Thunder vs. Bobcats: Pregame Primer

vs.

Thunder (45-16, 18-12 road) at Bobcats (13-48, 7-23 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 6:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 113.0 (1st), Bobcats– 105.5 (29th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.1 (8th), Bobcats – 111.6 (30th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.7 (8th), Bobcats – 91.8 (15th)

View from the enemy: Queen City Hoops

Hey, the Thunder aren’t playing on national TV finally! What’s that? They’re playing the Bobcats? Oh, well that makes sense.

The last time these two teams met changed things quite a bit. The Thunder smashed Charlotte by 45, holding them to 69 points. At one time, OKC was up 55 points. But the Bobcats were 7-5 when they came to OKC. Since the Thunder humiliated them, they’ve gone 6-43. Ouch. I don’t know if it all unraveled there, but it certainly adds up.

Charlotte coming in: Lost Wednesday to the Nets.

Three Big Things

1. Russell Westbrook. He rolled his ankle Thursday against the Knicks but duh, he’s starting tonight.

2. Turnovers. I think we’ll get a good sense of how locked in the Thunder are based on their ball security. Slop it up and it could be a Wizards repeat.

3. Focus and energy. Coming off a game last night, it’s all about paying attention. The Thunder can’t just assume that they’re going to win this game. They will have to perform, will have to play. The Bobcats do compete and play, despite their horrific record.

Tip at 6:00 CT. Go Basketball.