.1 (15th) / OKC: 117.1 (7th)
  • Defensive Rating: PHI: 114.6 (16th) / OKC: 106.1 (1st)
  • Net Rating: PHI: -0.5 (19th) / OKC: 11.0 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: PHI: Winners of 4 of their last 5 / OKC: Winners of 11 straight

The Tip-Off

I don’t have a big issue with the ejections or the suspensions, if the play or player warrants it. I just want consistency throughout the punishment process. My objection to Ajay Mitchell’s suspension is “was he just supposed to take the slap to the face?” Since when did the NBA turn into a religious organization that mandates turning the other cheek when struck or being pacifists when the other team is escalating the situation? How can a player (Anthony Gill) be fined after the game, but suffer no consequences in-game? Would the NBA’s behavior czar, James Jones, be so keen on doing nothing if he got slapped in the face? Like, make it make sense, because if it doesn’t make sense, then teams will try to approach the Thunder like this in the playoffs in hopes of getting the right person suspended for a game or more.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the Thunder and Sixers. OKC won the first meeting by 25 in a game that saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren combine for 56 points on 22/30 shooting from the field. The Thunder were only up by 2 at halftime and completely dominated Philly in the 2nd half.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -16
  • O/U: 224.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Ajay Mitchell – OUT (suspension)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)

PHI

  • Dominick Barlowe – Questionable (ankle)
  • Johni Broome – OUT (knee)
  • Joel Embiid – OUT (oblique)
  • Paul George – OUT (suspension)
  • Quentin Grimes – Questionable (illness)
  • Tyrese Maxey – OUT (finger)
  • Kelly Oubre Jr – OUT (elbow)

Three Big Things

  1. Welcome Back, Dub – Jalen Williams returns to the lineup after reaggravating his hamstring on February 11th. I know the Thunder would never put any of their players in danger of reinjury, but it’s still scary as OKC navigates the rest of the season in hoping that Dub is truly over his hamstring issues. We’ve seen how hamstring injuries have affected Aaron Gordon and the Denver Nuggets through their series with OKC last postseason and throughout this season. OKC has proven throughout the regular season that they can navigate the choppy waters without Dub. But the postseason is an entirely different monster and having a healthy Dub available is probably the biggest X-factor for OKC.
  2.  Jared McCain – It was only 1.5 seasons, but McCain’s impact on Philly was felt when he got traded at the deadline in February. Tyrese Maxey was feeling some sort of way when the trade happened, and Sixers GM Darryl Morey had to explain that he was “selling high” when he shipped McCain off for a 2026 Houston Rockets first and three future second round picks. After struggling with injuries for much of the past season, McCain has assimilated almost seamlessly onto the Thunder and has become a key rotational piece off the bench. His floor spacing and play-making has filled a need the Thunder were vastly seeking in this injury-plagued season. In 19 games since the trade, McCain is averaging 12.3 points on 41% shooting from deep for OKC. Supposedly, there will be a video tribute for McCain tonight, which is high praise, considering he only played 60 games for the franchise and also considering that this is Philadelphia we’re talking about. Philly sports have gone soft.
  3. Big Man superiority – With Joel Embiid being out, the Sixers will need to rely on Adem Bona and Andre Drummond. I fully expect the Thunder’s big man trio of Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams to dominate in all aspects of post play.

Thunder @ Houston Rockets preview (Game 42 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (34-7, 1st in the West) @ Houston Rockets (23-14, 6th in the West)
  • When: Thursday, 15 January 2026 at 6:30pm CST
  • Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
  • TV: Prime Video / FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: HOU: 120.0 (3rd) / OKC: 118.2 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating: HOU: 112.7 (9th) / OKC: 105.4 (1st)
  • Net Rating: HOU: 7.3 (2nd) / OKC: 12.8 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: HOU: 2-4 in their last 6 / OKC: 4 straight wins, 8-2 in last 10

