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Portland Trailblazers vs. Thunder preview (Game 34 of 82)

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  • Portland Trailblazers (14-19, 10th in the West) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (28-5, 1st in the West)
  • When: Wednesday, 31 December 2025 @ 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: POR: 113.2 (21st) / OKC: 118.8 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating: POR: 116.3 (20th) / OKC: 105.0 (1st)
  • Net Rating: POR: -3.1 (21st) / OKC: 13.8 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: POR: Won 2 in a row, 5-5 in their last 10 / OKC: Won 2 in a row, 6-4 in their last 10

The Set-Up

December 31st. A time to look back at the year that was and a time to look forward towards the year that will be. As the Oklahoma City Thunder look back, they can smile at the accomplishments and look towards a future that is as bright as any team in recent memory. A 68-win season with an MVP, a Finals MVP, two All-NBA players, two players on the All-Defense Teams, the Executive of the Year, and a championship, to boot. And looking forward, essentially the same team on the floor this season and heading into the next year and the possibility of juicy draft picks. Thank you, 2025. Helllloooo, 2026! Thunder Up!

This is the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between these two Northwest Division rivals. The Trailblazers beat the Thunder in their first meeting, famously giving the Thunder their first loss of the season. The Thunder returned the favor two-fold in late November, avenging their only loss of the season up to that point.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -15.5
  • O/U: 234.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Brooks Barnhizer – DTD (ankle)
  • Ousmane Dieng – OUT (calf)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
  • Jaylin Williams – OUT (heel)

POR

  • Jerami Grant – OUT (Achilles)
  • Scoot Henderson – OUT (hamstring)
  • Jrue Holiday – OUT (calf)
  • Damian Lillard – OFS (Achilles)
  • Kris Murray – Questionable (quad)
  • Matisse Thybulle – OUT (thumb)
  • Blake Wesley – OUT (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. Playing into the Thunder’s hands – The Trailblazers are bad at the things the Thunder feast off of. The Blazers play fast (5th in pace), but are reckless, leading the league in turnovers per game (17.2 per game) and turnover percentage (16.7% of possessions ending in a turnover). In addition, they are the 2nd worst team in terms of 3-point percentage, shooting 33.5% from deep as a team. This plays into the Thunder’s defensive ethos of protecting the paint and allowing, but contesting, 3-pointers.
  2. Securing the defensive glass – While the Thunder lead the league in defensive rebounding, this seems to be the stat that always gets them in trouble in key parts of the game. Portland is 3rd in offensive rebounds per game, at 14.2, and 3rd in offensive rebound percentage. In addition, they are 2nd in 2nd Chance points at 17.8 points per game. Donovan Clingan is 2nd in the league with 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. Robert Williams III pitches in with 2.2 offensive rebounds per game of his own and Toumani Camara grabs just under 2 offensive boards per game from the wing.
  3. The Deni Avdija FT problem – Deni Avdija has caught the NBA by surprise this season. He leads the Blazers in scoring at 25.5 points per game and is 2nd in the league in free throw attempts per game (ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I might add) at 9.7 FTA per game. In two of the games these two teams played, Avdija shot 16 and 23 free throws. That allowed Portland to win one of the games and remain competitive in the other. In the one game where OKC blew Portland out, Avdija shot only 3 free throws.

 

Thunder @ Portland Trailblazers preview (Game 9 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (8-0) at Portland Trailblazers (4-3)
  • When: Wednesday, 05 November 2025 at 9:00pm CST
  • Where: Moda Center, Portland, OR
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: POR: 115.2 (15th) / OKC: 118.5 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating: POR: 111.7 (9th) / OKC: 104.8 (1st)
  • Net Rating: POR: 3.5 (9th) / OKC: 13.7 (1st)

The Set-Up

We’ll just call it “The Wave”. The thing that jump-started what you currently see happening now in the NBA. When Damian Lillard hit the game-winner in Game 6 of the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs, it put into motion the events that eventually netted the Thunder the 2025 NBA championship. And, in my humble opinion, it had to happen that way. If Dame misses that shot and the Thunder eventually win the series, there is no impetus for a rebuild, even though that roster had grown moldier than month-long bread. That shot, pushed the Thunder into the deep end of the “rebuild” pool. It had to happen that way. It had to be embarrassing. It had to hurt our pride. But it allowed us to reset and refocus with the hope of something better. And, it actually worked.

This is the first of four meetings this season between these two Northwest Division rivals. The Thunder swept the season series last season and have swept the season series for the last four seasons. That’s 16 wins in a row against one team over a four season span.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -4
  • O/U: 231.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Alex Caruso – OUT (rest)
  • Lu Dort – OUT (shoulder contusion)
  • Chet Holmgren – OUT (back)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (wrist)
  • Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

POR

  • Scoot Henderson – OUT (hamstring)
  • Damian Lillard – OUT (Achilles)
  • Shaedon Sharpe – Probable (calf)
  • Matisse Thybulle – OUT (thumb)
  • Blake Wesley – OUT (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. Little Brother – Looking at how Portland plays is a little like looking at old home videos of the Thunder as they progressed through the rebuild. Portland leads the lead in steals, are third in percentage of points off the fast break, and are second in the league (only behind OKC) in percentage of points off turnovers. The defensive ethos for both teams is very similar – use length to create havoc in the passing lanes, be aggressive, and cause the opponent to turn the ball over as much as possible to turn defense into offense.
  2. Isaiah Joe – Joe has come out in his first three games with a flame thrower. Through three games, he has 14 made threes, which is the most in Thunder history for a player’s first three games of the season. But it’s not just the shooting. It’s the type of shots he is hitting. Some of these threes are at least a coupe of feet behind the 3-point line. A lot of them are quick, no hesitation, no thought shots. Though Joe was solid in the playoffs, his effectiveness (and his threat of hitting 3’s) was muted when the lights got the brightest. This, in turn, caused his minutes to go down. But if that experience created the monster we see now, it was well worth it.
  3. Belgium – Shoutout to Belgium tonight. Their only two active NBA representatives play tonight. Ajay Mitchell and Toumani Camara are both starting to make their marks in the NBA. The small European nation, which is surrounded by basketball powerhouses like France and Germany, may have a small presence on the basketball stage currently. But if players like Mitchell and Camara are a sign of things to come, we’ll be seeing a lot more Belgian flags on rosters in the future.