Game 45 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Chicago
by Zorgon on Jan 27, 2010 5:40 PM CST
in Gameday
51 comments
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: KSBI-TV 52, Comcast Sports Chicago
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)
Enemy Blog(s): Blog a Bull, By the Horns
Past Meeting(s): Jan 4
Backstory: After a relaxing 3 Day break, the Thunder are back to attempt to stop their 2 game losing streak where it stands. Who stands in the way of that? The answer is the surging Chicago Bulls.
For those who don't know, the Bulls are back. After Tyrus Thomas returned from injury, the Bulls have had a full bench and the ability to compete with the best of them, as evidenced by their recent defeats of Boston, Phoenix, and San Antonio. But they're still a very flawed team, as they've lost to the Clippers and Warriors. So, what's the problem? Well, sometimes, their outside shooting can use some work, and their bench can be so bad as to undo all the good that the starters have provided. Not to mention that most aren't fond of the Bulls coach, Vinny Del Negro.
Below: Matchups, Prediction
Matchups:
Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Joakim Noah
Last time, Krstic did an okay job on Noah. Noah had some missed shots, and Krstic had a decent game. Despite that, it will be more interesting to see how well Collison and Ibaka can do when Noah is out. Brad Miller is pretty old, and was never known for his defense. In the end, Noah will have a solid game, Krstic will have an okay game, and our bench centers will do a good job on Brad Miller.
Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Taj Gibson
Taj Gibson is a double-double type of guy, and Green, at times, can be that type of player too. But, last time, Green was completely shut down by Gibson. Since Jeff Green still tends to struggle against real big men, I don't see that changing any time soon.
Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Luol Deng
Last time, Luol Deng had a solid game, but there were still some flaws. He committed a few unnecessary turnovers, and Kevin Durant had a far better game. I'd expect KD to still have the better game, but expect Luol Deng to take more of a leading role in his teams scoring.
Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Kirk Hinrich
Kirk Hinirch had only an average game vs. Thabo Sefolosha last time, probably because he knows a few of Thabo's trick from practice back in the day. Nevertheless, I'd expect Sefolosha to have more of a defensive lock on Hinrich tonight.
Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Derrick Rose
When the Bulls visited us last year, Derrick Rose destroyed Russell Westbrook, and pretty much solidified his place as Rookie of the Year. Earlier this month, Russell Westbrook out did Derrick rose in one of his better performances of the year. So, who wins this time? Well, it's kind of unpredictable, but I'll go with Russell Westbrook, simply because Derrick Rose has more scorers to defer to on the Bull roster.
Battle of the Benches:
Aside from Tyrus Thomas, who is pretty solid, the Thunder have a far superior bench.
Coaching and Intangibles:
Both teams are well-rested and mostly injury-free, but the Thunder are playing at home.
Bottom Line:
If the Thunder can force the bench players into bad shots and eliminate or defer one of the bulls main scorers (Rose, Hinrich, and Deng), they should be able to win this game. They did it relatively handily last time, but because the Bulls are on such a roll, it'll be a little bit tougher. It will be exciting, but it won't be the most exciting game in Thunder history.
Prediction: Oklahoma City 95, Chicago 90
Who is the best point guard from the Class of 2008?
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. Go Thunder!
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The formatting died on me again
I don’t know how to fix it. Blah!
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manager of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan
a lot of good matchups tonight
Rose-Westbrook, Deng-Durant, two teams with young athletes who can play defense.
Thunder basketball has been must-see TV lately as it is, so this should be a fun game.
Oh, and about the recaps....
They’re coming. I swear. I won’t back down on these. I’m going to try to get at least one done a day until I’m caught up. I’m waiting for a video device in the mail which should speed up my ability to do recaps significantly, as the actual recap part can be video, and the analysis part can be text. Stay tuned for that development.
Tony.psd = Da Man
Manager of Welcome to Loud City
#1 Warriors, Thunder, and Adonal Foyle Fan
Did you know Phoenix is...
26 and 21?
The Thunder is 24 and 20.
Interesting…
Your friendly neighborhood Loud City resident.
I'm ok with that.
But we gotta start hitting free throws.
Green just hi-fived the ref after getting a plus one.
Your friendly neighborhood Loud City resident.
Chicago can't miss so far...
and when they do they are killing us on the boards.
Free throws
I wonder if Shaq infected the Thunder.
Rough start
but excellent finish of the first quarter come out with the lead.
Krstic was playing horrible.
I can’t wait until he gets traded.
Your friendly neighborhood Loud City resident.
He plays like a 40 year old.
So slow and so passive. Serge and Krstic are day and night (not racist)
Shooting
It looks like they are rusty after those 3 days off, but started to get the touch back a little late if the first quarter.
Hopefully they continue to keep the better shooting for the rest of the game.
Durant's playing a solid all around game
I smell a triple-double for Mantis tonight.
Kings fan in OKC
Second half will be better.
Not that great of a first half but I like our chances in the second half. Chicago is not a good shooting team and they were making difficult shots against some well played defense by the Thunder at times. I think we’ll see them regress and Durant will return to Durant status.
Durant
4/14. Still waiting for the offensive explosion.
Hey Kidder
Looks like another 4th quarter nail biter.
Dang!
I just grew some back from the last series. I got a text after the first qtr and we were up, then got in on the last of halftime and we are down. Are we not playing well or are they just playing better.
A little of both I think.
Chicago is playing a decent game and the Thunder defense I think has done a decent job, Durant is having an off game and Green is the only one that has stepped up to fill the hole.
Bring Durant and Westbrook back in
Not having Durant or Westbrook in right now seems silly to me. Even if they aren’t shooting well somebody has to open up the court for Green.
Need to run some shooting drills.
This is just pathetic.
Game over.
That’s pretty much it. I gotta miss the Denver game too because I’m blacked outta Nuggets games so I was sort of hoping for a good one tonight.
Oh well.
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Northwest Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denver
|
53 | 29 | .646 | 0 | Lost 1 |
|
Utah
|
53 | 29 | .646 | 0 | Lost 4 |
|
Oklahoma City
|
50 | 32 | .609 | 3 | Lost 2 |
|
Portland
|
50 | 32 | .609 | 3 | Lost 2 |
|
Minnesota
|
15 | 67 | .182 | 38 | Lost 7 |
(updated 9.2.2010 at 4:09 PM CDT)
Thunder Schedule
Last 5 Games
|
Los Angeles Lakers
|
Fri 04/30 | L 94 - 95 |
|
@
Los Angeles Lakers
|
Tue 04/27 | L 87 - 111 |
|
Los Angeles Lakers
|
Sat 04/24 | W 110 - 89 |
|
Los Angeles Lakers
|
Thu 04/22 | W 101 - 96 |
|
@
Los Angeles Lakers
|
Tue 04/20 | L 92 - 95 |
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