Tag Archives: pace

Thunder @ Los Angeles Clippers preview (Game 80 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (63-16, 1st in the West) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (41-38, 8th in the West)
  • When: Wednesday, 08 April 2026 at 9:00pm CST
  • Where: Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: LAC: 116.5 (11th) / OKC: 117.8 (7th)
  • Defensive Rating: LAC: 114.9 (17th) / OKC: 105.8 (1st)
  • Net Rating: LAC: 1.6 (14th) / OKC: 11.9 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: LAC: Winners of their last 2 and 5 of their last 7 previous to that / OKC: Winners of 6 in a row
  • Magic Number (to clinch the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs): 1

The Tip-Off

There’s a narrative out there that the regular season doesn’t matter. But for the Thunder, this is what you work so hard in the regular season for. The Thunder don’t win the title last season if they don’t play two Game 7’s in the friendly confines of the Paycom Center. Securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs is of the utmost importance for a team that, for all intents and purposes, is still extremely young. This team has never experienced a Game 7 on the road. Getting that first game and the possibility of that 7th game of the series in Oklahoma City has to have such a calming effect on a team like OKC.

This is the third and final regular season meeting between the Thunder and Clippers. The Thunder have won the first two games by an average of 20 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -7
  • O/U: 227.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)

LAC

  • Bradley Beal – OFS (hip)
  • Darius Garland – OUT (toe)
  • Isaiah Jackson – OUT (ankle)
  • Yanic Konan Niederhauser – OFS (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. Rebounding – There aren’t many nights where the Thunder can come into the game and expect rebounding superiority. The Clippers rank 29th in offensive rebounding, 24th in defensive rebounding, and 29 in total rebounding per game. But there may be a reason why their rebounding numbers are so low…
  2. Perimeter Defense – The Clippers are one of those weird teams that are highly efficient in terms of shot-making, but rank near the bottom in shot attempts. They are 3rd in FG% at 50% per game, but rank last in FG attempts per game. It’s very similar from deep. They rank 7th in 3pt FG%, but rank 23rd in 3pt FG attempts per game. And it’s not like they are dominating in the paint, as they rank 17th in points in the paint per game. So what is the reason why the Clippers shoot so few attempts?
  3. Pace – The reason they don’t shoot many attempts is because they are one of the slowest teams in the league in terms of pace. They rank 28th in Pace over the entire season and 22nd since the All-Star Break. I differentiated the two because it is expected with older stars like Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, and James Harden, that the pace would be slower. But the pace hasn’t increased that much since they picked up Darius Garland and Benedict Mathurin during the trade deadline. If the Thunder can turn the Clippers over and play in transition, it would be more in line with the OKC’s style of play than LA’s.

 

Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans preview (Game 15 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (13-1, 1st in the West) @ New Orleans Pelicans (2-11, 15th in the West)
  • When: Monday, 17 November 2025 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
  • Offensive Rating: NO: 107.6 (27th) / OKC: 118.2 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating: NO: 120.7 (28th) / OKC: 102.8 (1st)
  • Net Rating: NO: -13.1 (28th) / OKC: 15.4 (1st)

The Set-Up

These are two teams heading in completely opposite directions. Oklahoma City is the defending champions and have a coffer filled with draft picks and assets, with none of their draft picks being in jeopardy of going to another team. New Orleans, on the other hand, is stuck somewhere between a rebuild and a fringe playoff team, with a star player that can never stay healthy or perform to his maximum potential and some possible juicy draft picks that may be heading to other teams in the near future. OKC has a coach who is often mentioned with the other top coaches in the league. New Orleans has an interim coach who is currently 0-1. When we say appreciate what the Thunder has, don’t take it lightly. So many other teams in the league don’t operate with an efficient sense of purpose. They don’t rely on data, experience, and hard truths. Instead, they operate using the hope principle, whether deserved or not. 

This is the 2nd of three meetings this season between the Thunder and Pelicans. Oklahoma City won the first meeting 137-106 a little over two weeks ago in OKC. In that game, the Thunder tied a franchise record with eight players scoring in double figures.

