Thunder Gameday: OKC Looking to Get Back in Win Column Against Trail Blazers
After losing to the Lakers Monday night in one of its lesser performances of the season, Oklahoma City will now continue its west coach trip against Portland tonight.
OKC initially got off to a white-hot start out of All-Star break, but has now suffered two losses in its last three tries. In order to push for No. 1 in the Western Conference, its going to have to come away with winnable games like Wednesday’s.
ODDS:
The Thunder enter the day as 13.5-point underdogs against the Lakers, and the total over/under is 223.5 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Not much went right for Oklahoma City against Los Angeles. After a hot start, the Lakers were allowed to set the tone on the defensive side of the ball, and coupling that with an off shooting night on the Thunder’s end led to disaster.
While the Trail Blazers simply don’t have the talent the Lakers do, Oklahoma City is still going to have to make a point of setting the tone early with sharp defensive rotations and a coordinated paint attack.
Despite the loss, the Thunder were able to force tons of turnovers Monday, and that will certainly be needed tonight against a young Trail Blazers team prone to coughing up the rock.
The trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren saw one of their worst cumulative performances against the Lakers, and they’ll all be looking to get back on track against Portland. Outside of that, the bench will be left to pick up the slack.
Newcomer Gordon Hayward has seen a decent chunk of minutes in his time with OKC, but has yet to capitalize on them. A good performance from him could go a long way.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (42-19) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (17-43)
INJURIES:
Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game-day injury report that will release later today.
WHEN:
9 p.m. CT, Wednesday, March 6, 2024
LOCATION:
Moda Center - Portland, Oregon
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBATV, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
Live Stream: FuboTV (Start Your Free Trial)
FINAL WORD:
With a win, Oklahoma City could narrow the half-game gap on Minnesota, who doesn’t play tonight. They would also put even more breathing room between them and Denver, who lost to Phoenix in an overtime bout Tuesday.
Suffice to say, winnable games like the Trail Blazers’ matchup could end up being the difference in potentially climbing to No. 1, or sliding down the standings.
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