The Set-Up

The second half of the season begins the same way the first half of the season did…against the Houston Rockets. After a 24-1 start to the season, the Thunder stumbled a bit in December, specifically against the San Antonio Spurs, and hit a bit of a funk. Fatigue, injuries, and the unrelenting nature of the schedule in late December and January all played a part in tiring the Thunder and making them look, dare I say, vulnerable. At the half-way point, OKC finds themselves at 34-7. The Thunder are the top team in Defensive Rating, Net Rating, Field Goals Made, Turnover Percentage (giving up the least amount of turnovers), Opponent Turnover Percentage (forcing the most turnovers), Points off Turnovers, Opponent 2nd Chance Points, Opponent Fastbreak Points, and Opponent Points in the Paint. They are 2nd in Points Per Game, Turnovers Per Game (limiting turnovers), and Opponent Effective FG% (opponents shoot 2nd worst against OKC). Ironically, for all the discourse in the NBA zeitgeist, the Thunder rank 14th in Free Throw Attempts per game.

This is the 2nd of 3 meetings this season between the Rockets and Thunder. The first game was a memorable, double-OT affair that opened up the 2025-26 NBA season. In that game, OKC won 125-124, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander putting up 35 points and Chet Holmgren adding in 28 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -4.5
  • O/U: 222.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Lu Dort – Questionable (foot)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)

HOU

  • Tari Eason – OUT (ankle)
  • Dorian Finney-Smith – OUT (ankle)
  • Fred VanVleet – OFS (knee/ACL)

Three Big Things

  1. Rebounding and 2nd Chance Points – The Houston Rockets are dominant on the glass this season. They rank first in Offensive Rebounds per game at 16.4, nearly 3 whole rebounds more than the 2nd place team. They also lead the league in rebounds per game at 49.1. They are also first in Offensive Rebound percentage and Rebound percentage. Due to this, they are also first in the league at 2nd Chance Points per game at 18.6. The Thunder, themselves, haven’t been slouches on the glass, ranking 5th in Defensive Rebounds per game and also being the best team at defending 2nd Chance Points per game. With that said, when you point to a weakness on the Thunder, securing those offensive rebounds, especially at critical points in the game, has been an issue. The absence of Isaiah Hartenstein (and Jaylin Williams, until he returned a couple of games ago) over the past month, has had an effect on how well the Thunder have been able to rebound the ball. A positive from this, though, is that since Jan. 29th, Chet Holmgren ranks 6th in the league with 10.1 rebounds per game.
  2.  Pace – While players like Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun are great in the half-court, Houston, as a team, ranks 28th in Pace. They don’t get out and run as much as most “young” teams do. In addition, they are the 6th worst team in coughing up the ball, giving it up at a clip of 15.6 turnovers per game. If Oklahoma City is able to generate turnovers, like they usually do, and get out in transition, like they usually do, this will play greatly in their favor and may be able to offset any advantage Houston has on the boards.
  3. Packing the Paint – While the Rockets have a top-3 offense in the league, their offensive style of play plays right into what the Thunder like to do defensively. Houston is 29th in 3-point attempts and 25th in 3-point makes. They are 3rd in percentage of points scored from 2-point range, 2nd in percentage of points scored in the mid-range, and 8th in percentage of point scored in the paint. Conversely, OKC is the best team at defending points in the paint and have a defensive ethos of defending from the paint out.

The Future Is Now

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Before we get started here, lets talk about a few things as it pertains to Luguentz Dort. He is the longest tenured member of the Thunder roster, seeing as we signed him as an undrafted free agent prior to making the trade to acquire Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has been here as we transitioned from a fools gold contender to an over-achieving playoff team to a full-on rebuild to NBA Champions to being the hunted. I’ll never forget Lu’s debut game.

We had just made the trade to jettison Paul George for Shai, Danilo Gallinari, and picks (lots of picks, juicy ones even). We made a move that many thought blasphemous in trading the King of the Prairie, the *then* greatest player in Thunder history, our Brodie, Russell Westbrook, for a seemingly washed up, flopping, complaining Chris Paul. We started off that season slowly, opening up just 1-4, and then 8-12 going into a road matchup against the 10-10 Minnesota Timberwolves. Dort entered into his first NBA game with OKC down 3 to start the 2nd quarter, and almost immediately, he forced a jump ball, which led to OKC gaining possession. He would then miss a layup, collect a rebound, and strip Jarrett Culver all within 3 minutes of action before he checked out. He returned to the game down 1 with 4:21 left in the 3rd and… nothing happened. He checked out about 2 minutes later, with not a single stat. He came back in with :30 left in the 3rd, and in :18 did nothing.