Betting Info, presented by Fan Duel

  • Line: OKC -17.5
  • O/U: 224.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Alex Caruso – Questionable (hand)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
  • Aaron Wiggins – OUT (adductor/thigh)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (wrist)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

NO

  • Dejounte Murray – OUT (achilles)
  • Jordan Poole – OUT (quad)
  • Zion Williamson – Questionable (hamstring)

Three Big Things

  1. Trey Murphy III – Primarily used as a 3&D guy in his first 3 seasons, Murphy scored a career high 21.2 points per game last season as injuries decimated much of the Pelicans roster. This season hasn’t been too different and Murphy has had to assume of the mantle of veteran scorer on this team. Over the past 5 games, Murphy has averaged 27.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals on 55/36/93 shooting splits. The increase in usage has also increased his turnover totals. Over that same 5-game span, he’s averaging 3.8 turnovers per game, which against the Thunder, could be significant.
  2. “Shai-stoppers” – I remember back in the rebuild days when people would often refer to Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III as the “Shai-stoppers”. I really don’t know why that moniker stuck. It was literally one bad game in the 2023-24 season, where SGA scored 20 points on 8/20 shooting from the field and 0/5 shooting from deep. That would be a “let me call home and tell Mom about this game” kind of night for most players in the NBA. Since that game, SGA went on to sweep the Pelicans later in that postseason while averaging 27 points on 48% shooting from the field. Last season, in 3 games played against the Pelicans, SGA averaged 30.3 points on 51% from the field and 42% from deep. And this season, in their last meeting, SGA went for 30 points on 57% shooting from the field. While the length of those two can give SGA fits, once he’s figured you out, it’s barbecue chicken time.
  3. Pace – The Thunder and Pelicans are right next to each other in the bottom third of the league in relation to pace. OKC is 25th and New Orleans is 26th. But for some reason, it feels like the Thunder absolutely destroy teams that play slow. And I know the reason for New Orleans playing slow is probably because they have a rookie point guard out there and they are trying to keep the schema as vanilla as possible. But, the more you keep that ball in the halfcourt set, the more the possibility that the Thunder defense will get a deflection that could set them up for the other side of the court.

Thunder @ LA Clippers preview (Game 8 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (7-0) @ Los Angeles Clippers (3-3)
  • When: Tuesday, 04 November 2025 at 10:00pm CST
  • Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
  • TV: NBC/Peacock
  • Offensive Rating: LAC: 115.4 (14th) / OKC: 117.3 (8th)
  • Defensive Rating: LAC: 116.0 (20th) / OKC: 104.2 (1st)
  • Net Rating: LAC: -0.7 (19th) / OKC: 13.1 (1st)

The Set-Up

The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking for their best start in franchise history. Previous to this, they started last season 7-0 before they met the Nuggets in Denver and Russell Westbrook posted one of his best games of the season (29 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists). A Peyton Watson block on a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lay-up attempt as time expired allowed the Nuggets to walk away victorious, 124-122. It was definitely a sign of things to come later in the playoffs that season. Last year’s team rode that wave all the way to a franchise record 68 wins and, of course, the team’s first championship in Oklahoma City.

Before that, in the time of, as my 16-year old daughter would put it, “old basketball”, the 2012-13 team started the season 21-4 and the 2013-14 team started 22-4. Those team were led by Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, and the aforementioned Westbrook.

This is the first of three meetings this season between the Thunder and Clippers. Last season, the Thunder swept the season series 4-0, winning by an average of almost 10 points. In total, the Thunder have beat the Clippers five times in a row.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -7.5
  • O/U: 221.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Lu Dort – Questionable (illness)
  • Ajay Mitchell – Questionable (bilateral gluteal contusion)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee – ACL)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (wrist)
  • Jaylin Williams – Questionable (shoulder sprain)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

LAC

  • Bradley Beal – Questionable (Load Management)
  • Kawhi Leonard – Questionable (Load Management)
  • Jordan Miller – OUT (hamstring)
  • Kobe Sanders – OUT (knee)

Three Big Things

  1. Pace – The Clippers are old. They look old (most of team has gray in their hair or beards). And they play old. The Clippers are the 2nd slowest team in terms of pace. The Thunder aren’t too far behind, ranking in at 26th, but we all know that has more to do with the personnel on the floor and the injuries, than how the team actually wants to play. Once this team has some semblance of health, the transition offense will likely uptick, which will bring up the pace. If the Thunder can look like the team that played against the Pelicans on Sunday, they should be able to use their youth and speed to their advantage.
  2. Force turnovers – The Thunder are elite where the Clippers struggle. The Clippers are 29th in the league in turnovers at 17.8 a game and worst in turnover ratio. The Thunder, on the other hand, are third in the league at forcing turnovers, at 17.4 per game. When they do turn the other team over, they score 23.9 points per game, which is good for 2nd in the league. On the other end of that spectrum, the Clippers do a poor job of getting back on defense once they have turned it over. They are 2nd worst in the NBA in Opponent Points off Turnovers, allowing 23.5 points per game.
  3. SGA –