Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

San Antonio Spurs

Preview

The History

Are you for real? That question could apply to both teams tonight. Are the Thunder really a playoff team. Are the Spurs really going to challenge to be the two seed in the west. This season the Thunder have already beaten the Spurs once down in San Antonio, now if they can take care of business at home they will hold two wins over a formidable foe as well as solidifiying their playoff chances. With Utah, New Orleans, and Memphis all looking to get into the playoffs the Thunder sure could use some breathing room, a win tonight would add just a little more space between OKC and the dreaded 9^th seed. San Antonio will not go quietly into the night however. The good news is the Spurs are coming off the first game of a back to back. The better news is the Spurs opponent in that game was the Lakers. The bad news the Spurs have won 8 of their last ten. The worst news is the Spurs just demolished the Lakers in that first game of the back to back. Simply put the Spurs are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now and they just demolished the defending champs.

The Matchups

Tony Parker v Russell Westbrook

In the first matchup this season Westbrook was spectacular, he beat Parker in just about every category. Westbrook had 19 points on 7-13 shooting, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 0 turnovers. Parker was not bad he had 17 points on 7-18 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers. Okay never mind Parker was in fact bad, 4 turnovers and poor shooting from one of the big three for the Spurs. Westbrook will need to dig another great performance out of his bag tonight for the Thunder to get the win. Based on past play you have to think Westbrook will be at least able to match Parker tonight at home.

Edge Push

Quarter by Quarter observations

First Quarter

 Just when you thought it couldn't get any better KD goes for 15 points on 5 shots. That's 3 points per shot attempted, crazy. Green has not been a big part of the quarter, I thought with the slower Jeffries guarding him the Thunder would try to get Green to blow by him to the basket. So far it appears that Westbrook and Durant have better matchups. Westbrook is 4-4 from the field and 2-2 from the line for 10 points 2 rebounds and a steal. Collison also has been more aggressive down low. The Lee matchup is one of the few that he is not on the short end of the stick in. Green has done a good job down low on Lee. With Jeffries, who is more of a true center, in the game Krstic is playing Jeffries and Green is on Lee. Right now Lee is 3-8 but does have 5 rebounds.

Score to end the Quarter 34-24 Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New York Knicks

Preview

The story so far

The Knicks are third in the Atlantic division and only 1 game back from the playoffs in the East. The Knicks are also one of the better road teams in the East they are 9-10 on the road. The Thunder meanwhile are 10-8 on the road and at home. The Thunder are a half game and tiebreakers up in the west conference playoff race. After tonight's game against the Thunder the Knicks go to Philly before playing Toronto and Detroit twice. The Thunder play their next game against the Spurs before heading to Dallas. Those two games will go a long way to determining how good the Thunder are right now. But win tonight and the Thunder head into the Spurs game with a little momentum.

The Matchups

Chris Duhon v Russell Westbrook

Duhon averages less than 2 turnovers a game, while dishing out about 6 assists per game. Duhon is usually not very active on the glass either offensive or defensive. Westbrook took a step back in the assist department in the last game but made up for it with an 8-16 shooting night. He also added 9 rebounds. Westbrook has 15 turnovers in the last 5 games which is still below his season average but not what the Thunder fans have gotten used to expecting the past couple of weeks. Tonight's matchup is a close one Duhon will take better care of the ball but Westbrooks athletic plays and rebounding give the Thunder an edge.

Edge

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Indiana Pacers

Preview

The story so far

The Thunder are again coming off a disappointing loss, this time to the Hornets. The Thunder dominated most categories in the loss to the Hornets, they out rebounded them on the offensive and defensive sides, they took more free throws, and they took more shots. Yet the Hornets won the game. There is no shame in losing to the Hornets, but a win would have been a nice way to say this in no longer your home away from home. The Pacers are looking to get back on track after losing Danny Granger for the majority of the season so far. Granger returned last night against the Timberwolves, he played 31 minutes in the loss. The Pacers are 11-24 which means... they are right in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East. Coming to the end of this home stand the Thunder need a win to build up some momentum heading into the Knicks and San Antonio games. Win tonight and Monday against the Knicks and the Thunder finish this easy portion of the schedule 8-2 which I think most of us would agree is a win.

The Matchups

Earl Watson v Russell Westbrook

Earl is back to starting for the Pacers. For those of you who did not know the Swirl had lost his job to TJ Ford who has now been dropped to the end of the bench. In that short time Swirl has posted averages of 7.4 points, 5.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 turnovers. Meanwhile the student has become the teacher as Westbrook has really blossomed under the tutelage of Mo Cheeks and Kevin Ollie and now is a vastly superior option to Watson. Westbrook is now averaging 15.2 points, 9.6 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.4 turnovers. Westbrook should be able to drive past Watson at will and get to the rim, finishing around Hibbert could get dicey but it is a skill Westbrook must learn eventually. On defense Westbrook should be able to stick with Watson and prevent him from contributing much on the offensive side.

Edge

 Quarter by Quarter observations

First Quarter

 Early in the first the Hornets are attacking the Thunder down low they have gone to David West on the first three possessions of the game, Green is playing solid defense and has contested each of the three shots well. Lots of turnovers by the Thunder early, right now Westbrook has 2 Sefolosha, Durant, and Collison each have 1. The Hornets have opened up an eight point lead off the lack of Thunder offense. Westbrook is having trouble staying with Paul, he is getting easy open shots and is having no problem knocking them down. Peja Stojakovic is killing the Hornets right now he is 1-5 all 5 from downtown. The Thunder are playing pretty good defense as a team. The one area they need to improve is on screen and rolls for Paul. Paul was getting anywhere he wanted with wide open looks, I don't know why they went away from that part of their game.

Score to end the Quarter 23-23 Tied

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New Orleans Hornets

Preview

The story so far

Don't look now but the Hornets are back at .500 and looking to get back into the playoff race. In the Southwest division all five teams are at or above .500, even Memphis. New Orleans is coming off a couple of great wins in their current 3 game win streak. The Hornets took care of Miami, Houston, and Utah in three straight games. OKC is looking to start another winning streak after the dominating win in Chicago on Monday. The Thunder are finally back home and starting a nice 9 day stretch at home during which they will play NO, IND, NYK, and SA. If the Thunder finish up this stand at home with 4 wins the Thunder will have a nice 23-15 record.

The Matchups

Chris Paul v Russell Westbrook

Chris Paul, the last five games, is averaging 17.8 points, 8.8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 1.4 turnovers. Westbrook, the last five games, is averaging 16.2 points, 9.8 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 2.4 turnovers. Westbrook did an excellent job of becoming a scorer against the Bulls. The Thunder lost at Milwaukee because besides Durant they couldn't find another option that could consistently score, against the Bulls Westbrook stepped into that role nicely. The issue is once he became a scorer he wasn't able to run the offense. It was almost as if there is a switch that is set to scorer or distributer and there is no middle ground. The great point guards are able to continue to look for teammates even while they are trying to score. The more Westbrook is able to combine those two sides of his game the better he will become.

Edge