Thunder at Nuggets: Pregame Primer
vs. 
Okla. City Thunder (36-23, 17-12 road) at Denver Nuggets (39-21, 25-5 home)
TV: KSBI-52 (Cox 15, HD 715)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 8:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.7 (16th), Nuggets – 111.8 (2nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.0 (3rd), Nuggets – 107.2 (16th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.8 (14th), Nuggets – 95.1 (5th)
View from the enemy: Roundball Mining Company
Oh boy. This is one of those where you can feel a little extra buzz to it. You know it’s important because you know the entire league is paying attention. Oklahoma City is actually just 2.5 games back of Denver for the Northwest Division lead. You’ve got Carmelo Anthony vs. Kevin Durant. You’ve got old and crafty (Chauncey Billups) vs. young and exciting (Russell Westbrook). You’ve got two teams trending upwards and making their strongest push of the season at the right time. Safe to say, this should be a fun game.
What’s scary, is how poorly the Thunder has played in Denver. Since moving to OKC, the Thunder are 0-3 and none of the games have been close. It’s a tough place to play and a lot of that has to do with the elevation. It really is an issue. Most say you need a full day to really adapt to it but with the Thunder coming in on a back-to-back, there wasn’t any time for the team to get acclimated. So it’s a huge advantage for the Nuggets.
Denver coming in: The Nuggets have lost two straight, both on the road, which can’t be a good sign for OKC. They last played on Monday in Phoenix and are 5-5 in their last 10. They are one of the best home teams in the league at 25-5 in the Pepsi Center.
THE MATCHUPS
Oklahoma City just does not match up well with Denver. Nene typically abuses OKC inside, Carmelo Anthony gets his points, Chauncey Billups hits big shots and some other player almost always steps up (J.R. Smith, Aaron Afflalo, Kenyon Martin). What makes the Nuggets so tough is their ability to score from EVERYWHERE. They have six players in their rotation that could legitamately score 20 on any given night. And as good a defensive team the Thunder are, that’s still darn tough to guard.
It helps that Ty Lawson will miss tonight’s game with a shoulder contusion. Lawson has really solidified the Nugget bench. But even without him, the bench is still pretty strong. Anthony Carter is a veteran point guard that will handle his minutes well. Obviously Chris Andersen makes a difference with his defensive prescence. And even a guy like former Oklahoma State Cowboy Joey Graham can play big minutes and defend well in his limited time.
The Thunder’s going to need Russell Westbrook to control the show, Kevin Durant to get his points and for someone else to really elevate his game. Maybe that’s Nenad Krstic. Maybe it’s Thabo being aggressive on the offensive end. Maybe it’s James Harden breaking out of his little funk. Maybe it’s Jeff Green getting hot from outside. Whoever it is, someone is going to need to step up and help on the offensive end in order to keep pace with the high-powered Nuggs.
This has the potential to be a classic. Melo vs. KD is enough reason to watch, but now that the game actually means something in terms of playoff positioning, it’s going to just be a blast. I don’t have any expectations to win, but if this Thunder squad has taught us anything, it’s that they don’t give a crap about our expectations. So saddle up and get ready for a fun one.
Tip at 8:00 CST. Go Big Game.
Oh my god Petro just scored again
Unfortunately, as it stands they are our 1st round matchup
@Aenema
I’m sorry we disagree. I don’t like making excuses for the players. If you do, that’s fine. If you’re telling me the team was tired and not disinterested and lazy, fine. But I’m fairly confident that the players and the coaches aren’t going to be using those excuses, so why should I..?
@The Don
Man, we should get that guy!!!…wait, what?
@Aenema
Darksiders! You know, it doesn’t really matter how many points OKC loses by. It’s just one loss to a team with a tremendous home court record. So what?
Do you have any doubt OKC is going to whip the next four patsies on the schedule? Relax!
@justin
You should side with me.
Eh, its just a difference of opinion and observation. You take this game a learning experience for our team, young guys and old. Whether or not they were tired is not really an issue for me to continue to press on, I just think they have WAY more heart than to give up or not put effort into a game. Regardless, the coaches will make adjustments from this game and coach the players for their mistakes. I’m confident we will regroup. We’ll see.
The good news is, this just counts as one loss, even though it feels like it should count as five.
@DL
Let’s hope so. I will be revoking my own fanhood if we don’t win 5 out of the next 4 games.
What? That’s impossible, you say? Not for this team.
@Royce Young
Excuse your positiveness. There’s no need for that crap in here.
I guess we lucked out that point differential doesnt figure into wins and losses. That would kinda suck.
Feed Serge the rock, I want to see some sexy post moves!!!
This just looked like the Thunder team from last year. It’s uncanny.
@Aenema
like that one.
He’s got so much athleticism, he just hangs in the air and readjusts his shot after taking some hits. I think he could really develop some moves.
i think we wouldve won if rumble had been playing
Ibaka player of the game IMO.
@jeff allen
My thinking exactly. That dude is extremely talented.
@GAP
I agree. He shows so many flashes of greatness. I absolutely love watching that kid play.
We kinda looked like the white guys from the Thunderbird Casino commercial tonight :/
The teams chasing playoff spots, Houston and New Orleans, both lose at home tonight to mediocre opponents (Phoenix is losing to the Clippers at the half). Now the respective fans of those teams should be upset.
It’s OKC’s FIRST real blowout loss of the year, which shows how damn good the team’s been this year.
Lol…
I cannot agree more, and it’s like the one team before they fired the old fart coach…
You darksiders have PTSD from the last couple of years. Every loss, every blown lead, every bad turnover reminds you of season-long disaster.
Harden and Ibaka played well against the scrubs but played poorly in the first half when it mattered.
My player of the game is Russell Westbrook. He played well in the first half and kept us in the game at least until the 3rd quarter.
@justin
The “larger issue” is that we are a 6 to 8 seed and not the best team in the NBA. You seem to expect the ’96 Bulls. Everyone knows we have holes on our current team. If we had better interior play then we would be a favorite in the playoffs. We would possibly be the #1 seed. It just seems that you have a lack of perspective concerning how much this team has achieved because you are blinded by negative nitpicking… all the time. Tonight was one loss. We are going to make the playoffs and probably lose in the 1st or 2nd round. Once you accept that you’ll be able to enjoy this team for what it is.
Ouch! That was disappointing. I’m just glad it just counts as one loss. Go get The Clips tomorrow, boys!
btw..
I just renewed my tix for next year! I’m stoked!! Go Thunder!!!
Or maybe Thabo because he hit two threes for the first time since December.
@Durantula
I enjoy the team for what it is but am concerned about what direction it’s going to take in the future. Obviously they aren’t going to contend this year, but a lot of what happens in the formative years matters.
I put out a lot of positives about the team all the time, but everyone seems to pick out all the negatives.