Gameday Preview: OKC Thunder visit New Orleans seeking one final victory prior to All-Star break
By Alex Mcewen
Open and Wide Open Efficiency
An interesting development I delved into is the OKC Thunder recent performance from beyond the arc. Since, January 5, the Oklahoma City improved from worst, to first in terms of their 3-point efficiency. Their improvement on open and wide-open 3-point attempts has played a vital role in the development.
Specifically, the Thunder has gone from shooting 31.0 percent on open and 31.9 percent on wide open 3-pointers to 40.0 percent and 47.6 percent respectively. Conveniently, for the Thunder in the same time span, the Pelicans are allowing 29.7 open and wide open 3-point attempts combined per contest.
Checking in on All-Star break records
Given today is the OKC Thunder final match before the annual All-Star break here is a breakdown of where their record has stood in past seasons at the break:
- 2017-18 – 33-26
- 2016-17 – 32-25
- 2015-16 – 40-14
- 2014-15 – 28-25
- 2013-14 – 43-12
- 2012-13 – 39-14
- 2011-12 – 27-7
- 2010-11 – 35-19
- 2009-10 – 30-21
- 2008-09 – 13-40
A win tonight would include Oklahoma City in a group with four other squads with 19 or fewer losses at the break.
Contain Jrue Holiday
This season in three contests Jrue Holiday has gotten the best of the Thunder defense, scoring 21.3 points and dishing 12.3 assists per game. Holiday has also registered a double-double in all three contests versus the Thunder this campaign.
Holiday’s 12.3 assists per game against the Thunder are the most he averages against a single Western Conference opponent, Holiday’s 37 assists have accounted for 80 Pelicans points.