The first half of the season schedule has been released for the OKC Thunder, and there are 3 specific matchups fans should want to see.
Seemingly as soon as their Cinderella-story 2019-20 season ended, the OKC Thunder shifted their attention from postseason contenders to No. 1 overall pick hopefuls for the 2021 NBA Draft.
This was made evident by their plethora of offseason trades that landed them a perfect combination of undesirable contracts, expendable players, and future draft assets to add to their already illustrious collection.
The rebuild is real for OKC in 2020-21, as they begin to build around young stud Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and put all their focus on the future for the franchise.
However, though this year is not expected to be anything special for the Thunder, this is not to say there won’t be any reasons to tune in and watch your favorite team play the sport you love.
With the recent release of the first half of this year’s schedule, fans are able to see what Oklahoma City’s matchups will look like from opening night on December 23rd all the way to March 4th.
During these 30+ games, there will be a select few individual matchups that may peak the intrigue of spectators.
Today, we at Thunderous Intentions list the 3 most attention-grabbing individual matchups fans should tune in for:
Matchup to watch No. 1) Shai Gilegous-Alexander vs. Chris Paul (January 27th)
To start things off we bring up the game that all OKC Thunder fans are longing to see this year — the battle between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chris Paul.
After having a miraculous season in Oklahoma City, Paul was inevitably dealt to the Phoenix Suns this offseason, thus kicking off the team’s current rebuild phase. Because of this move, it is widely assumed that SGA will now be taking over top-dog duties, a role CP3 held last season.
No, this matchup has no “bad blood” vibes present, as SGA recently referred to the All-Star guard as a “brother for life.” However, what makes this battle one for fans to circle in on their calendar is the storyline of “padawan becomes the master.”
As Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey cited, the “passing of the torch” aspect to this game makes it a must-watch for the OKC faithful:
"When they play each other, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will have a chance to deploy some of the knowledge Paul passed onto him against his former mentor. It’ll be like the one-on-one matchup you had with your dad in the backyard. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader. Neo vs. Morpheus."
Remember January 27th, folks, for It may be one of the few games this year that will consist of some actual meaning.
Matchup to watch No. 2) Luguentz Dort vs. James Harden (December 23rd)
The first matchup of the 2020-21 season for the OKC Thunder comes against the last team they played in the 2019-20 season — Houston Rockets.
Not only could this game be considered somewhat of a redemption game for Oklahoma City, but it’s also a “heat check” game of sorts for second-year guard, Luguentz Dort.
During last year’s first-round series against Houston, the Arizona State-product broke onto the scene under the bright lights of the NBA Bubble.
After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Dort signed a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his rookie campaign, he managed to carve out a solid 22.8 minutes per game role with the team during the regular season, where he averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game on 39 percent shooting from the floor and 30 percent shooting from deep.
Surprisingly, when facing off against the likes of superstar James Harden in the postseason, Dort wound up being the thunderbolt star that OKC fans fell in love with.
Through six games played (all starts) the 21-year-old averaged 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, one assist, and one block per game.
However, it was during the team’s must-win games 6 and 7 where he seemingly shined the brightest.
Ending the year off on a stellar final stat-line of 30 points, four rebounds, and one block on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent shooting from deep while going up against 2018’s league MVP is certainly a great way for the undrafted rookie to go out.
In this opening-day matchup, the fan-favorite to have a breakout campaign this year will look to prove that this level of production has managed to roll into 2020-21 as well.
Matchup to watch No. 3) *Insert name here* vs. Steven Adams (December 31st)
The idea of Steven Adams not manning the middle for the OKC Thunder moving forward is simply something fans are going to have to get used to.
A part of the team’s desire to embark on a full-blown rebuild was, unfortunately, trading the likes of the franchise favorite to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for George Hill (from Bucks) , Darius Miller, Josh Gray, Zylan Cheatham, Kenrich Williams, Denver’s 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick, Washington’s 2023 second-round pick, Charlotte’s 2024 second-round pick, and a $27.5 million trade exception.
Now, as a result, Adams will be donning the blue, gold, and red threads of NOLA from here on out, and is expected to make his return to the Chesapeake Energy Arena on New Year’s Eve.
As of this moment, no official word has surfaced in regard to who coach Mark Daigneault plans to roll out in the starting lineups at the pivot — though many believe it will likely be Al Horford, we cannot say for sure — so, because of this, we have simply listed this matchup as *Insert name here* vs. Steven Adams because, frankly, it’s not about who is the team’s starting center in this bout but, rather, just seeing Adams going up against the man who wound up replacing him.