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Oklahoma City Thunder
vs
Utah Jazz
Preview
The History
104-94, That's where we left it in Utah. Now the Jazz get a chance for redemption in OKC. The Jazz were in the middle of a big 6 game home stand in which they went 5-1. The Thunder put an end to a three game Jazz winning streak in the first match, this time the Thunder come in on a 4 game winning streak of their own looking to pass Utah with a win for the eight seed and third in the Northwest division. This will also be Eric Maynor's first game against the team that drafted him.
The Matchups
Deron Williams v Russell Westbrook
The first game I thought this would be a big advantage for the Jazz. Williams is a great point guard and Westbrook was still learning his position. Now Westbrook is playing great, he has eliminated most of his turnovers and is doing a great job of distributing the ball. In his last 5 games Westbrook only has one game with more than 2 turnovers. His assist to turnover ratio is 4.18 to 1 in the last five, he also has posted double doubles in his last two games. In the first matchup Williams was checked by Sefolosha, who did an excellent job of slowing him. Williams went 5-14 and had 7 turnovers to go with his 9 assists. The Thunder sure could use another 5-14 night from Williams tonight so lets hope Sefolosha eats his wheaties today because on any given day Williams can takeover a game.
Edge Push
Ronnie Brewer v Thabo Sefolosha
Ronnie Brewer didn't shoot against the Thunder last game. The Jazz preferred to pound in inside against Krstic, Green, Ibaka, and Thomas. Brewer can score when he gets the shots and hopefully tonight he has to take quite a few because that would mean the Jazz just aren't getting good looks down low. Sefolosha has not been playing as good as he did to start the season but he should be able to dial it up tonight. Sefolosha will probably spend most of his time on Williams, Sefolosha has shown the ability to cover point guards this season and considering Williams is a bigger point and relies more on physical play he should be a favorable matchup for the bigger Sefolosha.
Edge
CJ Miles v Kevin Durant
Last time the Thunder battled the Jazz Miles was still recovering from thumb surgery. Since his return from injury he has been splitting time with Wes Matthews. Miles is a streaky shooter who is not afraid to shoot the three, and he makes around 33% of them. Durant is making a strong push to get into the All Star game, in his last 5 games he has gone over 30 points. Durant is also getting it done efficiently making over 50% of his shots in all but one of the games. Against Utah Durant had 28 points on 22 shots but also dished 8 assists and only had 2 turnovers.
Edge
Carlos Boozer v Jeff Green
Boozer really turned it on against the Thunder in the first matchup, he went 11-15 and got 7 rebounds. The Thunder were content to let him get his points while stopping Williams from ever getting going. It was a plan that worked the first time. Green had a good night against the Jazz as well going 6-13 but hitting 3 of 7 three pointers to give him 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and a partridge in a pear tree. I wanted to see Green take the ball down low in the first match but he just didn't do that preferring to stretch the floor and pour on the threes. Given the result of the game I guess I really can't complain. Boozer will have the better night scoring and rebounding but as long as Green is close the Thunder will come out ahead.
Edge
Mehmet Okur v Nenad Krstic
Okur was not effective in the first meet in Utah he went 5-13 and only scored 13 points to go with 6 rebounds. Krstic was slightly better if only because he took fewer shots, he went 4-10 and also snagged 6 rebounds. Krstic also added 4 assists and a steal before fouling out. Krstic has been playing better than ever the past couple of games. The emergence of Serge Ibaka appears to have lit a competitive fire in him. Krstic has shot over 50% in each of his last four games and posted his first double double of the season against Charlotte, and his second highest points of the season against New Jersey. It still remains to be seen if he can sustain this type of production through the season or not.
Edge Push
Bench v Bench
Ak-47 and Paul Milsap tore the Thunder up in Utah earlier in the season. Milsap was 8-11 and had 7 rebounds. Milsap did benefit a lot from the Thunder defense just losing track of him, I bet that doesn't happen nearly as much in this game. The Thunder did make good adjustments in the second half of the game so even if they fall back into bad habits to start the game we know they can make the adjustments to get the win. Ak-47 will shoot and the Thunder will need to close out on him and force him to make shots with a hand in his face. Wes Matthews started in place of CJ Miles last game and did well but really isn't the kind of player that makes a huge impact. He went 2-4 for 7 points and picked up a rebound. Outside of AK and Milsap the Utah bench is somewhat lacking.
Last time we met the Jazz I thought Ak-47 and Milsap were the only reserves worth knowing. I was wrong. In that game a little point guard named Eric Maynor played 17 minutes and was arguably the best point on the floor. Although he went 0-4 he also had 7 assists and 0 turnovers and was the only Jazz player with a positive +/-. Now that he is on the Thunder you could say they have the 3 best point guards from that game, Maynor, Weaver, and Westbrook. Harden bounced back a little from the 0-10 night he posted against New Jersey, Harden went 3-7 for 11 points against Washington. Collison should play this time around and hopefully he can stop Boozer and Milsap from scoring at will. Ibaka did not play much against Washington but that is probably more due to Collison and Krstic playing well than Ibaka playing poorly. Ibaka should be able to contribute tonight and hopefully has another 3-4 night with some rebounds.
Edge Push
The Prediction
The Thunder are rolling now and bring a lot of momentum into this game. The Thunder are showing they know how to win games against the teams they should and personally I think Utah falls into that category right now. Not to say Utah is not good, this will be a tough matchup. The Thunder need to win this game to create some space in the playoff race while the schedule is fairly easy. Utah is one of the teams the Thunder will likely be battling for a playoff spot or for playoff seeding. With Sefolosha on Williams and KD unable to be stopped the Thunder should win this one at home.
Thunder win 108-96
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