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Westbrook, Durant battle in Oakland on Wed.
By: Sam Chase - StatFox
Published: 1/18/2017  at  11:48:00 AM
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (25-18)

at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (35-6)

Tip-off: Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Warriors -13, Total: 228

“Westbrook v. Durant: Part 2” goes down on Wednesday night.

The Thunder lost for the second time in three games on Monday, falling 120-98 on the road to the Clippers (LAC -8.5) on a night where Los Angeles lost PG Chris Paul to a pretty serious injury. At 25-18 (23-19-1 ATS), Oklahoma City is tied for the Grizzlies for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and 6.5 games ahead of the eighth-place Nuggets. Prior to losing to LA, OKC won at Sacramento on Sunday 122-118 (OKC -1.5) and lost at Minnesota last Friday 96-86 (MIN +2). There’s no rest for the weary in the Thunder locker room, as they’ll play the fourth game of their ongoing seven-game road trip against the mighty Warriors on Thursday night. In the teams’ one prior matchup this season, Golden State easily dispatched Oklahoma City 122-96 (GSW -12.5) at home on Nov. 3. The Warriors have won four straight, most recently destroying rival Cleveland 126-91 at home on Monday (GSW -9) to revenge a Christmas day loss. Over the last five seasons, favorites with winning percentages of .750 or better coming off of two consecutive home wins of 10 points or more (GSW) are 48-19 ATS. In the same time frame, teams revenging a road loss of 10 points or more and playing their third game in four days are 23-4 Over against the total when it is set at 200 or higher. Oklahoma City C Steven Adams is considered doubtful to play Thursday night with a concussion.

The Thunder rank 18th in the league in offensive efficiency rating, as they average 108.1 points scored per 100 possessions. They’re better on defense, allowing 106.8 points per 100 possessions (t-8th in NBA). They also rank on the edge of the top 10 in the NBA in pace, averaging 97.5 possessions per 48 minutes. As you may be aware, PG Russell Westbrook (30.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 10.3 APG, 1.5 SPG) has been setting the league on fire in literally averaging a triple-double. He has the league’s highest usage rate at 42.3%, easily topping James Harden’s number in second place (35.4%), and he’s producing accordingly: He leads the league in scoring, is second in assists and 11th in rebounding. (The league’s next-leading rebounder at point guard is Rajon Rondo at 6.0 per game). Westbrook also leads the NBA with a player efficiency rating of 29.73. His shooting percentage in the month of January is 39.9%, down from 42.5% on the season, but he’s still averaging 30.0 PPG in the new year. His 29 minutes against the Clippers were the fewest he has played this month, and he put up 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. SG Victor Oladipo (16.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.0 SPG) is the team’s second-leading scorer. He had only six points on 3-of-11 shooting against the Clippers, but topped 20 points for the first time since November the day before against the Kings. Backup C Enes Kanter (14.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG) is 20th in the league in points per 48 minutes (32.1), but is considered to be a bad defensive player and will struggle to fill Adams’ (12.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.2 SPG) role as interior stopper. SF Andre Roberson (6.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG) and rookie PF Domantas Sabonis (6.1 PPG) fill out the usual starting lineup. SF Jerami Grant (6.1 PPG, 1.1 BPG) will likely start if Adams is out, giving the Thunder a very small lineup unit to start the game against Golden State.

The Warriors are tied with the Toronto Raptors for the league’s most efficient offense, as both teams score 116.1 points per 100 possessions. They stand alone as the league’s best defensive team, however, allowing only 103.5 points per 100 possessions to opponents. Only Brooklyn plays at a faster pace than Golden State, which averages 100.7 possessions per 48 minutes. A year after leading the league in scoring, PG Stephen Curry (24.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.8 SPG) is no longer even the leading scorer on his own team. But while the magic that surrounded his 2015-16 season is gone, Curry remains one of the best players in the NBA, and he has stepped his game up since the calendar turned to 2017. In January, Curry is averaging 29.2 points per game and 6.2 assists per game. He is only shooting 38.5% from three-point range this month and 39.8% on the season, disappointing numbers compared to last year’s near-miraculous 45.4%. While it remains to be seen whether SF Kevin Durant (25.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.7 BPG) taking some shine from Curry will be an issue, Durant has been the best version of himself on the court as a Warrior. He is eighth in the league in scoring, tied for 18th in rebounding (t-1st among small forwards) and is 11th in blocks (2nd among SFs). He is shooting a career-best 53.7% from the floor, too (10th in NBA, 1st among SFs). He’s scoring less than Curry in January (25.7 PPG), and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues. Like Curry, SG Klay Thompson (21.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG) has seen his three-point percentage dip from last season (42.5% to 39.2%), but he is still fifth in the league in total three-pointers made. (Curry is first.) With Durant adding yet another star presence to the lineup, PF Draymond Green (10.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 7.7 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.3 BPG) may get shortchanged on an All-Star bid this season. He is as good as ever, though, leading the league’s best team in rebounding, assists and steals—and controversy-creation.


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