The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to bounce back from their loss to the Golden State Warriors tonight as they host the Philadelphia 76ers for the first and last time this season. Tip-off is 8:00 PM E.T.
In their last game the Thunder saw themselves lose their fourth successive game to the Golden State Warriors, completing the series sweep for the Warriors.
This time around OKC hosts the Philadelphia 76ers who lost to the Orlando Magic in their last matchup. It leaves the young side eight wins behind a playoff seed with just 12 games to go.
What’s more, the Sixers boast the second-worst road record in the Eastern Conference with just nine wins away from the Wells Fargo Center. Only the Brooklyn Nets have a worse record at 8-27.
Meanwhile at home the Oklahoma City Thunder boast the best record in the Western Conference outside of the top three, thanks to 26 wins from a total of 36 games at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
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A win for OKC would help them heap more pressure on the Los Angeles Clippers in the fifth seed. The Thunder still have a very realistic chance of landing the seed above them, which could make a massive difference in the playoffs.
The Memphis Grizzlies are on a stellar run of their own over their past games. Oklahoma City will need to make sure they revert to their solid form pre-Golden State in order to not slip down to the seventh seed as we enter the clutch part of the season.
Previous Match-ups
The Thunder will look to make it a whopping 16 wins in a row against the Sixers tonight. OKC hasn’t lost a game against Philly since the end of 2008, meaning they could soon be heading for a decade undefeated against the side.
Naturally that means the Thunder won their bout against Philadelphia earlier this season, winning on the game 103-97 on the opening day of the season. Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 32 points and was just shy of a triple-double thanks to 12 rebounds and nine assists.
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Joel Embiid led the 76ers in points that night with 20, but the youngster will be unavailable for his side tonight with an injury that has sidelined him since the end of January.
Key Players and Predicted Line-ups
The Thunder will be hoping their star guard returns to form tonight, as Westbrook shot a season-low 15 points against the Warriors on Monday night.
Despite that return the 28-year-old is still averaging 31.4 points per game for the campaign, and is ahead of the pace to finish the season with a triple-double average, thanks to 10.3 assists and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Assisting Russ on the back-court will once again be Victor Oladipo. The 24-year-old has proved his importance since returning from injury, and is averaging 16.4 points per game in his first season with the Thunder.
Taj Gibson will look to continue his solid run in the starting five, having averaged just over 11 points per game across his last five appearances. The power forward has converted around 53 percent of his attempted field goals across that time too.
Predicted Starting Five:
- Point Guard: Russell Westbrook
- Shooting Guard: Victor Oladipo
- Small Forward: Andre Roberson
- Power Forward: Taj Gibson
- Center: Steven Adams
Notable Substitutes: Enes Kanter (C, PF), Doug McDermott (SF), Domantas Sabonis (PF).
Meanwhile for Philadelphia, Dario Saric could prove to be one of the more dangerous players in the 76ers’ arsenal. The 22-year-old has averaged 21 points per game across his last five appearances.
Robert Covington also may prove clutch for the traveling side; the 26-year-old has shot 24 points against Orlando last time out. It means the small forward has scored double figures in his last three appearances too. Covington is leading the Sixers in steals per game too, with 1.7.
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23-year-old Richaun Holmes is another player the Thunder will want to keep an eye on. The power forward has averaged a season-high 13.9 points per game for the month of March, including two 24-point performances along the way.
Predicted Starting Five:
- Point Guard: T.J. McConnell
- Shooting Guard: Gerald Henderson
- Small Forward: Robert Covington
- Power Forward: Dario Saric
- Center: Richaun Holmes
Notable Substitutes: Timothe Lawawu-Cabarrot (SG), Sergio Rodriguez (PG).
Injuries and Game-Day Specifics
The 76ers will look to return Gerald Henderson to their starting five tonight, having rested the 29-year-old in the side’s overtime loss against the Magic on Monday.
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However,Philly could be without Jahlil Okafor for the match-up, with the center struggling with a knee injury and currently listed as day-to-day by ESPN.
The Oklahoma City Thunder meanwhile boast a clean bill of health for the game, leaving Billy Donovan with a full roster to chose from.
Tip-off is 7:00 PM Central Time tonight at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, and you can watch the game on Fox Sports Oklahoma or via the NBA League Pass. Alternatively you can listen along at WWLS 98.1FM OKC.
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