Tale as old as time, young undrafted kid gets his shot in the big leagues, has a couple of promising moments, but ultimately isn’t quite ready for the moment. Oh well, can’t blame Billy Donovan for trying. He would sit out for what seemed like the rest of the game, until he didn’t.

After a tough miss from Dennis Schroeder and a tough KAT rebound, the Wolves called a timeout with :17 seconds left in the game. Shai, CP3, Dennis Schroder, Gallo, and Steven Adams had all played great that day with the guard trio tallying over 100 points between the 3 of them. But in this moment they needed a stop, and none of them were most notably known for their defense. As the horn buzzed to end the timeout, you see Gallo take a seat on the bench and #5 walk back out onto the court in a defensive stance in front of Shabazz Napier. Napier gives him a move and heads towards the sideline, Josh Okogie whips a pass to Napier who has a step on Dort. He fumbles the ball, and out of instinct Lu lays out onto the floor to secure the ball and calls a timeout with :14 left to play.

What happened next is a thing of Thunder legend. The infamous Chris Paul/Jordan Bell untucked jersey delay of game call to put the Thunder within 2 instead of 3, the Hail Mary pass from Steve to Dennis on a go route, securing the catch and having the wherewithal to bank it in simultaneously as the clock expires to send the game to OT.

Shai would go onto scored 11 of the final 17 Thunder points (he was that dude, even then), the Wolves would only score 6 more points, and the Thunder would improve to 9-12. They would go on a run after that, going 31-12 going into the infamous Rudy Gobert covid game. And that win against the Wolves, the turnaround in the season, taking the Rockets to 7 in the playoffs, you can legitimately say is all because of Lu Dort.

Since then, we have had some truly iconic moments with Lu. The Dorty Fourty, the steal and lay up against De’Arron Fox, “can’t hit what you can’t see” against LeBron James, and many many more. Dort has been a fan favorite since that fateful day in Minnesota and has been a vital piece to this franchise.

Now that that has been said, lets address the linebacker looking elephant in the room.

Lu Dort, for whatever reason, has regressed in almost every statistical category.

In the 19 games he has played in (almost 1/4 of the season) Lu is averaging the worst FG% and 3P% of his entire career. Its heart breaking to see the ball swing, and swing, and end up in Lu’s hands in the corner, the fans expectantly bellowing “LUUUUUUUU” for the also collective “awwww” of disappointment, but that seems to be the case so far in this season for Dort.

It hasn’t been much better on defense, which is where Dort hangs his hat. He is averaging a career low in steals at .8 per game, as well as allowing a team high 46.7% DFG%. This means that when he is matched up with an opposing player, they are more effectively scoring on him than any other player on the team. In the past couple of season, Dort was at 41.9 DFG% and 44.6 DFG%, both near the lowest allowed on the team, for context purposes.

It gets worse, not only is he struggling individually on the court, but that is exacerbated when you look at it from the grand scheme of lineups. When Lu is on the floor, the team is hurt both offensively and defensively. They are 4 points worse offensively, which is kind of to be expected. What isn’t expected, and a bit maddening, is when a reigning 1st Team All-NBA defender is on the floor, the Thunder’s team defense is 6 points worse, allowing a higher TS% and creating less turnovers as a unit (which is one of this team’s superpowers). You put that all together, and the team is 10 points better, net rating wise, when Lu is off the floor.

Conversely, let’s look at Cason Wallace. The offense is better with him on the floor. The defense is better when he is on the floor. The net rating is better when he is on the floor. As a starter, he is shooting almost 10% better than Dort from the field AND from the arch. He leads the league in total steals AND steals per game by a significant margin. I tend to stay away from individual defensive rating, but he is in the top 8 in both defensive rating and net rating. He has made his way to the top 10 in DPOY odds, and is a LOCK for All-Defensive team. The ball doesn’t stop with Cason, opponents’ leads are not safe with Cason, and the ball is not safe with Cason.

