Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers

2013-2014 NBA Pre-Season
Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1)	@	Los Angeles Clippers (0-0)
October 30, 2014
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
9:30 CDT
TV: TNT KGW-TV 8
WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 1300 AM The Buzz Tulsa)
Enemy Blogs: Clips Nation
Previous Meetings: Thunder won Western Conference Semifinals, 4-2
Injury Report: Kevin Durant, Reggie Jackson, Mitch McGary, Jeremy Lamb, Anthony Morrow, Grant Jerrett
Probable Starters
Russell Westbrook	P	Chris Paul
Andre Roberson	SG	J.J. Redick
Perry Jones	SF	Matt Barnes
Serge Ibaka	PF	Blake Griffin
Steven Adams	C	DeAndre Jordan

After an expected if not disappointing loss against the Portland Blazers, the Oklahoma City Thunder move on to face the Los Angeles Clippers tonight. The Thunder will be playing their second regular season game without their significant key players, including Durant, Jackson, Lamb, McGary, and Morrow.

The Thunder are in short in almost every respect, with missing starters, a shortened bench, and no real offensive design. The Clippers meanwhile are fully loaded and likely still seething after their playoff exit at the hands of the Thunder. They have one more year under Doc Rivers to rely on, and many are expecting them to leapfrog the Thunder in the chase for the championship.

However, The Thunder can still be competitive if their secondary players provide more offensive production to support Westbrook. Against the Trail Blazers, Westbrook was spectacular and enabled the team to take a lead into the 4th quarter while playing on the road. Without any secondary help however, the Thunder lost their lead when Westbrook rested, and the game turned into a Blazer rout. No matter how many points Westbrook can score against the Clippers, if he doesn't get the needed amount of offensive provision from key players including Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams, then the Thunder are definitely going to depart from Staples center with a loss.

Unfortunately, I think the Thunder are going to witness another consecutive downfall against the Clippers with a final score of 98-75.