Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New Orleans Hornets

Preview

The view from the other side

http://www.hornets247.com/blog 

The story so far

The Hornets are slowly slipping out of playoff contention. The Thunder now have a 97.8% chance of making the playoffs according to Hollinger's playoff odds. The Thunder beat the Hornets in New Orleans last time out and look to extend the streak another game tonight at home. With CP3 still out the Hornets are missing one of their big guns but remain a dangerous team with a very good offense.

The Matchups

Darren Collison v Russell Westbrook

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. Westbrook had one of his better games against the Hornets in NO, he shot over 50% had 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Tonight the key for the Thunder will be how Westbrook handles Collison on the defensive side of the ball. If Westbrook can get another 4-12 and 5 turnovers out of Collison the Thunder will have an excellent chance to win.

Marcus Thornton v Thabo Sefolosha

The Thunder would probably like to be able to just put Sefolosha on Collison and call it a day, but Thornton has shown himself to be a scorer that demands attention. The Thunder continue to get the ball to Sefolosha to try and establish him as an offensive threat. If Sefolosha can take Thornton out of his rhythm he will eliminate the only 3pt threat the hornets have, with Stojakovic out.

Edge Push

Julian Wright v Kevin Durant

No Peja is a good thing for the Thunder, he shot over 40% from three in both games so far. With Peja out the Hornets are turning to Julian Wright. Wright is better on defense than Peja but struggles with the long ball. KD has set the bar so high that his play the past couple of weeks has seemed pedestrian when in fact he has continued to produce at a level few of his peers are able to. That's how you know you are special, when you have an average game that is better than most career highs.

Edge

David West v Jeff Green

West will be one of the Hornets go to options tonight. Green will be tested by one of the best. Although he suffers in comparison to Sefolosha and Westbrook Green has shown himself to be a capable defender who steps up and makes big plays. Expect to see him make at least one block to save a defensive stand.

Edge Push

Emeka Okafor v Nenad Krstic

Krstic was surprisingly good against Okafor in the first game between these two teams. He went 5-7 and grabbed 6 rebounds. Okafor however also had a good game going 7-10 and grabbing 8 rebounds. Krstic just had another good game against the Hawks hopefully he can carry some of that momentum into tonights game. Without Paul the Hornets may have some difficulty getting Okafor the ball in the same positions for easy buckets.

Edge Push

Bench v Bench

James Posey is the defender. Darius Songaila is a big power forward that can score. Morris Peterson had a great game going 4-4 in only 8 minutes last time.

Collison continues to provide solid defense and rebounding. Ibaka has been a beast lately his jumper looks good he is rebounding well and his defense is improving. Harden is a solid shooter his instant offense off the bench has helped OKC win several games. Maynor played well when he had to step in for Westbrook last game.

Edge

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