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Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder preview (Game 4 of 82)

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durant westbrook thunder mavericks

  • When: Wednesday, 06 November 2013 at 8:30 PM CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

Three words come to mind when I think of this game: Return to normalcy. For the past 6 months, Thunder fans have been living on the edge regarding our present and our future. We’ve seen what life is like without Westbrook and we’ve seen Westbrook (surprisingly) come back for the home opener on Sunday. Now it feels normal. A primetime game with the whole band together against a rival. To me, the NBA season starts today.

The Oklahoma City Thunder come into this game with a record of 2-1, after what can only be described as a whirlwind first week. They looked good, but not great, in their opener against Utah. Then, in Minnesota, crews are still trying to pick up the mess that was left behind by the shellacking the Thunder received at the hand of the Timberwolves. And then Westbrook returned to provide a spark at home against the surprisingly resilient Phoenix Suns. The week was like the recordings of a seismograph: up and down, up and down. But alas, the Thunder came out relatively unscathed and have had a couple of days between games to practice with a full compliment of players.

The regional rivalry between the Thunder and Dallas Mavericks begins tonight in Oklahoma City. The Thunder won all 4 games against Dallas last season, and have won 10 straight games against the Mavs, to include the playoffs. While it may seem to currently be a one-sided rivalry, two of the games last season went to overtime and a third was only a 6 point victory for OKC. Regardless, when it comes to regional rivalry games, you can usually throw records out the window.

The Opponent

mavericks nowitzki ellis calderon marion dalembert

Coming into this game, the Mavericks are 3-1, and are surprisingly one of the top offenses in the league. Surprising, not because of the personnel, but because of how quickly the new parts have assimilated into an offensive force. The Mavs are still led by forward Dirk Nowitzki, who seems to be recovered from the myriad of ailments that plagued him last season. The Mavs’ reassembled backcourt seems to be what is spear-heading the offense. Shooting guard Monta Ellis has been very efficient in the first 4 games of the season, averaging 25 ppg on 53% FG shooting. The other half of the back court, Jose Calderon, has struggled mightily offensively, but has done a good job orchestrating the offense. Off the bench, the Mavs are led by veterans Vince Carter and Dejuan Blair. Continue reading Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder preview (Game 4 of 82) →

Game Preview – Oklahoma City Thunder @ Philadelphia 76ers (Game 35 of 66)

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The Oklahoma City Thunder start the second half of the season on the road, facing a 3 game East Coast swing. The trip starts in Philadelphia where they face the surprising Atlantic division leading Philadelphia76ers. This is the first, and only, meeting between these two teams for this season. The Thunder won both meetings last season, but each game was close, with one going into overtime.

The Opposition

The 76ers come into the game with a 21-14 record, good for 1st in the Atlantic division and 4th in the Eastern Conference. They trounced the Detroit Pistons in their previous game, but had lost their previous 5 games before the All Star break. The Sixers are very similar to the Denver Nuggets in that they don’t have an established superstar, but have good players and have a deep rotation. They have 10 players that average at least 17 minutes per game. They are the best defensive team in the league, in terms of points allowed, giving up only 87 points per game. They have 6 players who average double figures, led by their backcourt trio of Lou Williams (15.6 ppg), Jrue Holiday (13.5 ppg), and Andre Iguodala (12.3). The front court is led by veteran Elton Brand (10.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg) and Thad Young (12.9 ppg and 4.7 rbg). Starting center Spencer Hawes is out with an Achilles injury. Due to their versatility, the bench is one of the more stronger ones in the league, led by guards Evan Turner and Lou Williams, forward Thad Young, and rookie center Nikola Vucevic.

Probable Starting Line-ups

Philadelphia

  • PG – Jrue Holiday
  • SG – Jodie Meeks
  • SF – Andre Iguodala
  • PF – Lavoy Allen
  • C – Elton Brand 

Oklahoma City

  • PG – Russell Westbrook
  • SG – Daequan Cook
  • SF – Kevin Durant
  • PF – Serge Ibaka
  • C – Kendrick Perkins

Match-up to Watch Out For

Russell Westbrook vs. Jrue Holiday

When Russell Westbrook was an unheralded sophomore, Jrue Holiday was the highly recruited freshman point guard that everyone was talking about. Needless to say, things have changed a bit since then. WhileHolidayhas begun to carve out his own niche in the league, Westbrook has taken the league by storm and become one of its top point guards. WhileHolidayis a better shooter, Westbrook is a better at getting into the paint due to his strength and height advantage.

