OKC Thunder face well rested Hornets – preview

Open and close quarters strong:

Clearly, this could be the biggest factor in determining the winner of the match given the Thunder tend to lose games when they lose the first and third quarters. As noted this match will be a test for OKC since the Hornets is extremely well rested having not played since Sunday.

The main focus should be on defense and OKC should make an effort to attack the paint immediately in order to get easy buckets.

Defend the perimeter:

Although the Hornets rank 14th in perimeter efficiency if you’ve followed their efforts this season it’s notable they often get hot from outside and have won games in the clutch with heaves from their youngsters.

Recently Malik Monk and Devonte’ Graham won at the buzzer in back to back games to steal victories so paying attention to the perimeter is key. Charlotte will fire away from deep where they average 35 attempts on average.

This isn’t a squad who are adept offensively as they are the 28th ranked team for points and 26th for field goal percentage. Killing their spirit early also won’t deter them from firing away from deep but it could do just enough to limit their energy.

ATTACK:

The Hornets allow 112.9 points ranking 28th defensively which means you can score on this team frequently and in via a number of ways. Part of the reason Borrego elected to move Biyombo to the starting rotation was his perimeter protection since he doesn’t offer much in the form of offense.

OKC shouldn’t let Biyombo deter them from attacking and if the option is closed down kick the ball out to the open scorer.