That’s not to say let Lu go by the way side. This isn’t a call to action for him to be traded, cut, or excommunicated in any way. Its simply a call to action to shift from the old guard to the new one (no pun intended).

The game is constantly changing, and if you don’t adapt to those changes, it will leave you behind. The Thunder have seen this play out in previous regimes. Its been clear in every game by the eye test, and even backed up by the numbers, that Cason has been the better player for the Thunder at this point of the season. And even though Lu is only just shy of 27 years old himself, Cason has long been seen as a foundational piece for OKC with the possibility of being someone who could replace what Dort does on this team.

Again, Lu can still be an impactful player for us. Big game Lu is absolutely a thing. When he gets hot, he gets HOT. There is possibly no player in the NBA who is more annoying to have guard you. And we love him for that. *I* love him for that. We used to have a running bit on the pod (Topic: Thunder podcast, check it out), ok we still do, of when Lu has a phenomenal game saying “We love you Lu and we hope you’re doing well.” (Shoutout, Jerry). Ask me how many times we have gotten to say that this season…?

We have only lost 3 (three[*three*{THREE}]) games all year, and Lu didn’t even play in one. Is he the only reason we lost? Absolutely not. Did Anthony Edwards not literally just hit a game winning 3 pointer over Cason (albeit, while playing perfect defense)? Absolutely. Its not going to perfect, there are going to be growing pains, and that’s what the regular season is for. And for a coach that likes to explore the roster and experiment with rotations, it kinda feels like it’s getting to the point that its undeniable a change needs to happen.

As I myself have made the point to address, we DO NOT win a ring without Lu Dort. He got hot like never before in that game, and it came in a stretch that we needed him the most. All the while, being the fan favorite that had the crowd screaming “LUUUUUUUU” louder and louder with each passing make. And if Mark continues to start him, I myself will be tweeting/saying “LUUUUUUUU” right along with you when he inevitably hits 5 3’s in his next game after this publishes.

I love Lu Dort and he is forever a Thunder legend, but Cason has been better in every metric and if we want to chase history we have to adapt to what our eyes are telling us.

Both things can true.

The future is now.

 

 

The Day After: HOU vs. OKC – Game 1 of 82 Recap

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Ring night. Banner night. And boy, was it a banner night. Not just for the Oklahoma City Thunder. But also for the NBA on NBC. Talk about an opening game to restart their new media relationship with their old friend, the NBA. The intro, the song, Michael Jordan. It’s like we never left 90’s.

Then the game tipped off and became an instant hardwood classic. In the end, the Thunder held on to win 125-124 in double overtime. With that said, here are some notes from the game.