3 In The Paint

  1. Like Denver, this is a team that constantly bombards you with fresh players. With 10 players that average over 17 minutes, this is the perfect team for this compacted schedule. The key for the Thunder will be to constantly drive the ball inside and try to get a few of the key players in foul trouble.
  2. Don’t expect to see Kendrick Perkins a lot in this game. The Sixers are very guard-oriented and their bigs are perimeter-oriented, except for Brand.  You’ll see a lot of small ball lineups with KD playing the 4 and Ibaka/Collison playing the 5.
  3. It will be key to limit the turnovers and guard the 3 point line. The Sixers have 5 rotation players that shoot over 38% from the 3-point line. The Sixers are No.1 in the league in turnover differential. They protect the ball, while forcing you to give it up.

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz Preview (Game 27 of 66)

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The Oklahoma City Thunder are probably sick and tired of their decked out first class plane. I’m all for team bonding, and being on the road can accentuate this, but 8 road games out of 9 is a bit much in a 14 day span. Oklahoma City doesn’t have a circus in town, and when the rodeo comes, they only stay for a couple days. The last time they played at home, Jeremy Lin was still riding the pine in New York. Now, they hit the final leg of their tour, against division rival, the Utah Jazz. This will be the first of 3 meetings between the two teams this season. The Thunder won the season series last year 3-1, but the Thunder will find that this year’s Jazz team has a completely different look than last season’s. 

The Opponent 

The Utah Jazz have the definition of consistently inconsistent. They started off the season losing 3 of their first 4. Then the reeled off 9 wins out of their next 11 games. And now they’ve lost 6 of their last 9 games. They currently sit at 13-11, good for 3rd in the division and 8th in the conference. The Jazz are led by their front court of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. Together they are averaging 35 points and 18.6 rebounds per game. Though a bit undersized, they are one of the more formidable front courts in the league. Last season’s first round pick, Gordon Hayward, is rounding into a good role player providing more scoring, rebounding, and playmaking as the starting SF. The backcourt of Devin Harris and Raja Bell is veteran-laden, but a bit limited in all facets of the game. The bench for the Jazz can be inconsistent, with veterans CJ Miles, Josh Howard, and Earl Watson getting the bulk of the bench minutes. The Jazz’s defense is pretty suspect as they allow 97.2 points per game, which is 23rd best in the league.

 Probable Starting Line-ups 

Oklahoma City

  • PG – Russell Westbrook
  • SG – Daequan Cook
  • SF – Kevin Durant
  • PF – Serge Ibaka
  • C – Kendrick Perkins 

Utah

  • PG – Devin Harris
  • SG – RajaBell
  • SF – GordonHayward
  • PF – Paul Millsap
  • C – Al Jefferson

 Matchup to look out for 

Al Jefferson vs. Kendrick Perkins

These two were supposed to be the future front court for the Boston Celtics in the early 2000’s. As both have attested to, they developed a great bond while in Boston and continue to be great friend off the court. Perkins tends to get up for games against rivals or old friends. He got Boston for 7 points, 5 boards, and 1 block earlier this season. And I know he’ll more than be up for this game tonight. 

3 in the Lane 

Turnovers. Please gentlemen, let’s keep these turnovers to a minimum. I don’t know a good number, but the more you turn it over, the more you give the other team opportunities to score on their end. Everyone on the court is an NBA player, and eventually, if given enough opportunities, even bad teams will score on their increased opportunities.

Interior defense. Millsap and Jefferson are very similar to Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in that they aren’t overly athletic, but are very fundamentally sound and have good mid range games. For being undersized, Millsap is deceptively good on the interior. It’ll be very important that Ibaka, Perkins, Mohammed, and Collison stay with these guys at all times, as they have been know to drop 30 and 15 type games.

Offensive schema. There is no one on the Jazz that can consistently guard Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook. Durant is so much bigger than Bell,Hayward, or Howard. And Westbrook is so much stronger than Harris and quicker than Watson. The key will be the shooters (Cook and Harden). If they are making their shots, the defense won’t be allowed to collapse on Durant and Westbrook, as their primary defenders will need help throughout the game.