|
Oklahoma City Thunder
at
Orlando Magic
Preview
The History
"We're not a good basketball team right now. I've been saying that, but nobody's listening, we're totally predicated on shooting. We do not have any kind of defensive mindset, we don't have much toughness and we're not very smart. So, right now we're not a very good team." Stan Van Gundy after Orlando's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Nov 8th. In that game the Thunder shot an absurd 57% from the field, out rebounded the Magic 45-30, and posted matched the Magic in blocks 2-2. So what I am saying is don't expect that again. On the plus side while Orlando gets back Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Ryan Anderson they lose Jameer Nelson. That's a lot of firepower that was missing the first game.
The Matchups
Jason Williams v Russell Westbrook
Jason Williams was 0-3 in OKC but did have 5 assists and 0 turnovers, so a great game? No. A good game? Yeah I'll go with that. Westbrook had 10 assists and only 2 turnovers before he started to get careless late in a game that was pretty much decided. He still finished with 10 assist and 5 turnovers for a nice, if not spectacular, assist to turnover ratio. 5-12 would not normally be considered a good shooting night but he did go 3-4 from downtown and 5-12 is a lot better than any of the Magic shot. All in all in the magical beatdown Westbrook finished with an unbelievable +41.
Edge
Vince Carter v Thabo Sefolosha
This will be Carter's fifth game back from injury and it appears he has not missed a beat. One night after spending most of the game on Dwayne Wade, Sefolosha now must stop Carter. Carter is averaging about 18 and 5 since coming back and really has been very consistent so far. Sefolosha played very well last night in defense of Wade, one thing that really stands out about last night for me is the help defense he was able to provide down low on Jermaine O'Neal and still be able to get into position to challenge Wade's shot. While he is in an extended shooting slump he did go 4-6 against the Magic last time they met.
Edge
Mickael Pietrus v Kevin Durant
Hooray KD played under 40 minutes last game, wait... what he played 39:34? What ESPN rounded it up to 40... great. In a game the Thunder led the majority of the second half by double digits Brooks was still not able to give KD much rest. With Ollie, Green, Harden, Collison, and Thomas on the floor the Thunder could not find a good shot and had started to let the lead slip away, forcing Brooks to put KD back in the game where he stayed until the buzzer. I don't fault Brooks but perhaps putting Westbrook and Krstic in to run the pick a roll would have allowed him to rest Durant a little more. KD has now scored more than 25 points in the last eight games, the Thunder/Sonics record is 10 held by Ray Allen so if he can get 25 tonight then at home against the Wizards he could theoretically break the record in LA against the Lakers. Other interesting but ultimately useless statistical tidbits last night was KD's fourth game with a block and a steal and his eighth straight with an assist, use your new knowledge wisely.
Edge
Rashard Lewis v Jeff Green
Unlike Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis looks like the time off has affected his game. His last game against Charlotte he went 4-15 including 0-6 from three. Jeff Green is coming off a night he went 4-14 including 1-4 from three. So which of the struggling power forwards gets it going tonight. And if neither really gets it going who can find a way to make an impact other than shooting. Green's shot has looked good the past couple of games but he just can't seem to get the shots to go in. Maybe it's the injury put him on the stationary bike against the Clippers or maybe he is just trying too hard. I know... it's the uncertainty of the All star voting so maybe if we all promise to vote for him he can relax and play the way we all know he is capable of.
Edge Push
Dwight Howard v Nenad Krstic
Dwight what happened to the triple double? I know I know don't poke the beast and to his credit I really don't think Dwight ever quit in the game even when they were down Howard kept playing and tried to be the spark that got his team going. Don't expect him to this game without a block and don't expect him to finish this game without ten rebounds. Krstic vs Howard, Euro jump shooting center vs American low block monster an interesting contrast in styles and it's a thing of beauty to watch. Krstic has been pretty good on defense this year so far. While not a shot blocker or defensive juggernaut he nonetheless has been serviceable even against the best in the west. By no means am I suggesting that he will get the better of Howard tonight or prevent him from getting his points down low but if he can make Howard work for his points and play his game he may lose the battle but the Thunder will win the war.
Edge
Bench v Bench
With Nelson out Jason Williams will start which pushes Anthony Johnson into the backup point role. Between Ollie and Westbrook the Thunder will need to take advantage of this mismatch whenever Johnson gets into the game. In Orlando it all starts with the outside shooting, if they are hitting shots they force you to play Howard straight up which is hard for anyone in the league, if they are missing then you can help down low on Howard and everything gets a lot easier. Between Reddick, Bass, and Barnes they have some good shooters on the bench that can come it and light it up. Reddick had his first bad game of the year in OKC going 2-11, Barnes was better going 3-7 but he was 0-4 from three where they needed him to be hitting from, and Bass went 3-10. Good team defense contributed significantly to the Magic shooting woes and will need to tonight for the Thunder to get out with a win.
Collison continues to be mister reliable coming in and hitting big shots, hitting most of his shots, and making great defensive plays. Etan Thomas came in a played well giving Krstic a needed rest he also hit 2 out of 3 and was active around the basket. Harden really did not have a good game but after the 0-8 performance against the Clippers I'll gladly take 1-3 and 2 rebounds, Harden also did what he could on defense although he wasn't particularly effective he also wasn't a liability.
Edge
The Prediction
No one thought the Thunder would beat the Magic so thoroughly in OKC last game. Everyone is predicting the Magic will come out angry and take it to a Thunder team that will be tired after the draining win over the Heat. I just don't see the Magic as the type of team that gets angry, call me crazy but I think they are just a little too self confident. They aren't overlooking the Thunder but they are sure there is no way the Thunder come into Orlando, now that they have Lewis and Anderson back, on the back half of a back to back and dominate the way they did in OKC. If the Thunder can come out with energy I think they could surprise the Magic and take an early lead. If they do that they have shown they can keep a lead this season so why not, back to back shockers over Orlando and Miami.
Thunder win 95-90
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. Here are some of our high-priority areas that we're specifically looking to grow. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 