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Oklahoma City Thunder
at
Golden State Warriors
Preview
The story so far
With the win over New Orleans the Thunder are climbing up the Western conference playoff standings. Right now the Thunder are in eighth but they are only 2 ½ games out of third. The Thunder also have a 1 game lead over Houston, a 2 game lead over Memphis, and a 2 ½ game lead over the Hornets. The Thunder have 9 games left in February only 4 opponents have winning records. The four opponents the Thunder play are Dallas, Portland, Phoenix, and San Antonio. The Thunder have a chance to clear up some of the playoff picture in the coming month.
The Matchups
Stephen Curry v Russell Westbrook
Curry was one of the bright spots for the Warriors against OKC. Curry shot 4-10 and made both threes he took. He also had 5 assists but turned the ball over 5 times as well. Westbrook had a great game against the rookie going 7-14 and getting to the line 17 times, between free throws and shots Westbrook had 28 points on 14 shots. His 8 assists and 5 rebounds are almost an afterthought when he scores like that.
Edge
Monta Ellis v Thabo Sefolosha
Sefolosha had a big offensive night against the Warriors he went 6-13 and got to the line 5 times, had he hit more than 1 free throw he would have had a nice point per shot ratio as it is he only got 14 points. Sefolosha did contribute 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 steals, and a block to the team. Ellis got 25 points but took 24 shots to get there.
Edge
Corey Maggette v Kevin Durant
Maggette managed to stay the entire game this time and almost singlehandedly kept the Warriors in the game. Maggette went 8-14 and got to the line 11 times for 26 points. Most any other night that would have won the small forward battle, unfortunately he ran up against KD as he was dropping 45 points on 21 shots. That is over 2 points per shot which is just crazy. Oh yeah he also had 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and only 4 turnovers. KD needs 32 points to pass Carmelo for the scoring lead.
Edge
Anthony Tolliver v Jeff Green
Tolliver didn't contribute much against the Thunder he was 2-6 and missed 2 free throws. Green went 6-11 for 14 points and added 7 rebounds. Green has broken out of his slump and started to find his offensive game. Green should see lots of time tonight due to the fact he can guard the smaller lineups the Warriors are likely to use.
Edge
Andris Biedrins v Nenad Krstic
Biedrins was supposed to come in and dominate on the glass, but in the end the Thunder wound up with a big edge in rebounds. Krstic has been good at times when his jumper is one but I struggle to figure out what teams he will get shots against.
Edge
Bench v Bench
Ronnie Turiaf is expected to play this time around. The former Laker is a decent backup with some offensive game, he went 4-5 last game and was really dominate down low. Coby Karl had a decent game the Warriors had a nice offensive play where he made some good decisions and got a couple of assists. CJ Watson was solid backing up Curry he went 4-8 but didn't really distribute the ball well.
Collison still doesn't look right to me, maybe his concussion is still lingering or something else has gone wrong but he just doesn't look 100% to me. Harden had a terrible game going 1-7 but has shown the ability to get on a hot streak and fill it up. Ibaka had another good game he is really figuring out how to play defense and block shots. Maynor just needs to continue to be a solid backup for Westbrook his shot has not been falling but hopefully that is just a slump.
Edge
The Prediction
This will be the first home game for the Warriors against the Thunder. The Warriors play better at home but the Thunder it seems play better on the road. Durant went for 45 against the Warriors in the last game, he only needs 32 to take the scoring lead so I bet he will be in the lead after 3. The Warriors will make a game of it but the Thunder should be too deep and too talented to lose this one with the playoffs in the back of everyone's mind.
Thunder win 123-111
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