  1. SGA is still him – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got off to an unusually slow start on Tuesday. The reigning MVP started off 2/5 in the first half and went into halftime with only 5 points. Despite this, it truly felt like a game where SGA was okay with taking what the defense gave him and trusting his teammates. Houston was using their length to crowd the paint and doubling SGA for the majority of the game. He only registered one assist in the first half, but his gravity allowed his teammates to get good looks, especially Chet Holmgren (we’ll get to him soon). The second half, though, was a different story. It started off the same, but SGA was able to shake loose on consecutive 12-foot jumpers, which seemed to open up the defense and gave SGA some rhythm offensively. After that, he was MVP Shai, and seemingly hit every big shot he had to in order to will OKC to a victory. Late in the 4th and during the OT’s, SGA hit shot after shot to either tie the game or put the Thunder up. His two free throws in double-OT were the game-winners, and fouled Kevin Durant out, which prevented him from being on the floor on Houston’s final possession. In total, SGA finished with his customary 35 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Just another Tuesday on the basketball court.
  2. Y’all must’ve forgot – Before going down with a broken hip in the 10th game of the year last season, Chet Holmgren was well on his way to a possible All-NBA, All-Star, DPOY, etc. type season. In those nine games to start last season, Holmgren was averaging 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.9 blocks, while shooting 40% from deep on nearly four attempts per game. He was even garnering early MVP buzz. The Holmgren we saw late in the season and into the playoffs was still good, but you could tell that he didn’t have the ramp-up runway to shake off the rust from that type of injury. In the first half of this game, Holmgren’s offensive aggressiveness, especially against the zone, is what kept OKC in the game, despite SGA getting off to a slow start. His ability to get into the teeth of the zone (from the nail) and maneuver from there was huge for OKC staying resolute despite Houston’s length being very disruptive. When it was all said and done, Holmgren finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, while shooting 40% from deep.
  3. Alperen Sengun – Thank God the Thunder have won a championship and have Holmgren in tow. Because if they were to be currently title-less, Sengun would be wrestling James Harden for the title of “the one who got away”. It’s always frickin’ Houston. Alpie was amazing in this game. Despite being on the floor with the current and a former MVP, Alpie, many times, looked like the best player on the court. If that 3-point shot is real, the league may have another Jokic-type monster on their hands. Sengun does a great job of noticing mismatches and taking advantage of them quickly. When the Thunder had Alex Caruso on Sengun, he would either take the three when the close-out was soft or try to back Caruso down when the close-out was aggressive. When Chet was on him, Sengun used his size advantage to back Holmgren to the basket. Sengun was also their go-to player in clutch situations. A great game in a losing effort for Sengun, who finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block, while shooting 5-8 from deep and 10-11 from the line.
  4. Cason Wallace – That third year leap may be showing up for the Thunder once again. Wallace, like SGA, got off to an extremely slow start in this game. He was 0-1 in the first half and not overly aggressive. But in the 2nd half, Wallace transformed defensive energy into offensive rhythm, and started becoming a problem for Houston. (See what I did there!) Wallace registered all four of his steals in the 3rd and 4th quarters and helped keep the Thunder at arm’s length throughout the 2nd half. But it was his shot-making that was key to OKC winning. With 2:01 left in the 4th, Wallace hit a three that brought OKC to within one of the Rockets. Then in double OT, Wallace hit a three from the same spot as the one in the 4th with 1:32 left to give OKC a one point lead at the time. If Wallace can consistently put the “3” in “3&D”, the NBA may be in trouble.
  5. Western Conference – Once again, the Western Conference is going to be a bloodbath. Due to the age of many of the rosters, injuries (nothing major, just the nagging kind) may have a say in where teams finish. But if everyone remains relatively healthy, conference play is going to be a chore. Tuesday night showed us why the NBA opened up with four teams from the West. Cleveland and New York will get their shine tonight, but the class of the NBA resides west of the Mississippi.
  6. Ajay Mitchell – Remember the name. Chet Holmgren wasn’t the only player keeping the Thunder afloat in the first half. Mitchell provided some sauce off the bench for OKC. In 15 minutes, Mitchell had 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block on 3-6 shooting from deep. His 4-point play at the halftime buzzer may have been the play of the game and may have provided OKC with the momentum they needed in the 2nd half. With Jalen Williams and Nikola Topic out for the foreseeable future, Mitchell’s ability to handle the ball and play-make may be extremely important to OKC success early in the season.

Thunder vs. Houston Rockets preview (Game 1 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0) vs. Houston Rockets (0-0)
  • When: Tuesday, 21 October 2025 at 6:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: NBC/Peacock

The Set-Up

What do you do when you’ve accomplished the goal you’ve set out to accomplish every year since your existence? Do you rest on your laurels and reminisce about how it felt to reach the mountaintop? Do you become the “y’all remember when” guy? Or do you recognize that to reach the mountaintop again, you have to, as Thunder GM Sam Presti would so eloquently put it, “divorce yourself from the past” and begin anew? The mantra of having a 0-0 mindset while stacking days will be tested this season. Everything this team does this season will be compared to last year. That happens when you bring back every rotational piece that helped you reach your goal. But with that continuity, does complacency creep in? Everyone is saying the right things. Now it’s time to show the right things. Ring night. Banner night. Then the new journey begins.

This is the first of three meetings this season against the Houston Rockets. Last season, the Thunder won the season series 3-2. They faced each other in the NBA Cup semifinals, where the Thunder emerged victorious on their way to the NBA Cup finals.

