Thunder Face Familiar Opponents in Arduous In-Season Tournament Slate

Oklahoma City is set to be pinned against some tough, familiar matchups in this year’s NBA In-Season tournament following the league’s announcement on Tuesday.

Placed in West Group C, the Thunder will face the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves in what should be some exciting contests.

Group play begins on Nov. 3 against the Warriors for the Thunder, and will end on Nov. 28 against the Timberwolves.

Here, we’ll go into some aspects to highlight within each opponent OKC will face within West Group C:

Thunder vs. Warriors (Nov. 3)

It’s no secret that the game to kick off the tournament will be a difficult one for OKC, even if it’s at Paycom Center.

The Thunder struggled against the Warriors last season, winning only one game out of the four-game series, and losing by a margin of 46 in those three losses. But of course, last season wasn’t full steam ahead by any means for OKC.

Regardless, the Thunder backcourt are going to have to ensure to limit the amount of open threes taken by the Warriors, as is usually the case with Golden State. In last season’s series, they torched the Thunder from beyond the arc in those four games, shooting 44.1% from the 3-point line.

Even with 29 points per game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the series, it still wasn’t enough to win them more than a single game. OKC needs to lock down defensively in order to have an opportunity to win this initial contest.

Kings vs. Thunder (Nov. 10)

Traveling to Sacramento, Oklahoma City will be faced with a tall task as the Kings ended last season with major upside despite being edged out in Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs by the Warriors.

With key players like De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Harrison Barnes, the Kings matchup relatively well with the Thunder in terms of positional height and skill set. Combine this with a home atmosphere, and it is surely to be a competitive matchup between the two.

Last season, Sacramento took every game in a three-game series against OKC, beating them each time by five or more points. In those three games, the Kings were propelled by a number of players. Fox, Barnes, Murray and Sabonis all cracked 15 or more points in one game.

Gilgeous-Alexander was only active for one contest, where he posted 37 points. In the other two games, Isaiah Joe and Jalen Williams had the high scores with 24 and 27.

OKC will have to be slightly more inclined to spreading the ball and relying on role players off the bench, as well as stop the firepower of Fox if they’re to win this one.

Thunder vs. Spurs (Nov. 14)

This one will be circled on the schedules of many this season, as highly-touted 7-footers Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren will both meet each other on Nov. 14 as the Thunder host the Spurs.

This season’s No. 1 pick in Wembanyama and last season’s No. 2 pick in Holmgren, each will face off as rookies as Holmgren enters his first season following last year's season-ending injury.

Two players who have the ability to further alter the landscape of the game in promoting mobile, hybrid 7-footers who can dribble, shoot and more, there’s a reason this will be one of the most anticipated contests early on in the season.

The Thunder took each game last season, winning all three contests by 8 or more. This one will be a game OKC should win, but Wembanyama and Co. shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Timberwolves vs. Thunder (Nov. 28)

OKC will take on Minnesota in Minneapolis for the final game of group play, and it could be a taste of sweet revenge for the Thunder if they pull out the victory.

In last year’s play-in game, the Timberwolves wiped out the Thunder and set them home for the summer following a massive 120-95 win — only to get knocked out in five games by the Denver Nuggets, the eventual champions.

Even so, Minnesota had a bright season. With an up-and-coming superstar in Anthony Edwards on the perimeter and a very talented frontcourt in Karl Anthony-Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid, they certainly won’t be pushovers next season.

As divisional rivals, this will be a must-watch contest in the final slot for both teams.

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