OKC Thunder Fantasy Flash – The wild, wild, west week

The OKC Thunder have a busy week ahead, taking on four Western Conference foes in six days including their fourth back to back of the season.

After winning two of three games on the road last week, the OKC Thunder take on four Western Conference opponents in six nights. This week provides an opportunity for the Thunder to show pundits whether they’re legitimate contenders or NBA pretenders.

The schedule is as follows:

• 10/12 vs Utah Jazz (H)
• 12/12 vs New Orleans Pelicans (A)
• 14/12 vs Denver Nuggets (A)
• 15/12 vs Los Angeles Clippers (H)

The Thunder have a busy schedule ahead and Oklahoma City’s stars will be entrusted to carry a bulk of the load once again. While Russell Westbrook is likely to have another monster week of statistical brilliance (especially after his dud against the Chicago Bulls in his last outing), I have elected to highlight two players outside of Russ to keep an eye on.

Dennis Schroder

Dennis Schroder will see a tonne of action this week and looks suited to the competition he will be facing this week. While Russ dominated the ball last week, I expect Billy Donovan to return to sharing and ball movement with Dennis handling the ball more than he did last week.

Schroder needs to get back to leading the second unit and sharing the ball around. While he averaged 3.3 assists last week, he is guilty of looking for his own offense instead of including others on the second unit. This will be a point of emphasis this week and he’s set to have his numbers spike across the board.

While Russ will undoubtedly have a bulk of the play-making role, Schroder will get his chance to initiate the offense and put up some fantasy numbers.

Steven Adams

Steven Adams should get his fair share of touches and is likely to have big games against Denver and the Clippers as they have no-one to keep him in check. The first two games of the week represent much bigger challenges as he lines up against Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert.

Adams contributions are largely dependent on whether Russ gives up the ball or how much he uses the pick and roll. The Big Kiwi started strong against the Chicago Bulls but lost his way toward the end, missing easy lay-ups at the hoop and failing to convert at the line.

The big Kiwi matches up well against the competition this week and is due to put together a strong string of games.

Joe Ingles

This match-up should have plenty of tension about it with these teams showing serious disdain for each other after last year’s playoffs. Despite not matching up very well with Paul George, Joe Ingles has had some of his best games against the Thunder.

OKC’s 3-point defense has been atrocious the last two games and if they do not attend to that defensive issue, Ingles will light them up from deep. The Aussie is a fantastic 3-point shooter and will get his fair share of looks so I expect him to put up some good numbers.

Julius Randle

Although Anthony Davis will get his numbers, Julius Randle is a stats machine. While he won’t give you much on the defensive end beside defensive rebounds, Randle absolutely torched Oklahoma City to the tune of 26 points on a perfect 10-10 from field and 2-2 from three.

OKC simply don’t have a player that can handle Randle’s play on the block and he’s likely to have his way inside. Patrick Patterson did a solid job staying with him but Randle was too skilled and powerful for him. Jerami Grant is athletic but far too skinny to affect Randle’s bollocking style.

If New Orleans elect to have Nikola Mirotic coming off the bench, OKC will be faced with a big front court and Randle will get ample opportunities to get buckets.

Juan Hernangomez

Without a doubt, Nikola Jokic will be the pick of the week and will once again pose a triple-double threat. However to continue the theme of thinking outside the box, Juan Hernangomez is the pick for this game.

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The Spanish forward is playing his most inspiring basketball of his career, averaging 14 rebounds, eight rebounds on 53.3 percent shooting and 47.8 percent from three in his last five games. Additionally, Hernangomez is attacking the paint and taking players off the dribble showing a marked improvement from last season.

With Denver’s high octane offense and Paul Millsap out for the foreseeable future, Hernangomez will get plenty of chances to shine.

Danilo Gallinari

In both meetings against Oklahoma City, Danilo Gallinari has had his way with the Thunder’s front court. The Italian is posting an impressive 26.5 points on 54.8 percent shooting and a scorching 77.8 percent from three.

OKC will be playing their fourth game in six nights and on the second night of a back to back while the Clippers enter on a nights rest. Gallo has struggled in his last five games and will get his chance to bounce back to form against the Thunder.