Preseason preview: Thunder vs. CSKA Moscow

vs.

Thunder (1-2) vs. CSKA Moscow
TV: None
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Online Stream: None
Time: 7:00 CT

Finally, a chance to get a look at the good guys at home. The preseason hasn’t been all that pretty thus far, but that doesn’t mean anything. In fact, it really means nothing. Some of the issues the team’s had so far could mean something, but in terms of worrying about the season based on three preseason games in which the starters played just 25 minutes tops? Yeah, I wouldn’t fret on that too much.

Serge Ibaka is set to start again at center and I would look for a lot of the lower bench players to see good time. Byron Mulles, D.J. White and maybe even Elijah Millsap should get a little run. But I’m sure Scott Brooks is looking for a better outing from his rotation guys, so he might play them pretty hard for the first two or three quarters.

But Oklahoma City’s opponent this evening isn’t one you’re used to. In fact, you’ve probably never seen them and maybe you haven’t heard of them. It’s CSKA Moscow, Russia’s New York Yankees of basketball. Some alumni of CSKA you might recognize are Darius Songaila and Andrei Kirilenko. And they were formerly owned by Mikhail Prokhorov, that really rich guy that now owns the Nets and who I think that DirecTV commercial with the tiny giraffe is based off of.

CSKA Moscow has been on a bit of a tour in the U.S. so far, playing the Heat (lost 96-85) and now the Thunder.

One important note about tonight’s game: Reno Ave. is a complete mess. The strip between the arena formerly known as the Ford Center and the arena formerly known as the Myriad, isn’t in use. In fact, a large portion of Reno coming up from Walker is one way right now. There’s a pretty good report and listing of detours on the team’s official site.

Tip at 7:00. Go United States of Thunder.