Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

Chicago Bulls

Preview

The story so far

Chicago had just gotten back on track when the Thunder rolled into town on the 4^th. Now Chicago again has a 3 game winning streak going against so stiff competition. Wins over Phoenix, Houston, and San Antonio all have come on the road headed into the matchup tonight. The Thunder have dropped like a rock all the way down to 11^th in the west after losing two straight to Memphis and Cleveland. This is the first home game after 4 straight on the road, where they went 2-2. Their next 3 are all at home against Denver, Golden State, and Atlanta.

The Matchups

Derrick Rose v Russell Westbrook

Westbrook did a good job defensively against Rose last game. Rose was 9-20 for 19 points, 7 assists, and 2 turnovers. Westbrook carried a big part of the offense going for 29 points on 13-24, 6 assists, but also had 4 turnovers. This was right after the crushing loss to the Bucks where it was all Durant and nobody else really stepped up and took on some of the scoring burden. It helped Westbrook that Brooks went with a smaller 3 guard lineup for much of the fourth quarter against the Bulls. With Harden and Maynor out there to take some of the point guard duties Westbrook found it easier to attack the glass and score.

Edge  

Kirk Hinrich v Thabo Sefolosha

Sefolosha is probably making the Bulls regret trading him. He continues to be a solid defensive stopper who can guard 4 positions effectively. Against the Bulls he went 3-6 for 7, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. Hinrich was certainly the the better of the two point guards the Bulls used against the Thunder. While he also had 7 assists he had 2 more steals and 1 less turnover. Hinrich shot well going for 15 points on 12 shots and was the only real 3 point threat on the floor.

Edge Push

Luol Deng v Kevin Durant

Deng had a solid if not spectacular night, his 15 points and 10 rebounds gave him a double double. The problems with his game are two fold, although he had 15 points he took 17 shots and he turned the ball over 4 times. KD put up 25 points on only 14 shots. He was content to sit back and allow Westbrook to have an excellent night while still contributing to the win. Throw in 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal and the only point of contention in his game was the 6 turnovers.

Edge

Taj Gibson v Jeff Green

Gibson much like Deng had a good game in the counting stats but not so much in the effiecientcy stats. He had 10 points and 9 rebounds but took 11 shots to get those 10 points. Would he have gotten 6 offensive rebounds if he had made more shots? Green was pulled early in this game, he only played 14 minutes the lowest of the season in the short time he played he seemed to have difficulty boxing out Gibson and Noah. Since this game he has gone on to make key plays in several games. Tonight much like the first match he should have a sizable advantage over Gibson. Whether he exploits it or not remains to be seen.

Edge Push

Joakim Noah v Nenad Krstic

Noah had a field day on the offensive glass between Noah and Gibson the Bulls pulled down 13 offensive rebounds. Noah also added 14 points on 12 shots making him one of the more efficient scorers the Bulls put out there. Krstic only put in 18 minutes in the game but went 3-6 for 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks while he was in. It seemed like the Thunder were getting killed on the glass but at the end of the night the Bulls only had a 4 rebound advantage total.

Edge

Bench v Bench

The Bulls got next to nothing from their bench the first game. Tyrus Thomas was the only player to make any noise he had 7 points but took 12 shots to get there. Thomas also added 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Salmons, Miller, and Johnson combined to go 2-15 for 5 points.

Collison has struggled since returning from a concussion he suffered against Miami. Maynor is settling in he has shown a nice shot and an ability to get the ball to open shooters. Harden continues to shoot and will have a bad night every so often. Against Cleveland he went 1-8 so that should be his bad night for a while. Ibaka continues to make huge strides as the season progresses. The rookie who picked up cheap fouls is gone.   

Edge

The Prediction

At the midway point I predicted this would be the start of a nice six game winning streak. Despite the fact that the Bulls are on fire I stand by that prediction. The Thunder will win tonight stopping the 2 game skid. Jeff Green will play a big part in the win by keeping the Bulls from the easy offensive rebounds they got in the first game.

Thunder win 101-95

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