Thunder vs Clippers preview and gamethread: OKC looks to rebound from LA drubbing

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers

Time: 7PM CST

Location: Chesapeake Arena, OKC

Broadcast: FSOK

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The Thunder look to build on their first win of the season this past Sunday, finally putting together a winning effort, albeit over a struggling and shorthanded Suns squad. Tonight they will face the team that perhaps tipped us off to the plethora of OKC’s troubles.

The Clippers are off to a surprising start this season, now completely remade from past iterations and dependent on the scoring prowess of Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari, and Lou Williams. They checkmated the Thunder in the 4th quarter of their first contest, running OKC out of their gym. What happened?

Up to that point, the Thunder were playing well, despite a horrid start to the game. They had taken the lead into the 4th quarter and then got sloppy on offense and inattentive on defense. The combination took them from a 7 point 4th quarter lead to losing by 16, having been outscored 37-15.

OKC has to accept and acknowledge these deficiencies, even as they are now at near-full strength with Russell Westbrook in the lineup. But as we saw against the Kings and Celtics, having number zero on the court doesn’t heal what ails them. The only cure for that is more focus, more communication, and more understanding about their obvious strengths and weaknesses.

This is a pivotal game for OKC. Are they ready to truly turn this bad start around?