In the second game of week 17, the OKC Thunder will meet the Golden State Warriors for the first time this season.
While the Thunder continue to try to lose games in an effort to improve their draft position the Warriors are actively trying to move up the ladder to participate in the postseason.
The Thunder arrive back home following a game last night in Salt Lake City versus the Jazz. It resulted in another loss to extend the team’s losing streak to a season-high seven games. The tank effort is in full motion as OKC has lost 12 of their last 15 matches.
Luguentz Dort served up a performance for the ages with 42 points while also delivering his typical defensive effort limiting Donovan Mitchell.
In contrast, the Warriors have won three of their last four matches including impressive victories versus the Bucks and Nuggets. The latter was a bittersweet night for the Dubs who witnessed Jamal Murray go down late in the match tearing his ACL.
Stephen Curry entered the Dubs record books in the same match surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s franchise scoring record. Steph needed 19 points to pass Wilt, and scored 53 with 10, 3-pointers of the 18 deep balls he attempted.
Three keys to OKC Thunder match versus the Golden State Warriors:
With Lu Dort, Darius Bazley, Isaiah Roby back from injury the Thunder were able to be much more competitive in Utah. Although they did fall behind by 25 points, with Dort leading they pushed back and made a late run cutting the game to 10 points.
After numerous routs that ranged in the 20 to 48 point range, the effort was more reminiscent of the style the squad played earlier this season.
OKC still needs to keep compiling losses and it’s hard to know if Mark Daigneault has been given any mandate. It’s a difficult situation to navigate but for fans, the matches that are closer are more compelling to watch. Likewise keeping the game score closer also affords Daigneault an opportunity to coach the team in scenarios they’ll need in future seasons.
Ultimately, this match will be no different in that the OKC will covet the loss while the Dubs desire a victory. Given that situation let’s look at three keys to the match…
Curry is on fire!
In the match versus the Nuggets Stephen Curry connected on 10 deep balls, it was the 18th time in his career he achieved that benchmark.
The sniper has been arguably the hottest shooter in the league recently scoring 30 or more points in each of his last seven matches capped by the 53 point effort in Denver. During those seven games, he’s averaged 38.4 points, 4.1 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and a steal.
Most impressive is the shooting efficiency which is blowing the 50-40-90 marker to smithereens via 53.5 percent from the field, 45.7 percent from the perimeter, and 90.8 percent from the line shooting splits.
Suffice to say, Lu Dort will have his hands full with this defensive assignment.