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Thunder @ Portland Trailblazers preview (Game 5 of 82)

Posted on November 1, 2024 by okctopicthunder

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

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

The Set-Up

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

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

Betting Info

Line: OKC -11.5
O/U: 221.5

Injury Report

OKC

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

POR

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

Three Big Things

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

Thunder At A Glance – 22 February 2019

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Alex Roig

Jackson Frank (FanSided NBA) on the development of Jerami Grant and if he’s the X-factor to their playoff success: “The most prominent new wrinkle in his game has been a serviceable outside jumper, connecting on 37.3 percent of his 3.1 3-point attempts per game — both career-highs. Slotting in next to Steven Adams, who’s 0 of 6 from deep in his six-plus seasons, Grant now (semi-)comfortably operates as a floor-spacer at the 4-spot. When defenders sag off to muddy up Russell Westbrook’s, Paul George’s or Dennis Schröder’s forays to the tin, Grant nails corner 3s at a 39 percent clip.”

Brett Dawson (The Athletic) on whether there should be more attention paid to Russell Westbrook’s accomplishments: “But as a reminder, he also is averaging a triple-double. Westbrook is attempting to do something for a third consecutive season that only one other player has done even once. He’s a run of consecutive stat-stuffing games that’s never been matched, and it’s something of a footnote.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 10 December 2018

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Alex Roig

Another week gone by. Another Weekly released by the Topic: Thunder Podcast crew where we discuss the three-game road trip, possible Khris Middleton trades, the current debacle in Houston, and look forward to an upcoming 4-game slate against Western Conference playoff contenders.

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on the Thunder hosting their 11th annual Holiday Assist: “A young, bespectacled boy named Cody Hardee dangled off the front of the shopping cart as the Thunder center pushed along from the electronics section to toys and then back. It didn’t take long for Adams to know who was in charge. He was happy to help.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance: 04 December 2018

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Alex Roig

ESPN’s panel of basketball experts answered some questions in regards to the Western Conference: “I expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be the second-best come May. Oklahoma City currently sports the West’s second-best differential behind the Denver Nuggets, and that’s despite Russell Westbrook missing eight games due to injury. The Thunder will still add stopper Andre Roberson to what’s already been the league’s best defense on a per-possession basis and have plenty of playoff experience.”

ESPN has OKC number 5 in their weekly power rankings: “The Thunder did exactly what they were supposed to in a light week, winning both games against the lowly Cavaliers and Hawks by a combined 32 points. They have now won 14 of 17 games to quietly inch closer to the top of the Western Conference. Paul George has been outstanding, averaging 25.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 4.6 APG and 3.0 combined steals and blocks during his last 10 games to keep the Thunder competitive even when Russell Westbrook has had to sit.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 12 October 2018

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Alex Roig

Royce Young (ESPN) with the medical update on Russell Westbrook: “Russell Westbrook is “progressing” and getting nearer to a return, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Thursday, but has not been cleared for full-contact practice yet, leaving the All-Star point guard’s status for the season opener in question.”

BetSDI, a sports-betting website, has set the over/under total on Russell Westbrook triple-doubles this season at 22.5. Check more of the prop bets and where Thunder players land on those bets. Continue reading →

Bucks vs. Thunder Preview (Preseason Game 4)

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Alex Roig

bucks

When: Tuesday, 09 October 2018 at 7:00 pm CST
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: FSOK/NBATV
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))

There was a play on Sunday that encapsulated what exactly Thunder fans are hoping for from Paul George this season. In the second quarter, as the Thunder were finally getting a hold of the game, George jumped up to steal a cross-court pass attempt on the defensive end of the floor. He then dribbled the ball up court and calmly stepped into a transition three that swished through. The Thunder went up by 10 at that point and never looked back. Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 26 September 2018

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Alex Roig

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on the prowess of Dennis Schröder in the pick and roll and an update on Andre Roberson: “When Thunder post-practice opened to the media, Roberson was in a rotation of wing players taking catch-and-shoot 3-pointers off passes from team assistants. It wasn’t a lot of movement, but when the drill was finished, Roberson chased after a ball without running and even gave it a few kicks before corralling it.”

Grant Afseth (OKC Thunder Wire) on how the bench role could help Schröder: “The top area where Schröder will make an impact for Oklahoma City will be with his playmaking and ability to run an offense. The Thunder are used to having a high-usage guard like Westbrook in their starting unit as their focal point, and they haven’t had someone on their bench to lean on in a similar fashion. That’s where Schröder comes into play.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 21 September 2018

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Alex Roig

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on who will decide who will start at power forward: “We have to let Billy make those decisions,” Presti said. “He’s in charge of what happens once the ball is tipped up and once we are competing. He makes all the decisions relative to what happens between the lines.”

Horne (NewsOK) on Presti talking about injury updates: “Presti added that he feels good that the Thunder will have both Westbrook and Roberson back at some point “relatively early in the year.” Westbrook underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week and is expected to be reevaluated in three weeks, one week before the Thunder tips off against Golden State in the regular-season opener Oct. 16.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 06 September 2018

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Alex Roig

Royce Young (ESPN) on Mo Cheek’s relationship with Russell Westbrook: “For Westbrook, it has always been about controlled chaos, like Pecos Bill trying to rope the cyclone. Cheeks is often the lasso, the intermediary between the method and the madness.”

Ryan Harris (Welcome To Loud City) on whether the Thunder’s bench improved enough: “Ideally, the Thunder would be able to rest Russell Westbrook and Paul George at the same time and not get killed. The additions to the bench over the offseason were nice, but the younger guys from last seasons squad need to take a step forward this year as well. Right now, it isn’t 100% clear who will start between Jerami Grant and Patrick Patterson. For this post, I’ll assume Patterson is on the bench, though I think both guys will get their opportunity to start.” Continue reading →

ThunderChats Podcast – A Conversation with Steven Dolan of Thunderous Intentions

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Dylan Huntzinger

thunder chats Let me welcome Dylan “ThunderChats” Huntzinger to Now That’s Thunder Basketball. If you’ve followed Thunder Twitter at all over the last two months, you know Dylan has been gaining a following with his podcast and Thunder-related content. In addition, he will be providing NTTB with written content from time to time. You can start by reading his first article about quieting all the Russell Westbrook slander.

Without further ado, here is the inaugural episode of ThunderChats on NTTB. On it, Dylan talks with Stephen Dolan of Thunderous Intentions about the following topics: