Oklahoma City Thunder play Knicks before All-Star break
The OKC Thunder have faced a tumultuous first part of the season. Dealing with the growing pains of acclimating a relatively young team into the mindset of playing winning basketball has not been easy.
There have been ups and downs throughout the first 56 games. Before we take a look at the game, let’s talk about a couple things.
- Starting Domantas Sabonis for all 56 games has had its downs as of late, but it hasn’t been much of a hindrance to the team. He has missed every 3-point attempt in the month of February, but he hasn’t let it affect his on court demeanor or effort.
- The Jerami Grant trade is still such an ongoing case study that might take until the end of the Thunder’s season to even come close to completely determining the effectiveness of the deal.
- Andre Roberson has become such a force on the defensive side of the ball that the fourth year guard has made a case for 2nd team All-Defense. Conversely, his lack of fit in terms of the team’s offense possibly has him on the next plane out of town before the team resumes play after the break.
Russell Westbook’s Running Mates
Victor Oladipo has flashed his potential throughout the season and has surprised much more than disappointed. His shooting percentages are at a career high while he hasn’t overwhelmingly settled for jumpers. Still, with all that he has provided there is much more room for Oladipo to improve. Namely his assertiveness and aggression on the court.
Oladipo’s third ranked usage rate could be higher without a doubt. No fan or expert of the game should question the effort of Victor. He has, quite literally, sacrificed his body for the good of the team. In that same breath, he shouldn’t be passive about taking the reins of the offense and showing the team that he is capable of winning the Thunder a game or two on his own. Questioning his ability to do so would be egregious.
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The improvement of Steven Adams has been a season long journey. His month of November wasn’t great as he shot a season low 48% on a season low 7 attempts per game. Since then he has been the defensive anchor OKC needs him to be.
The Thunder’s tenth ranked defense is 6.4 points better in terms of defensive ration. Providing scoring from the paint and post area that has helped add some variety to the sometimes vanilla Thunder offense. The Thunder need even more from Adams while Enes Kanter is still on the mend for a broken arm. This month Adams is averaging a season high in minutes – with 44 minutes logged in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Steven should take the break to actually take a break and regroup for the rest of the season.
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The Thunder have showed great resiliency with a 31-25 record at the break. The team plays good to great defense most nights even when the offense dissipates. This is a team that has an average age of 25 and is playing above expectations well. They may not be contenders this season, or even next season, but the front office and the players are on the right path to resurrecting themselves.
New York Knicks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
As for the game, The New York Knicks come into Oklahoma City 23-33, 12th in the Eastern Conference. This is a matchup of teams that have warts but have treated them very differently. One team has congregated and come together to try and mask what they lack in the talent department. The front office has stayed patient and not “reactionary”.
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The Knicks on the other hand are a worst case scenario for a team trying to win now. Large contracts thrown at Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah has the rest of the roster lacking in depth. Rose played fairly well in December and January, but is not a plus player any longer. Noah is a shell of himself, and is posting a career low in multiple categories. Not to mention the Carmelo Anthony drama, and the recent Charles Oakley incident.
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The Knicks came away with a good 94-90 win against the 41-13 San Antonio Spurs in their last game. The Knicks are 9-18 on the road and were in the midst of a five game home stand where the team went 1-4. The Thunder have to take advantage of the fact at A) The Knicks aren’t playing well B) The Knicks are on the road for their last game before the break.
OKC took the last matchup 122-103 behind Kanter’s 27 and 10 on 12-17 from the field. Kanter obviously won’t be available for tonight’s game, but there should be plenty of opportunity for Thunder players to collectively put the sliding Knicks away.
There is a chance that both teams come out slow. New York hasn’t played since Sunday, the Thunder have had a grueling past three games. The Thunder should look to get a home win before the break to, in a sense, steady the ship. It has been teetering a bit especially after the ugly, yet understandable blowout loss to the Washington Wizards.
A sweet taste in the mouths of the Thunder and their fans before the break could do both some good. Especially with all eyes on the All-Star Game featuring Russell Westbrook and four Warriors players.