Thunder vs Pacers: Pregame Primer

vs.

Pacers (23-33, 11-19 road) vs. Thunder (31-25, 18-8 home

TV: FS Oklahoma
Stream:  Click here
Radio:  WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 1300 AM The Buzz Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 105.9 (14th), Pacers  – 102.5 (26th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.1 (9th), Pacers – 103.6 (10th)

Another gem from Russell Westbrook, another win for the Thunder. OKC has won 8 of it’s last 9 games and take a six-game winning streak into tonight’s matchup with the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers have played extremely well over the last few weeks, with wins over Cleveland, New Orleans and Golden State. Their defense is has been much improved over that stretch and a win tonight would be their 4th straight.

The Thunder will face a balanced offensive attack from Indiana who has six players averaging double-digit point and three others averaging just under 10. The Thunder are clearly favored in this game, and with another high-energy night from the team and the crowd should put another W in the books.

3 Big Things

1. Depth. Top to bottom this may be the deepest the Thunder has ever been. The frontline is stacked, there’s shooting, there’s ball-handling and all of that is stacked on a core that is currently being led by the NBA’s best player — Russell Westbrook.

Enes Kanter is good, and if you’re calling for him to remain the starter long term you’re not alone. Russ has quickly developed chemistry with him and the space he’s providing Serge is something Adams hasn’t been able to do. Dion Waiters and especially Anthony Morrow have been much better. Morrow is going to feast off of the increased ball movement from D.J. Augustin and better floor spacing.

With this many solid players, it’s just a matter of time before a team like the Pacers gets run over.

2. Augustin. Maybe it’s just a result of Durant being out, but I’ve been surprised to see Augustin play with Russ in crunch time. He played 30 minutes against the Nuggets and will likely see more big minutes tonight against Rodney Stuckey of Indiana. We haven’t seen Augustin in full force yet, but just his shooting ability alone is such an advantage over the minutes Jackson was giving this team the last couple of months.

3. Rebounding. The Thunder continue to crush teams on the glass. The defense has been great, forcing a lot of missed shots from low-percentage areas and it’s igniting this offense. With Kanter and Ibaka both cleaning the glass at this rate we could be looking at the best rebounding team for the foreseeable future. Tonight Roy Hibbert and David West will be the opposition for these two. The Pacers rank 8th in the league in rebounding at 44.8 per game. Keeping them off the glass and getting out in transition could be all that’s needed to put this one away.

Sunday’s COTN: “We have a 20-10 center… We have a 20-10 center” – @Durants Shimmy

Tip at 7:00 CT. Go Russ and friends.