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Oklahoma City Thunder
vs
Utah Jazz
Preview
The History
Currently the Jazz are third in the northwest division and the Thunder are sitting fourth. Whoever wins tonight certainly has a leg up on the other when it comes down to playoff seeding. These two will not see each other again till Dec 31st, when the Jazz will come to OKC. A win tonight flips the standings putting OKC in third and the 7 seed and dropping Utah to fourth and the 8 seed.
The Matchups
Deron Williams v Russell Westbrook
I love CP3 as much as the next guy, but Deron Williams is as good as CP3. Their roles are different so comparing their stats while interesting is not really a good indicator of how good they are in relation to each other. Deron Williams is the leading scorer for the Jazz so tonight Westbrook has a tough matchup. He'll need to keep Williams out of the paint without fouling.
Edge
Ronnie Brewer v Thabo Sefolosha
Ronnie Brewer is averaging 12 points a night for the Jazz; he doesn't attempt many three pointers so Sefolosha will be free to help off him on Boozer and Milsap down low. Sefolosha has had a couple of rough games defensively, but has made up for it a little on offense. Against the Wizards he went 7-15 for 16 points and against the Lakers 3-5 for 6. He is at his best when cutting into the lane and getting easy baskets and it's up to Westbrook to recognize when he is open and when he isn't. Tonight I expect to see him slide around a lot depending on which of the Jazz is hot. He may be called upon to stop Williams on one drive then Boozer on the next.
Edge
Wes Matthews v Kevin Durant
Matthews has gotten the start the past couple of games for the Jazz. Since he has started to get steady burn he has been a very consistent part of the Jazz offense. He doesn't have great nights or bad nights he consistently shoots about .400 but only takes 5 or so shots on most nights. KD is currently dangerously close to career lows in FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. He already is posting lows in 3PT% and FT%. .430 was his rookie FG% and he currently sports a disappointing .446. KD has just looked out of synch this year so far and we keep waiting for him to come out of the funk maybe tonight's the night.
Edge
Carlos Boozer v Jeff Green
During the discussions surrounding the draft last year it seemed everyone was saying Griffin would be a more athletic Boozer. Well here is the man himself. Boozer has done a great job of not allowing off the court issues to affect his play on the court. The Jazz have been seemingly shopping Boozer around the last 3 years or so. Green has had a couple of great games against bigger power forwards that could not keep up with him and Boozer certainly fits that bill. I want to see Green develop more of a low post game hopefully tonight he gets a couple of chances against Utah.
Edge Push
Mehmet Okur v Nenad Krstic
Okur is expected to play tonight; this will be his first game back after missing the past 4 games with an illness. The Miami game seems so long ago now. That was the last time Krstic really played well. Whether it is due to a lack of touches or just a lack of confidence Krstic has not scored in double digits and only has 9 rebounds combined in the last three games. He also has only played an average of 15 minutes a game in the past three. Okur has a good offensive game; he is averaging 15 points a game, and should be able to push Krstic around down low.
Edge
Bench v Bench
AK 47 is coming off the bench right now but he still is averaging 35 minutes per game. AK47 and Paul Milsap are to two key players off the bench for the Jazz. Milsap is the restricted free agent that caused such a buzz last year in free agency. Milsap is averaging 10 and 6 a game, AK 47 another 15 and 6.
Just when you thought Harden had it going poof 0-10 from 3. Ollie did not return to the blowout loss to the Lakers due to injury, if he misses much time coupled with Weaver being down in Tulsa Westbrook may be forced into big minutes. The bright spot on the bench right now Serge Ibaka, he came into the Lakers game and provided a big spark of energy and continued to play well even after the issue had been decided.
Edge
The Prediction
The Jazz have gotten off to a disappointing start 7-6 and right now they are slotted into the 7th seed. The Thunder are encouraged after a 7-7 start and would be the 8th seed if the playoffs started today by virtue of their win over the Spurs. If the Thunder win they almost assuredly would finish November a game over .500, if they lose they will need a win over the Houston Rockets to get over .500. The Thunder are in a funk defensively, after playing the first couple of weeks of the season with great energy and intensity they have slipped significantly since the loss to Orlando. There is no shame in losing to the Lakers or even to Orlando but the defense has to get back on track for the Thunder to be a true contender to make the playoffs. Tonight might be an easy way to get back in the groove defensively, the Jazz are a team that plays a slower pace and Sefolosha should be able to help down low on Boozer, Milsap, and Okur.
Thunder win 102-99
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