Betting Info (brought to you by FanDuel)

  • Line: OKC -7
  • O/U: 228

Injury Report

OKC

  • Isaiah Joe – OUT (knee)
  • Thomas Sorber – OUT (knee)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (testicular surgery)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (wrist)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

HOU

  • Isaiah Crawford – Questionable (ankle)
  • Dorian Finney-Smith – OUT (ankle)
  • Jae’Sean Tate – OUT (ankle)
  • Fred VanVleet – OUT (knee)

Three Big Things

  1. Jumbo Line-up – The Rockets will feature a starting line-up where the shortest player out there will be 6’7″. (Don’t do the stupid hand shakey thing…and you just did it) If this was two seasons ago, it might be a little worrisome for the Thunder. But with Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylin Williams all healthy to begin the season, this shouldn’t worry the Thunder too much. In fact, with the Rockets’ lack of a pure point guard/ball handler, outside of Reed Sheppard, and the lack of spacing, it may actually play into the Thunder’s defensive chaos machine.
  2. Brooks Barnhizer – It’ll be interesting to see if Barnhizer gets any burn in this game. He played in all six preseason games where he averaged 30 minutes, 9.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2 steals on 44/42/72 shooting splits. The most interesting stat to me is that he averaged 4.2 free throw attempts in those six games. This team loves controlled aggressivity and Barnhizer has that in spades. Last year, as a rookie, Ajay Mitchell averaged 21 minutes per game in the preseason and was a part of the rotation from the start of the season until an injury forced him out of the rotation. With the Thunder being down a couple key rotation pieces due to injury, I could see Barnhizer getting some action early in the season and parlaying that into a role in the rotation.
  3. Oh the irony – Kevin Durant…here in OKC, on ring night. To see Durant looking up onto what used to be his kingdom, only see a banner being raised that he had no part in obtaining. Chef’s kiss. I may disagree with NBA commissioner Adam Silver that the NBA is a highlight only league. But this right here, this is WWE-level script writing. Bravo! Now cue Roundball Rock!

Jalen Williams sheds the wrist brace

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As shown on Jalen Williams’ Instagram page, the brace that once covered his right wrist is now no longer present. The surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament was performed on July 1st, 2025. At the time, the expected re-evaluation period for such a surgery was at least 12 weeks. As of today, we are at 11 weeks, post-surgery. At the time, Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti stated that he expected Williams to be ready for the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.

Williams tore the ligament on April 9th, 2025, in a game against the Phoenix Suns. He went on to miss the last two games of the regular season, but played in all the postseason games, as the Thunder made their run to win the championship. As documented in Williams’ post-surgery vlog, he received lidocaine injections in his wrist before each game and before some practices. He also took multiple cortisone shots and developed injection-site callouses in his wrist. He said that during the playoff run, he had to relearn how to shoot, using more of a finger-tip guided shot, instead of his usual wrist-guided shot.

The Thunder start training camp in a couple of weeks and play their first preseason game on October 5th, 2025 against the Charlotte Hornets. Their championship title defense begins on October 21st, 2025 against the Houston Rockets.

 

Thunder vs. Milwaukee Bucks preview (NBA Cup Final)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (20-5, 1st in the West) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (14-11, 5th in the East)
  • When: Tuesday, 17 December 2024 at 7:30pm CST
  • Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
  • Offensive Rating – MIL: 113.6 (11th) / OKC: 115.2 (8th)
  • Defensive Rating – MIL: 112.3 (13th) / OKC: 103.1 (1st)
  • Net Rating – MIL: 1.4 (15th) / OKC: 12.1 (1st)

The Set-Up

The Emirates NBA Cup has been fun. I don’t know if I’d be saying the same thing if the Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t in the NBA Cup Finals. But still, it has worked. We monitored those group-play games pretty intensely, especially the last day of group play. And then watched with playoff fervor for the quarterfinal and semifinal games. It’s been competitive. It’s been TV-worthy, It’s been what the NBA envisioned a mid-season, single-elimination tournament would look like. Except it features two small-market teams. As an article on NBA.com pointed out in a preview of the Thunder/Rockets semifinal game, this “may not have been the marquee NBA Cup semifinal the league was hoping for…” The NBA has really done a shit job of featuring their young talent, outside of force feeding everyone Victor Wembanyama.

