Thunder vs Lakers: Pregame Primer

vs.

Thunder (12-14, 5-9 road) vs. Lakers (8-17, 3-9 home)

TV: ESPN/FS Oklahoma
Stream:  Click here
Radio:  WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 1300 AM The Buzz Tulsa)
Time: 9:30 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 103.4 (23rd), Lakers – 106.1 (16th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 101.8 (4th), Lakers – 113.7 (30th)

How do you recover from a hard-fought loss to the best team in the league? Play against the worst defense in all of basketball — play against a team that starts Jeremy Lin Ronnie Price at point guard — play a team that’s as beat up from injuries as any team in the league. Simply put, you play the Los Angeles Lakers… that’s how.

Last night Kevin Durant went bonkers, becoming the first player since the merger to score 30 points in less than 20 minutes. If you left me alone in a gym for 20 minutes it’d be a toss up whether I could score 30. It was a herculean effort that looked to be the start of a night we’d always remember. That was until Marreese Speights’ foot threw the whole thing off its tracks.

Durant will sit tonight while he nurses a mild right ankle sprain. He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow to see if he can go on Sunday.

The Matchup

Coming in at 8-17, the Lakers will look to slow down a Thunder team that is starting to look like one of the scariest in the league. With a roster in flux and a very frustrated Kobe Bryant, this could be a very tall task even at home.

Last year the Thunder hosted the Lakers while Thabo was injured giving then rookie Andre Roberson a shot at Kobe Bryant right away. One night after chasing around Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, he’ll get the league’s third all-time leading scorer. If he can slow down Bryant, and limit his effectiveness, it’s all but over even with no KD.

Another fun matchup would be the times Bryant is matched up with Russ. Whoa boy, this could get fun. Kobe has always been complimentary of what he sees in Russ as a competitor, which only fuels the duel on the court. Hopefully we see about 10 minutes of these two on each other.

Jordan Hill is expected to play tonight, giving the Lakers a weapon on the offensive glass. Adams, who played well in his 14 minutes last night will get tested physically tonight if Hill is a go.

I’ll set the over/under for Russ at 26…

Thursday’s COTN: “Remember when we lost to the Lakers on national TV last year? Yeah, let’s not do that tomorrow please.” -@HashMoney

NOTE: I can’t insert GIF’s or Photos as COTN, taking many of the best comments out of the running (the Reggie Jackson GIF…). Keep that in mind.

Tip at 9:30 CT. Go bounce back.