Thunder vs Raptors preview: the next big test

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Toronto Raptors

Time: 12PM CST

Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto

Broadcast: FSOK

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The Thunder take on the Raptors today in what will undoubtedly be one of their biggest challenges of this final stretch of the season. Toronto sits atop the East and is pulling away from the pack, owning an 11 game winning streak. All the pieces are coming together for the franchise, captured wonderfully by Zach Lowe in this story.

The Thunder are sitting in the 4th spot, but with 29 losses, no fewer than 4 teams are bunched right below them with 30 losses, so margin is slim. OKC will need to come out focused defensively, particularly their bench unit, because the Raptors go 11-deep.

OKC capitalized big time in the first meeting, as they bottled up DeMar DeRozan. However, that was when Andre Roberson was healthy, so today’s challenge will be to find a renewed focus on how to slow down a slightly unorthodox high-scoring guard.

Can OKC snap the Raptors’ winning streak and stay ahead of the curve in the West?