Thunder Gameday: Finishing the Week Against a Western Conference Contender

The Oklahoma City Thunder are riding a three-game win streak into tonight as they host the New Orleans Pelicans at Paycom Center. This will be the sixth of a seven-game of a homestand before hitting the road for the first time in two weeks.

The Pelicans have been really good this year, even holding the top spot in the Western Conference recently. With that in mind, they’ve lost the majority of their past five games and have slipped some, but are still near the top.

New Orleans will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back following a win over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.

ODDS:

The Thunder enter the day as 2-point favorites against the Pelicans, and the total over/under is 232 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Pelicans star Zion Williamson entered health and safety protocols this week, meaning there’s a good chance he won’t be able to play tonight in Oklahoma City. This would be a huge blow for New Orleans, as he’s the perfect type of player to exploit the Thunder’s lack of interior size.

Regardless, the Pelicans have a ton of talent and will be the better team on paper in this contest. They also have second year wing Herb Jones, who has done arguably the best job at slowing down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season.

If New Orleans is able to limit Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder offense will likely struggle.

On the flip side, Oklahoma City’s defense has been solid this year, and has been top ten in the NBA over the past month. As such, this could end up being a low scoring affair.

RECORDS:

Oklahoma City Thunder (14-18) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (19-12)

WHEN:

Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 at 7:00 PM CT

LOCATION:

Paycom Center - Oklahoma City, OK

TV/RADIO:

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

FINAL WORD:

Following tonight’s contest, the Thunder won’t play again until after the Christmas holiday when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Pelicans will head home to host the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

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