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Oklahoma City Thunder
at
Portland Trailblazers
Preview
The History
The Thunder had opened up the season with two straight wins when they hosted the Portland Trailblazers. The Thunder were held to a season low 74 points, that would be the only time so far this season the Thunder have scored under 80. KD was obviously not ready for the defense of Martell Webster he went 3-20 for 16 points. This game just showed the Thunder that without a decent game from Durant they couldn't win. Green had 19 points on 15 shots and Westbrook went 8-12 for 23 and yet the Thunder only managed 74 points.
The Matchups
Andre Miller v Russell Westbrook
Westbrook tore up the Trailblazer defense last game, and that was one of the few when the Blazers had both Oden and Pryzbilla. Tonight without a good shot blocker in the game Westbrook should be able to get into the lane all night long. Miller is a good option but he lacks the quickness to beat Westbrook off the dribble or to deny him the lane. Look for Westbrook to continue his recent good play and start the week off well in defense of his player of the week title.
Edge
Jared Bayless v Thabo Sefolosha
With Brandon Roy out Bayless should step into the starting shooting guard role, although it would not surprise me to see Steve Blake get a start beside Miller. Bayless has been decent in the past but is not nearly the complete player Roy is. Sefolosha has started to find more shots in an expanded offense for the Thunder the past couple of games. Sefolosha has shown off a nice midrange jumper that is making teams pay for playing off him. Without Roy Bayless should get the Sefolosha treatment which means not a big night for Bayless.
Edge
Martell Webster v Kevin Durant
KD was struggling to start the season, that's not to take anything away from the defense of Martell Webster. After a great January he took a step back to start February. Of course a step back for Durant still leaves him several steps ahead of your typical NBA scorer. It will be interesting to see how Durant deals with Webster tonight, one of the things he has struggled with so far this season is top tier defenders like Artest, Marion, and Battier. Webster has shown good defensive ability and was at least part of the reason Durant went 3-20 in the first game. How he adjusts to the increased defensive pressure will be key.
Edge
LaMarcus Aldridge v Jeff Green
Aldridge has been playing well but the grind of being the only big man on the roster not injured has to be getting old. Green made huge strides in January and broke out of what had been an almost all season long slump. Green got a season high 11 rebounds against the Blazers before they lost Oden and Przybilla so tonight he has the potential to set a new season high. Green is shooting 50% from three in his last 5 games so tonight when you see him launching threes remember that before you start cursing.
Edge
Juwan Howard v Nenad Krstic
Howard played 9 minutes in the first game but will be pressed into service tonight. Krstic has been up and down a lot lately. He went 1-4 against Golden State then 4-7 against Atlanta and 7-8 against New Orleans before going 4-10 against Golden State. Maybe Golden State is just not a good place for him to play. Perhaps he is blinded by the color of their uniforms who knows. Tonight he has a good chance to show off that hook shot down low against the undersized Blazers. Ha ha ha under sized Blazers.
Edge
Bench v Bench
Steve Blake started off as the starting point. Blake is coming off the bench to give the Blazers another playmaker with the second team. Nicolas Batum is another good defender for when Webster needs a break. Rudy Fernandez aka Spanish something a high flyer and drives the lane well.
Ollie and Thomas saw significant time in the first match. Now that both are on the bench we will see how Ibaka and Maynor can do. The Thunder will want Harden to pace Blake and Batum in terms of playmaking and defense. Maynor just needs to take care of the ball and make good decisions. Ibaka is learning how to protect the rim and tonight with Fernandez in that will be big. Collison could play a big part tonight given the lack of size and depth down low for the Blazers I would definitely give him the ball down low and try to make some plays.
The Prediction
One thing the Thunder know how to do is put fouls on people. Durant and Westbrook get into the lane, make contact, and get to the line. With the lack of depth the Blazers have down low getting Howard or Aldridge in foul trouble could make this a long game for the Blazers. Green has been working down low and tonight should be no different. Green will get the Thunder off on the right foot working down low and the Thunder should be able to pull out a win on the road against the Blazers.
Thunder win 105-98
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