vs. 
Thunder (20-53, 6-30 road) at San Antonio Spurs (48-25, 26-11 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 7:30 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.1 (28th), San Antonio: 108.2 (13th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.2 (20th), San Antonio: 103.9 (5th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.6 (8th), San Antonio: 88.5 (26th)
A stat to consider: The Spurs are 28-10 when their “big three” of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili play. And Ginobili is back and expected to play tonight. Awesome.
We all remember last time, a defining 78-76 win over San Antonio in which OKC shot 36 percent from the field, was outrebounded and trailed at one point by 17 and yet somehow won. In that game all five Thunder starters were minuses while the entire bench was pluses. A strange but excellent win. One big helper in the last game was the Spurs went 3-19 for three. They’re a good shooting team and OKC can’t expect that kind of performance again.
And the Thunder’s going to have to grind another one if they intend to win again. San Antonio is the best defensive team in the league and the OKC offense has sputtered a bit lately. The Thunder hasn’t scored 100 points in 15 games after topping the century mark in seven of 10 before that.
Part of the reason is that Kevin Durant has stalled a bit. In his last two he’s scored 39 points total on 10-28 shooting. Very un-Durantula like. He was an absolute scoring machine before he turned his ankle and I think he’s had trouble re-acclimating himself to the flow of the game a bit while also trying to really focus on his defense. And he’ll have another tough challenge tonight with Michael Finley, Ime Udoka and Bruce Bowen all combining to try and lock him down.
A lot of OKC’s problem is just shot making. Against Boston, Russell Westbrook did an excellent job of setting up teammates for solid looks. They just didn’t make them. And Westbrook will have his hands full again as Tony Parker has scored 50 points in two games against OKC (while Westbrook has 10 total in the two games). Last time, after Parker erupted for a 12 quick points in the third quarter Thabo Sefolosha switched over on him and did an excellent job of locking him down and forcing him into a 1 for 6 finish.
The Spurs are also 26-11 at home while the Thunder are 6-30 on the road. The Spurs need this one to keep pace for the two-seed in the West and the Thunder’s lost three straight. So early returns are looking bad.
Tip at 7:30 CST. Go Oklahoma City Thunder.
This is the first really good offensive game we've had in awhile; probably since the T-Wolves game.
We just really seem to man up on D for the Spurs.
Thunder: 8 three point attempts
Spurs: 25 three point attempts
Take THAT Hollinger!
Keith :
This is just weird to me. Durant’s line according to ESPN: 31 points, 63% shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 tournovers, -4 on the game. Green’s line according to ESPN: 16 points, 35% shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, +6 on the game.
How is it possible that one player who obviously had a dominant game ended up at -4, but a player who looked like he had a bad game ended up with a +6? Is Durant’s defense THAT bad? What am I missing?
The +/- numbers don't discriminate and don't reflect individual performances. What they say is that in the aggregate minutes that KD was in, the team was outscored by 6 points, but while Green was in the team outscored the Spurs. It's not perfect, but it just reflects a players impact within the team concept.
Duncan should have been whistled for a foul...that was home cooking...
This is just weird to me. Durant's line according to ESPN: 31 points, 63% shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 tournovers, -4 on the game. Green's line according to ESPN: 16 points, 35% shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, +6 on the game.
How is it possible that one player who obviously had a dominant game ended up at -4, but a player who looked like he had a bad game ended up with a +6? Is Durant's defense THAT bad? What am I missing?
Nice win! Westbrook had a nice line tonight...so did Krstic...
Gutsy game by the Thunder. lots of defensive stops, a clutch shot by Krstic, and a very nice win over a great team on the road. Well done.
WHOOOOO, that was a scary / awesome finish. Good to see that Green has the self-confidence to go toe to toe with Duncan, even when it doesn't always work out.
EAT IT SPURS....
@Nix
You mean besides the Celtics in the playoffs? I don't know about the individual matchups, but I'd say once the playoffs roll around there are at least 3 teams that could beat them.
Quote: Do the Spurs just not match up well with the Thunder? Like the Thunder don't match up well with the Lakers?
My thought: Does anyone match up well with the Lakers?
Spurs ratcheting up the defense in the 4th, going to be a photo finish if the Thunder can pull it out.
is this really happening again?
Did you guys see this story from TrueHoop? I couldn't believe a couple of them...
Sactown Royalty's Section 214 has some history for Kings fans who want to know Blake Griffin's real height before deciding if they'd like to have him: "While pre-draft measurement data is rather incomplete (not everyone gets invited to the big yardstick), there are some interesting names that crop up below 6'10”, 6'9” and 6'8” (these measurements are without shoes, because it makes this all the sillier). Like, who? Like -- Below 6'10” -- Dwight Howard, Chris Webber, Alonzo Mourning, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. Other surprises include DeAndre Jordan, Nené and Brian Skinner. Below 6'9” -- Al Horford, Theo Ratliff, Emeka Okafor, Al Jefferson ... alright, hold on a minute. Those guys are all playing center for their NBA teams. Not power forward. Center! Brandan Wright, Drew Gooden, Shawn Kemp, Brian Grant, Amare Stoudemire, Elton Brand, David West. I guess we should stop lusting after Horford or even Brandan Wright -- they're just too freakin' short. Below 6'8” (which makes them too short for some rides at Six Flags, I think) -- Kevin Love, David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Antawn Jamison, Josh Smith, Udonis Haslem. No wonder their shorts look so big on these guys -- they're shrimps!"
I hope we see Weaver getting some time at the point today...I like the Weaver, Thab, KD, Green, Colison thing they've been trying...
and maybe we can see clips of Westbrook taking notes on Parker's game...
Always.
So you're telling me there's a chance. :)