Oklahoma City Thunder

at

Golden State Warriors

Preview

The story so far

With the win over New Orleans the Thunder are climbing up the Western conference playoff standings. Right now the Thunder are in eighth but they are only 2 ½ games out of third. The Thunder also have a 1 game lead over Houston, a 2 game lead over Memphis, and a 2 ½ game lead over the Hornets. The Thunder have 9 games left in February only 4 opponents have winning records. The four opponents the Thunder play are Dallas, Portland, Phoenix, and San Antonio. The Thunder have a chance to clear up some of the playoff picture in the coming month.

The Matchups

Stephen Curry v Russell Westbrook

Curry was one of the bright spots for the Warriors against OKC. Curry shot 4-10 and made both threes he took. He also had 5 assists but turned the ball over 5 times as well. Westbrook had a great game against the rookie going 7-14 and getting to the line 17 times, between free throws and shots Westbrook had 28 points on 14 shots. His 8 assists and 5 rebounds are almost an afterthought when he scores like that.

Oklahoma City Thunder

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New Orleans Hornets

Quarter by Quarter observations

First Quarter

 The Thunder started the quarter out playing well and built up a quick 12 point lead, the Hornets then started to get in a bit of a groove offensively cutting the lead to 5 before the Thunder bench entered the game. The bench didn't do any favors for the starters after they came into the game. Maynor almost immediately turned the ball over as did Collison, and just like that the lead was gone. Durant started slow tonight he is 2-6 didn't get to the line and already has 5 turnovers. The Thunder as a team committed 7 turnovers in the first quarter, a big part of the reason they won against the Hawks was the lack of turnovers in general so that's not a good start.

Score to end the Quarter 22-22 tied

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New Orleans Hornets

Preview

The story so far

With the win last night the Thunder have climbed back into the playoffs. They currently sit in the eight seed 1 game up on New Orleans, Memphis, and Houston. Win tonight and they keep their place, lose and slide all the way back down as far as 11^th again. It's still early but this game is a pivotal one, win and the Thunder still have a chance to take the season tiebreaker, if they lose the Hornets will have the season tiebreaker. .

The Matchups

Darren Collison v Russell Westbrook

No Chris Paul, hooray. This is the best chance the Thunder will have to beat the Hornets and break the curse of the previous team. Darren Collison is a nice player but he is not Chris Paul, without their leading scorer it will be up to Collison to run the offense and score. Collison only got 9 minutes in the previous game against the Thunder but he did go 2-2 with an assist and a turnover. Westbrook had half of a great game against the Hornets, he had 9 assists and only 2 turnovers to go with 4 rebounds and 3 steals. It was the other half of the game that he struggled going 5-16 for 11 points. With the speedy Paul out of the game it should be easier sledding tonight for Westbrook but that's not to say it will be easy.

Edge

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Atlanta Hawks

Quarter by Quarter observations

First Quarter

 Westbrook is struggling early he has missed both shots and can't get into the lane. He also picked up two quick fouls and so only got pulled early in the first. Krstic missed both of his shots as well but played solid defense on Horford. Krstic already has 3 rebounds so he is well on the way to a good rebounding night. Fortunately Durant has warmed up to go 4-6 for 10 with 4 rebounds. Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford, and Joe Johnson were the only Hawks to make more than one shot.

Score to end the Quarter 22-22 Tied

Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Golden State Warriors

Preview

The story so far

The Warriors have spent much of the season shorthanded including the first match between these two teams. They are finally getting back to healthy although they will still probably be missing shooter Anthony Morrow and power forward Anthony Randolph. The Thunder got a much needed win over Denver at home on Friday. That win did a lot to wipe the bad taste of a four game losing streak out of Thunder fans mouths. The Thunder are back to a half game out of the 8^th seed despite that losing streak. The Thunder are currently 1-1 in their home stand with winnable games tonight and against Atlanta before heading back out on the road.

The Matchups

CJ Watson v Russell Westbrook

The Warriors shot well last time they were in OKC. Watson was 3-7 for 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. Westbrook did not have a good game he was 4-17 for 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and 4 turnovers. Westbrook played superb against Denver his 4:1 assist to turnover ratio was a big part of the win as was his defense against JR Smith and Chauncey Billups.

Edge

Oklahoma City Thunder

at

Phoenix Suns

Quarter by Quarter observations

First Quarter

 The Thunder came out with some different looks on offense to start the game. The Nuggets came out shooting well they are at 52% for the quarter. Nene is 3-3 and Krstic has struggled again to contain him, the Thunder will need to find a way to force him out of his comfort zone. Ibaka might be the answer there, I imagine Collison will make him work but probably lacks the height to really force Nene into some poor shots. The Thunder probably should have a bigger lead but they have had several shot clock violations and other unforced turnovers. The Thunder made a good adjustment late in the first quarter on JR Smith. You have to challenge on JR Smith or at least be ready to challenge at all times, he will take a shot from anywhere and make them unless you challenge. Harden was giving Smith a big cushion and Smith drilled 2 three pointers in a row. Harden then started playing much closer to Smith and forced him into his first miss.

Score to end the Quarter 27-26 Thunder