Game 40 Preview: Oklahoma City vs Miami
This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.
Time: 7:00 PM Central Standard Time
Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
TV: Fox Sports Net Oklahoma, Sun Sports
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)
Enemy Blog(s): Peninsula is Mightier, Hot Hot Hoops
Backstory: Last time we saw the Heat, it was Mid-November. We beat them by a significant amount after they had a slammin' 7-2 start to the season. Now, the Heat have cooled off, with their record being 20-18, almost the same as our 21-18 record. But, thet do have a new weapon on their side in Rafer Alston. Alston, along with Chalmers, give the Heat 2 PGs to work with, and he's a marked improvement over Carlos Arroyo.
The Thunder have recently endured two close losses to the Spurs and Mavericks, and they need a win right now pretty badly. A win against the Heat would be huge, especially since they have to face Atlanta on Monday before they get a break against Minnesota and Memphis. They're on the 2nd game of a back to back, but it shouldn't affect them that much, as Dallas is only a couple hours away.
Below: Matchups, Prediction
Matchups:
Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal will get the best of Krstic inside, but he's pretty immobile. Thus, Krstic should be able to score a decent amount on jump shots, like he did last time when he scored 10. Expect their scoring production to be equal, while O'Neal grabs a few more rebounds.
Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Michael Beasley
This is probably the most intriguing and important matchups of the game. Green has been in a bit of a slump offensively lately, and it would help a huge amount if he could score well in this game. It would also help out a lot if Beasley could do the same for his team. Last time, they both knocked each other out and neither helped out their team much. But if one went off tonight, it would turn the tide of the game significantly.
Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Quentin Richardson
No real comparison here. Quentin Richardson will pretty much be trumped by Durant in every stat and sense possible.
Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Dwayne Wade
Sefolosha's mission isn't to beat Dwayne Wade in any category, or even shut him down. His mission is to slow him down. Every game, the offense runs through Wade, and it's clear that he's the best player the Heat have. If Sefolosha can make him largely ineffective offensively, like he did last time when Wade went 6-19 and 1-4 from the three point line, then the Thunder will have a much better shot that winning. Nevertheless, expect Wade to have much better stats in this game.
Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Rafer Alston
However improved Alston may be over Chalmers, Westbrook is still a tier above those two. Given the tendency of driving to the basket during Heat games, I'd predict a big game for Westbrook, and an average game for Alston.
Battle of the Benches:
The Heat have a strong, tight bench, much like our own. I'd say they have about equal talent, though Chalmers does look threatening coming off of the bench.
Coaching and Intangibles:
As stated before, the Thunder are on the 2nd game of a back to back, but the trip from Dallas is short, so there should be minimal jet lag. The Heat are also on the 2nd game of a back-to-back after facing Houston, but again, Houston isn't all that far, so the jet lag should be minimal. Still, the advantage goes to the Thunder, because they're at home.
Bottom Line:
Still, I don't think a point guard will make a huge difference in this game. Dwayne Wade has had huge problems against Sefolosha, and Michael Beasley had been completely shut down by Jeff Green. Jermaine O'Neal will probably feast inside, but his immobility will counteract that, and Krstic will be able to equal his scoring while shooting from midrange. The Heat are a good team, but they're counteracted by us at every turn.
Prediction: Oklahoma City 102, Miami 92
Yeesh, I'm just ready to start winning again!
How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!
And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. (Seriously this time!) Go Thunder!
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Apologies for the late San Antonio and Dallas Recaps
But I haven’t had ample time to get them out, and they’re both big games, so I want to make sure the recaps are of a good quality. Also coming up: Mid-Season Report Cards!
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manger of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan
What network was it on?
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manger of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan
Wow, that is crazy!
I actually get that channel on my satellite dish. I should have recorded it! Sometimes I’ll watch a random sport they have going on there, like this thing where it’s called kickball, but it’s nothing like the United State variation of the sport. Kinda like volleyball or team tennis, if I remember correctly. I haven’t watched it in a while, though. Let me know if an NBA game is ever on again! I’d totally be interested in seeing how they broadcast it.
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manger of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan
cool
next time i see one ill try to let ya know, usually Sunday mornings, this was the first Thunder game ive seen tho.
Dangit.
Thought the game started at 7:30 not 7:00. Just got home and it’s already the second quarter! Oh well, pleasant surprise.
Wow
Phoenix is getting destroyed by the Bobcats.
That’s good for us!
Looks like it
Definitely a good thing when we’re giving up so many turnovers, haha.
Joel Anthony..
… almost feel sorry for him, that’s just embarrassing.
Especially when they mentioned he only played 16 minutes last night.
so legs are not an issue.
Your friendly neighborhood Loud City resident.
Missing the game, showing the Grizzlies holding off the Spurs. This Thunder team is such a fun team to watch!
Couldn't connect
Anyone else have trouble connecting to SBNation the last hour?
Anyhow, awesome job by the Thunder to close the game out. Durant was completely dominant. The bench did a great job all night too. The turnovers got a little ridiculous but that’s just about the only complaint I have.
Basically a huge outage from the service provider
No analysis as to why yet, but other sites from the provider, like dailykos.com and perezhilton.com (sigh) were down as well. It’s all back up now, but it was a huge issue that wasn’t SBNation’s fault. Sucks that it had to happen in the middle of the game, but at least it was during a blowout rather than another Spurs or Mavs Thriller.
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manger of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan

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