Getting you quickly prepared for tonight’s matchup between the OKC Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Miscommunication happens from time to time, hence why this preview will not be your typical Thunderous Intentions gameday. Alas, we’re here now – let’s briefly peruse the circumstances around tonight.
Portland comes to Oklahoma City for their first game in a four-game road trip. The Trail Blazers last played on Sunday night when they beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-110. Damian Lillard, like tonight, wasn’t active in the win, but that didn’t stop the Portland offense from running smoothly. In fact, the Trail Blazers are 4-2 in the last six games he’s missed.
CJ McCollum has been the main driving force – he’s taken a greater responsibility in not only scoring but creating for his teammates. With Andre Roberson out for the fifth straight game, it will be up to Paul George to slow down McCollum in order to keep this game from turning into a shootout.
It’s very possible that the Thunder can win this game in the 120’s, but that’s not the defensive effort Billy Donovan is looking for. Oklahoma City – even without Roberson – has the personnel to keep teams under 100 points on any given night. In order to do that they’ll have to increase their communication on that end.
The good news is the offense has not been an issue for OKC. Since December 18th they’ve boasted the League’s #1 offense in terms of points per 100 possessions. Much of that has to do with Russell Westbrook’s return to MVP-form, but taking credit away from Paul George and Carmelo Anthony would be unjust.
The pieces are starting to fit in Oklahoma City; they’re 14-6 in their last 20 games. Portland is a Playoff team plus the Thunder are playing at home, so I expect them to come out ready to play unlike Sunday.
Keys to the Game
- Stop CJ McCollum. Shabazz Napier is not a great creator at the point guard position – Portland relies on McCollum to initiate the offense from the perimeter. If Paul George can lock him down the only other game-changing threat is Jusuf Nurkic. I trust Steven Adams to keep him relatively quiet tonight.
- Play hard. It’s a simple concept, but a concept that the Thunder haven’t practiced every game this season. If they play with the energy we experienced against Golden State there should be no qualms with this game. If they don’t, well we could be in for another blowout loss.
- Keep Portland out of the paint. If the Trail Blazers’ perimeter players have easy lanes to the basket then it will be incredibly difficult to stop them. They have too many knockdown shooters waiting for open opportunities when defenses breakdown. Even more importantly, the more Steven Adams has to help, the more offensive rebounds the aforementioned Nurkic will grab. They need to protect that area as if it was Noah Westbrook.
Next: Thunder should avoid making a trade deadline deal
Prediction
I’m going to go out on a limb and predict the OKC Thunder absolutely shred the Trail Blazers tonight. Carmelo Anthony is out for revenge after getting irresponsibly thrown out after going for a layup in the teams’ first matchup. Playing in the Peake has been a blessing for Oklahoma City all season, and that reigns true tonight.
Thunder: 116, Trail Blazers: 97