For the Thunder, the NBA Cup has done exactly what the NBA refused to do for them this season: it’s allowed the national audience to see this team in the brightest of lights. The Thunder forced their way in the national spotlight. The NBA knows they messed up by not putting this team in the Christmas line-up. As consolidation, the NBA flexed the two Thunder v. Cavs match-ups in January to national TV. All the Thunder can do from here on out is force you to watch them.

This is the first, of now, three meetings this season between these two teams. They split their season series last year. Before that, though, Milwaukee had won 5 in a row, dating back to Feb. 2022.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -4.5
  • O/U: 214.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Ousmane Dieng – OUT (finger)
  • Alex Ducas – OUT (back)
  • Adam Flagler – OUT (finger)
  • Chet Holmgren – OUT (hip)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)
  • Jaylin Williams – OUT (hamstring)

MIL

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo – Probable (knee)
  • Damian Lillard – Probable (calf)
  • Khris Middleton – Probable (illness)
  • Liam Robbins – Questionable (ankle)

Three Big Things

  1. Who guards SGA? – Defensively, the Milwaukee Bucks are not designed to cover someone like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They don’t have any serviceable big-wing defenders. Taurean Prince, Andre Jackson Jr, and Khris Middleton are either too slow, not big enough, or too injured to cover SGA. Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr., and AJ Green are barbecue chicken. Milwaukee is probably going to deploy an “everybody keep their eyes on Shai” defense and hope he passes it to someone else for a shot. Look for Jalen Williams to get loose a little in this game. 
  2. 3-point defense – Weirdly, the 3-point shot has been one of the best offensive engines for the Bucks this season. They are third in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 38.9% and feature two of the top-6 players this season in 3-point percentage (Prince at 51.6% on 3.6 attempts and Green at 47.6% on 5.2 attempts). And there’s always Dame, who can catch fire at any moment. The difficulty in guarding the Bucks is having to choose between team-guarding Giannis or hoping their 3-point shooters have an off-night. Knowing the Thunder, they will roll the dice (VEGAS PUN!) on hoping the Bucks have an off-night from the perimeter.
  3. High-pressure test – This is essentially a neutral site Game 7. Giannis and the Bucks have won a Game 7 in the Finals before. The Thunder are at the beginning of their pressure-filled journey .This will be a good test for them and will give Mark some data-points for future high pressure situations.

Thunder vs. Pelicans – Game 4 Adjustments

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  • Series: OKC leads 3-0
  • When: Monday, 29 April 2024 at 7:30pm CST
  • Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
  • TV: NBATV/BallySportsOK (WTF?)

Game 3 Notables

  • New Orleans was held to 28.1% shooting from deep, while OKC registered 47.2% from distance.
  • Lu Dort and Josh Giddey tied for the most 3-points made on either team with 4 each.
  • The Thunder forced 20 turnovers.

Game 4 Adjustments

  1. Close-out Game – This is always the hardest game from a mental standpoint. Take into account that this is the Thunder’s first close-out game under this recent iteration. The only players on the team that have any sort of experience in close-out games are Mike Muscala, Bismack Biyombo, and Gordon Hayward. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort were part of a Game 7 against Houston in the 2020 Bubble, but lost that game in close fashion. Psychologically, the Thunder have to be tougher than ever in order to avoid a let-down due to being up 3-0 in mostly dominant fashion. As we’ve seen in these playoffs, you don’t want to leave anything up to chance. If you can avoid playing games and avoid injuries, you do that if at all possible.
  2. Continue playing your game – There hasn’t been any over the top performances by the Thunder players in this postseason. It’s been a hard-hat and lunch pail approach in these first three games. Force turnovers. Hunt the best shot. Focus defensively on the opponent’s top guys. Block another Trey Murphy III dunk attempt. Listen to the Coach of the Year. Rinse and repeat. Oklahoma City had a plan heading into this series and are executing it flawlessly. Any deviation from this norm could prove to be detrimental.
  3. Watch out for shenanigans – The Pelicans will be in desperation mode. The refs, in an effort to see this series extended, may either allow more than usual contact or may have a quick whistle. Either way, the Thunder will have to be smart about how they defend and will need to keep their cool, which will eventually be tested.
  4. Congratulations to the Coach of the Year, Mark Daigneault. – MVP next???
  5. The Ultimate Disrespect – If you are wondering why the Thunder shunned Allie LaForce on the TNT post-game interview after Game 3 in favor of Nick Gallo, look no further than to what is happening tonight. The game tonight will be televised on NBATV….only if you have NBATV and only if you live outside of the OKC and New Orleans viewing area. Unfortunately, if you live in the OKC and NO viewing area and have NBATV, you will be blacked out from watching the game unless you have Bally Sports. If you are blacked out and chose not to get Bally Sports (such as myself), you will have to either illegally stream the game or watch it on a gamecast. This is so wrong, on so many levels. But, hey, we’ll remember that the next time you want to interview the guys and Nick Gallo is standing there waiting.

