OKC Thunder: 3 keys to winning season series versus Blazers

With the OKC Thunder electing to focus on development it means the club will experience great highs and equal lows. This week the team experienced both of those situations by beating the Raptors and then losing badly to the Suns.

While the win versus the Raptors might not seem like that big of a deal – – that same team posted a win on Friday versus the Warriors featuring the biggest win differential of the season (130-77). As for the loss to the Suns they’ve been one of the few consistent teams this season losing three games in a row just once this season.

The match on Friday was essentially over less than five minutes into the game as the Suns surged to a 20-5 lead and by the end of the quarter led by 30 points following a 43-13 frame. OUCH!

The big takeaway from the victory was the performances of the OKC Thunder rookies Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski. Maledon reached a new career-high and both rookies shot the ball well from deep.

In 42 games, Maledon has reached double-figure scoring 19 times with nine of those occasions in the last 11 games. He’d only scored over 20 points twice until the match versus the Suns. As we’ve reiterated Sam Presti smiles witnessing games like Friday because it highlights the growth of his rookies while delivering a loss to help with improving the Thunder lottery odds.

OKC Thunder versus Portland Trail Blazers – three keys

This game will feature vastly different lineups. Portland didn’t have CJ McCollum or Jusuf Nurkic available in the two prior meetings and the trade deadline affected both clubs.

For fans interested in the three keys from those outings (see below):

• February 16th – click here 
• January 26th – click here

As for this match let’s dive into the three keys…

Blazers new starting lineup featuring the three guard attack:

This match will feature a major difference versus the teams’ last meeting when Portland was missing CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic.

Additionally, the Blazers made a trade at the deadline to add 3-point sniper Norman Powell to the mix. That provides Portland with a starting lineup featuring a trio of guards each capable of lighting an opponent up.

Case in point, Powell is shooting a blistering 44.0 percent this season while McCollum is equally lethal shooting 40.7 percent. Lillard has the worst efficiency of the triad shooting 37.9 percent from the perimeter but is probably the most dangerous of the trio particularly late in matches.