Thunder Gameday: Western Conference Matchup Against Spurs
To this point in the season, the San Antonio Spurs have only won two more games than the Oklahoma City Thunder. They’ll host the Thunder in San Antonio on Wednesday night in a game that could dictate final Western Conference standings.
A balanced team, the Spurs are well coached and nearly always keep games competitive. Oklahoma City is just 6-15 away from Paycom Center this season, really struggling on the road.
ODDS:
The Thunder enter the day as 6.5-point underdogs to the Spurs, and the total over/under is 219 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
The Spurs are an efficient team, ranking near the top ten in the NBA in field goal percentage. They’re also the sixth best rebounding team in the league to this point in the season.
While the Thunder should be able to keep up on the glass — being a top ten rebounding team as well — the efficiency could be a problem in this matchup. Through 43 games this season, Oklahoma City has the second worst shooting percentage of any team. This is largely due to being the very worst 3-point shooting team in the league, while attempting 37.3 per contest.
Mike Muscala is the only member of the Thunder shooting over 40% from beyond the arc. The guard trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Josh Giddey take the most 3-point attempts of any player on the roster, but all shoot below 32.5% from that range.
If those three aren’t able to get it going offensively, OKC could struggle to even score 100 points against San Antonio. To this point in the season, the Spurs have not been a great defensive team.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (14-29) vs. San Antonio Spurs (16-28)
WHEN:
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 7:30 PM CT
LOCATION:
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
FINAL WORD:
“A lot of times before the double could even get to him, he we already attacking. I thought his pace was really good,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault of Gilgeous-Alexander after Monday’s game against the Mavericks.
The face of the franchise is starting to hit his stride, as SGA has averaged 30 points over his last four contests.
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