Other previews

http://with-malice.com/201004171222/articles/nba/la-vs-okc.html

http://www.dailythunder.com/2010/04/ten-things-oklahoma-city-has-to-do-to-beat-the-lakers/

http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2010/4/16/1425908/luck-be-a-lakers-lady

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2010/4/16/1427072/lakers-thunder-series-preview

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/04/16/lakersthunder-preview-when-the-thunder-have-the-ball/

The playoff matchup

The Lakers and Thunder have played 4 games this season which gives us ample amounts of data to rehash.

Game One

A couple of things stand out about this game. As a Thunder fan the important thing about this game is Thabo Sefolosha turned a completely healthy Kobe Bryant into a volume scorer and limited his effectiveness. It also helps that the Thunder played well and took the Lakers to overtime despite Etan Thomas and Kevin Ollie being key parts of the rotation. Kevin Ollie plays 19 minutes and Etan Thomas plays 35 minutes. Who knows maybe with 19 minutes of Eric Maynor and 35 minutes of Serge Ibaka this one is a win. KD went 10-24 but was 0-8 from three and really struggled with the physical play of Ron Artest.

Game Two

This one was over by half so what happened? Well first off this one was in LA, home court advantage and all that. Durant actually did better against the aggressive defense of Artest, but he missed several makeable shots. Westbrook got careless with the ball and turned it over 6 times coupled with 3 ill advised threes and essentially Westbrook turned it over 9 times in the first half. Harden was 2-15 including 0-10 from three the Thunder as a team shot 3-23 from three.

Game Three

Now we start to get to the more important games. This was the second game in LA and frankly this time the Thunder were better prepared. The Thunder were dealing with a rash of injuries Kevin Ollie was out with a shoulder injury,  Kyle Weaver followed a terrific performance in Phoenix by dislocating his shoulder in practice the next day, and in the previous game against Houston Shawn Livingston reaggravated his previous knee injury. So the Thunder went into the Staples center without a backup point guard and little actual guard depth and fought to the finish. Jeff Green did a good job on Gasol and Ibaka pulled in 14 rebounds. KD learned more about how to play against Artest effectively although he turned the ball over 6 times he also shot well and took good shots something he struggled to do in the previous games.

Game Four

The Thunder smack down, were the Lakers mailing it in? Maybe, but if they did that was a big mistake. You don't mail it in and give a potential first round opponent the confidence that they can beat you. This was the first game we really saw Nenad Krstic play well against the Lakers. Krstic could be the key to this series, the more the Thunder get out of Nenad the less of an advantage the Lakers front court becomes. In the European Tourney Pau and Marc's Spanish team got the better of Nenad's Serbian team so how fitting would it be for Nenad to get the last laugh by knocking the Lakers out of the postseason.

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Utah Jazz

Preview

The History

The Thunder are 2-0 against the Jazz so far this year. The Thunder currently sit a game and a half behind the Jazz for second in the division and fourth in the West. AK 47 is most likely out this game and Deron Williams is nursing a shoulder injury. This will be Kyle Weavers second game back, even though he looked incredibly rusty against the Nets, I am looking forward to seeing him in action again.

The Matchups

Deron Williams v Russell Westbrook

Williams shot 3-12 against the bucks in the game he hurt his shoulder. If his shoulder is affecting his shot it could be a long game for the Jazz. If Williams shoulder forces him out of the game for an extended period of time the Jazz will be forced to run without a point or turn to Ronnie Price. Westbrook struggled with his shot against the Jazz last game, he also didn't get to the line, and when he did get to the line he missed free throws. Add it all up and it equals a subpar game from Westbrook. How many times do you think we are going to say Westbrook was only 2 POINTS away from a double double, and yet he had 10 assists and 8 points. In spite of missing shots and turning the ball over 4 times Westbrook still had a positive impact on the game with his 10 assists.

Edge

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets came out and put the screws to the Thunder early. At one point the Hornets had a 10 point lead in the first quarter. It was all set up for another tough fight when the Thunder realized they were the better team. David West hit his shots, despite excellent defense for the most part by Jeff Green. West was hitting shots despite Green having a hand in his face, despite having to fall away to create space, and despite having to put up quick shots. While West was on fire the rest of the Hornets were less than mediocre. Thornton hit 4 of 13 for 11 points and added 5 rebounds. Collison went 3 of 14 for 8 and added 9 assists and only 2 turnovers. The Thunder on the other hand had KD and Westbrook both hitting shots along with Krstic and Ibaka. With the Hornets struggles and the Thunder playing well this one was really over about 2 minutes into the third quarter. The Thunder extended a 9 point half time lead to around 20 points in the third quarter and never looked back. The Hornets attempted to get back in the game but they never really threatened after the third.

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New Orleans Hornets

Preview

The view from the other side

http://www.hornets247.com/blog 

The story so far

The Hornets are slowly slipping out of playoff contention. The Thunder now have a 97.8% chance of making the playoffs according to Hollinger's playoff odds. The Thunder beat the Hornets in New Orleans last time out and look to extend the streak another game tonight at home. With CP3 still out the Hornets are missing one of their big guns but remain a dangerous team with a very good offense.

The Matchups

Darren Collison v Russell Westbrook

Darren Collison is a nice player but he is not Chris Paul, without their leading scorer it will be up to Collison to run the offense and score. Westbrook had one of his better games against the Hornets in NO, he shot over 50% had 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Tonight the key for the Thunder will be how Westbrook handles Collison on the defensive side of the ball. If Westbrook can get another 4-12 and 5 turnovers out of Collison the Thunder will have an excellent chance to win.

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Denver Nuggets

Preview

The story so far

This is the matchup of the night, at least in my opinion. You have two stars going head to head, two teams battling for playoff position, and a possible changing of the guard at point guard. The Nuggets are in a slump having just gone 0 for 2 on the road, but now they are back home. The Thunder will need to play a good game and make very few mistakes if they want to pull out the win in Denver.  

The Matchups

Chauncey Billups v Russell Westbrook

Billups is the vet with the big game experience, Westbrook the up and coming sophomore, so who comes out on top. I would have said Billups before February, now with Westbrook coming off a month in which he averaged 18.8 points 10 assists and 6.5 rebounds I got to go with Westbrook. Westbrook is also averaging 30 points and 13 rebounds for the month of March, granted it's only one game but that's an impressive average.

Edge

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Sacramento Kings

Preview

The History

Sacramento seems like a long time ago now, but just under 2 weeks ago they served as the home opener for the Thunder. In a game that served to energize the Thunder fans and set a new benchmark for success the Thunder claimed victory over the Kings 102-89. This would be the first game Thabo Sefolosha would frustrate and limit an established scorer but it wouldn't be the last. This time around the Kings are in even worse position to get the win as Kevin Martin, who led the Kings with 27 points, will not be playing.

The Matchups

Tyreke Evans v Russell Westbrook

With Kevin Martin out of the picture the Kings are leaning heavily on Evans and other rookies for contributions. Evans has stepped up and currently has the rookie of the year award all but wrapped up. In the first game Westbrook did a good job of keeping Evans under wraps while Thabo spent most of his time on Martin. Westbrook has improved by leaps and bounds as the season has progressed. His shooting percentage is still low but he is taking mostly good shots after struggling with shot selection early in the season. He continues to be a triple double threat most any night, Westbrook has had double digit assists in 4 of the last 5.

Edge