The Oklahoma City Thunder will be desperate to snap their dismal losing streak tonight against one of the league’s top teams: the San Antonio Spurs. Tip-off is 8:00PM E.T.
After a run of four straight wins around the All-Star break, many Oklahoma City Thunder fans were discussing the prospect of reaching the fourth seed. Since then, OKC has gone on to lose four in a row and are six wins behind the Utah Jazz.
Their opponent tonight, Greg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs, boast a league-high nine wins a row. Along that run they beat both the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers. A win for San Antonio would help them heap more pressure on the conference leading Golden State Warriors, with only 20 games left in the regular season.
The Thunder will be desperate to revert back to their post-All-Star break form, having lost four games in a row. All of the defeats have come against opposition below the .500 mark.
The run did feature three games away from home which has been Oklahoma City’s nemesis this season. At the Chesapeake, where the game is held tonight, OKC has lost just nine times all season. Only the top three teams in the Western Conference can better that.
The Spurs’ record on the road is not too different from their record in San Antonio, with 27 wins from a possible 34. As a matter of fact, it’s the best record away from home in the entire NBA.
The Oklahoma City Thunder meanwhile now boast a negative plus/minus differential in -0.2, which sees them at the cusp of being in the bottom 15 worst in the league. In comparison, Kawhi Leonard and Co. have a +8.2 differential to their names, which stands at the second best in the league behind the ever-impressive Warriors.
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Previous matchups
Despite the Spurs’ dominance over the past twenty years, the two franchises’ complete game log makes for pleasant reading for Thunder fans, with San Antonio boasting just 17 more wins than OKC.
The Spurs have the chance to make it three consecutive regular season wins against the Thunder tonight. If they do it’ll be the first time the side has beaten OKC that many times in a row since late 2012.
Oklahoma City lost to the Spurs last time the two teams faced each other in a matchup that took place in late January. Kawhi Leonard led that game with 36 points, with the scoreline finishing at 108-94.
However it should be remembered the Thunder knocked the five-time NBA champions out of last year’s playoffs, winning the series 4-2.
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Key Players and Predicted Line-ups
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, they may be unusually hoping that Russell Westbrook doesn’t have another career-high return. The point guard has hit 40+ points in four of his last five games, however it seems to be a poison chalice, with the side having lost three of those games.
Despite this, the 28-year-old is still the only player in the league to average over 30+ points per game thanks to his return of 32.1. He also leads the league in fastbreak points with just over seven per game.
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Victor Oladipo, who returned from injury on Tuesday, will look to support his guard partner tonight. The 24-year-old scored 16 points off an 80-percent three point conversion in his first game back. He’ll also be able to assist on defense, both in and outside the paint.
Big men Taj Gibson and Enes Kanter will look to help at both ends too. The former’s athleticism has helped on the defensing side of things, whilst Kanter has proved to once again be the Thunder’s sixth man. The center has averaged 14.3 points per game off just 21 minutes of play.
Predicted Starting Five:
- Point Guard: Russell Westbrook
- Shooting Guard: Victor Oladipo
- Small Forward: Andre Roberson
- Power Forward: Domantas Sabonis
- Center: Steven Adams
Notable Substitutes: Taj Gibson (PF), Doug McDermott (SF), Enes Kanter (C, PF).
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For the Spurs, they will look to star duo Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge to lead the side, with both players having been rested against the Sacramento Kings last night.
The former is leading the side in the points with just over 26 per game, with Aldridge providing ample support thanks to 17.3 points per game and around one block per game.
Leonard, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, has been putting in some clutch performances as of late, with four back-to-back 30+ point games this month. Against the Rockets he shot four-from-five from beyond the arc too.
Veteran big man Pau Gasol has proved to be a stellar addition for the 2014 champions, thanks to a team-high 7.9 rebounds and a solid 19.5 player efficiency rating.
Predicted Starting Five:
- Point Guard: Tony Parker
- Shooting Guard: Danny Green
- Small Forward: Kawhi Leonard
- Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge
- Center: Pau Gasol
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Notable Substitutes: Manu Ginobili (SG), Patty Mills (PG).
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Injuries and Game Day Specifics
Both teams will be able to field full-strength sides tonight, with Victor Oladipo having now fully returned from injury.
Manu Ginobili missed the side’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the weekend, but as featured in every game since.
The game tips off tonight at the Chesapeake Energy Arena at around 8:00 PM Eastern Time. You can tune in on TNT or listen along on WWLS 98.1FM OKC.