Thunder vs. Nuggets
The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off of arguably their most disappointing loss of the season. Kevin Durant managed to score 48 points, but the team lost by double digits to the last-place Utah Jazz. The Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, are riding high following a blowout over the Boston Celtics. Now, Denver will host OKC on national television Thursday night in a battle of Northwest Division rivals. [ad-4468020]
Oklahoma City (27-8) at Denver (17-7)
Thursday, Jan. 9 10:30 PM ET at Pepsi Center
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Oklahoma City
The Oklahoma City Thunder may be coming off of a bad loss, but they’ve been fantastic on the year. Despite being without Russell Westbrook as of late, the team has lost just eight games on the season, and while three of those have come in the last five contests, there’s no reason to hit the panic button.
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If all goes according to plan, Portland won’t have to worry about performing in crunch time. It’s something it has done well almost all season, but the
Kevin Durant is the leader of this team, and he’s arguably the favorite for the MVP. LeBron James will always be near the top, and chances are he’s still the favorite in many people’s eyes, but with what Durant has done up to this point, he may be on pace to take down the reigning winner of the award.
In this one, the Thunder bring in the third-highest points-per-game average in the NBA. They’re scoring 105.8 points per outing, and they’re pulling down the most rebounds of any other squad in the process.
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Against Denver, OKC will look to score and score quickly. The Nuggets aren’t going to win many games with defense this year, and the Thunder know that. You can score a lot of points on this team, and more specifically, you can score a lot of quick points. The Nuggets are the sixth-best team in the league in terms of defensive three-point percentage, but they’re just 25th when it comes to opponent points in the paint, partly because of occasional lapses in transition defense.
The Thunder will look to attack the middle, and to nobody’s surprise, it will be Durant leading the charge.
Denver
Anytime you’re facing a superstar like Durant, there’s two mentalities when it comes to defense: double team and hope to contain the star, or let him get his points while containing everybody else. If Denver is smart, it will approach this contest with the latter in mind.
Durant has proven that nobody can stop him this season. He’s averaging the most points in the league by a relative longshot, and he’s doing it at an efficient rate. What he hasn’t shown, however, is a true dominance when it comes to winning. The Thunder’s record is indicative of a contender, but three losses in the last five shows he can’t do it on his own. In fact, take the most recent outing: 48 points and a loss? Denver must follow this defensive blueprint.
Stopping the rest of the roster will help keep the score close, but when it comes down to it, the Thunder are too good to let one drop—even on the road. Don’t be shocked if this one comes down to the final minutes, but don’t be surprised if it’s OKC walking away with the win.
Prediction: Oklahoma City 111 – Denver 107
