OKC Thunder part of NBA Christmas Day: full five game primer
Blazers (19-14) vs. Jazz (16-18), 10:30 PM on ESPN:
The timing of this game couldn’t be better for the NBA. Portland lost December 21 to the Jazz at the Moda Center. Well, it wasn’t just a loss it was the Blazers worst loss at home since 2004.
Damian Lillard continues to make fans wonder if there is a ceiling for the point guard as he just keeps adding new wrinkles to his offensive brilliance. CJ McCollum is an excellent sidekick but I just wonder if Neil Olshey would be better served to do something similar to what Masai Ujiri did in Toronto. For as great as Lillard and CJ are it sure seems like they don’t have the depth or enough of the right type of talent surrounding Dame to get past a first or second round (if they make the playoffs at all).
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
To that end, it was a common preseason pick to place the Utah Jazz as a solid choice for an upper tier seed. In a weird twist, the Association’s best defense (with virtually the same roster) sputtered to start the season. Don’t ask me to dissect if it was Gobert’s public attacks on the men in stripes or the new rules because the officiating this season has been so inconsistent it’s impossible to tell what was the main issue.
Utah sat amid some of the worst defensive teams in the bottom third of the league. They’ve gradually been improving and suddenly are returning to form. Specifically, in the last 15 games they ranked third, last 10 they ranked second and in their last 5 games rank first.
The bigger issue for Utah is their inconsistent offense. As a rookie Donovan Mitchell excelled, but he’s had to adjust to being the primary player opponent’s game plan for. Mitchell is intermixing great performances with night’s you forget he’s on the floor.
Suffice to say these two clubs are still searching to establish consistency and string together a slew of wins in the tightly packed West.
As the OKC Thunder can attest, winning on Utah’s home court is an onerous task complete with a fan base who isn’t bashful about throwing shade at visiting teams.
All times listed are Eastern Standard (ET).
That wraps up the Christmas Day primer. Be sure to check out the TI Christmas themed roundtable linked below.
Next. TI writing team dives in with a holiday roundtable. dark
Check back post game with us for the player grades ad Topic: Thunder podcast as we revisit the highlights of the game and hopefully another big win. Enjoy the games everyone and again, Happy Holidays!