Thunder Gameday: Kicking Off Final Stretch Against Suns

Now that the NBA All-Star break has come to a close, it’s time for teams to make one final push to close out the season. With 24 more games remaining for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they’ll be tested down the stretch.

In their first game following the break, the Thunder will host the Phoenix Suns. Although they’re without Chris Paul, the Suns currently have the best record in the entire NBA.

ODDS:

The Thunder enter the day as 9.5point underdogs to the Suns, and the total over/under is 215 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Oklahoma City has the eighth ranked defense in the entire league. While that end of the floor as been a strong point this season, slowing down this Suns team is difficult. Phoenix has the third-best offensive rating (113.5) in the NBA and top net rating (+8.1) of any team.

Combine that with a top-three defense, and it’s easy to see why the Suns have the NBA’s best record. They’ve nearly won 50 games already at this point in the season.

While Phoenix does nearly everything well, being without Paul is a huge disadvantage. They will still be heavy favorites over OKC tonight, but it may not be an easy win for them.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault officially announced on Wednesday that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be making his way back into the lineup in this game against Phoenix. Prior to this, he had been sidelined for a month with an ankle injury.

As long as Gilgeous-Alexander is on the floor, the Thunder always have a chance to pull out a victory.

RECORDS:

Oklahoma City Thunder (18-40) vs. Phoenix Suns (48-10)

WHEN:

Thursday, February 24 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:

“We’ve got a lot of guys that are emerging right now. It’s really about trying to extract the strengths of each of their games and merging it,” said Daigneault after practice on Wednesday.

The young talent in Oklahoma City is starting to look promising for the future of the franchise.

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