Houston Rockets vs. Thunder preview (Game 72 of 82)

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  • Houston Rockets (36-35, 11th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (50-21, 2nd in the West)
  • When: Wednesday, 27 March 2024 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – HOU: 113.7 (19th) / OKC: 118.7 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating – HOU: 112.1 (8th) / OKC: 111.4 (5th)
  • Net Rating – HOU: 1.6 (15th) / OKC: 7.3 (2nd)

The Set-Up

Sometimes, a tough, hard-fought victory is exactly what the doctor ordered. Last night’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans is exactly the kind of gritty, grind-it-out game that the Thunder needed to win to feel good about themselves. Even though they have gone 8-2 over their last 10, the losses have felt almost disastrous and the wins have felt “meh”. It was good knowing that the Thunder didn’t have to play their best in order to win in a playoff environment.

This is the fourth and final meeting this season between these two teams. The Rockets won the first meeting early in December, 110-101. The Thunder returned the favor on back to back nights in late February, winning 123-110 and 112-95, respectively.

Magic Numbers

  • To lock up the 10th seed (play-in guaranteed) – 0 (Locked In)
  • To lock up the 6th seed (playoffs guaranteed) – 3
  • To lock up the 4th seed (homecourt advantage in the first round guaranteed) – 6

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -6.5
  • O/U: 231.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (quad) – Day to Day

HOU

  • Steven Adams (knee) – OUT
  • Tari Eason (lower leg) – OUT
  • Alperen Sengun (ankle) – OUT
  • Cam Whitmore (knee) – OUT

Three Big Things

  1. Transition Offense vs. Transition Defense – The Thunder love to get out on the break and run. They are first in the league in points off turnovers and 7th in fast break points. The young legs on the team love to get up and down the floor. However, Houston is probably the best transition defense in the league. The Rockets allow the third fewest points off turnovers and are first in defending fast break points.
  2. Hot Team Extinguishers – The Thunder always seem to get teams when they are playing their best. In December, they faced a Clippers team that had found it’s groove after the James Harden trade and came into OKC on a 9-game winning streak. The result: a 134-115 OKC victory. There was a run of 13 games for Denver in December, where they went 11-2, with the two losses coming at the hands of the Thunder. In January, the Boston Celtics came into OKC having won 11 of their last 12 games. The result: a 127-123 OKC victory. Tonight, the Rockets come into OKC on a 9-game winning streak. Here’s hoping the Thunder aren’t too beat up or tired from last night’s tough game.
  3. Ewing Theory – Since Alperen Sengun went down 7 games ago, certain players on the Rockets have stepped up in big ways. In that same span, Jalen Green and Jock Landale have net ratings of 24.2 and 24.5, respectively. Green, especially, has seen a huge leap in production as the former No. 2 pick looks like he’s starting to live up to his lofty billing. In the last 10 games, Green is averaging 27.6 points on 50/43/78 shooting splits. His true shooting is in the mid 60’s and his usage is up to 30 during that time. Londale has allowed Houston to play a more modern style due to his ability to step out and hit 3’s. In his last 10 games, Landale is shooting 55.6% from deep.