Tip-off: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -7.0, Total: 227.5

Kevin Durant makes his return to Oklahoma City when the Warriors face the Thunder on Saturday.

The Warriors are coming off of a matchup with the Grizzlies on Friday, but their hearts are really going to be in this game on Saturday. SF Kevin Durant is the guy that will be the focal point of this one, as Durant left the Thunder for the Warriors this past summer. The superstar’s departure shook up the NBA landscape, and he will surely hear his fair share of boos on Saturday. Still, it’s hard to really fault Durant for wanting to head to Golden State. The Warriors had one of the most loaded rosters in the entire league, and they are off to a ridiculous start with Durant. The Thunder, meanwhile, are playing some solid basketball, but they are not the championship contender they were when they had Durant around. They also have struggled with the emotional nature of playing against Durant thus far, as Golden State has won the first two meetings between these teams by an average of 23.5 PPG this season. The Thunder will be hoping that the fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena will be able to get into the head of their former superstar, but Durant might just be too good for that. He is putting together the most efficient season of his career, and it’s more likely that he’ll put on a show than struggle in front of his former fans.

As previously mentioned, Durant will be making his return to Oklahoma City on Saturday and he should find plenty of success in his meeting with his former team. In two matchups with the Thunder this season, Durant is averaging 39.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG on 70.0% shooting from the floor and 66.7% shooting from three. Those are absolutely ridiculous numbers, so it’s clear that he likes to show Oklahoma City what it is missing. He might struggle a bit early on because of nerves, but he should settle in and have another solid outing. PG Steph Curry will, however, need to help take some pressure off of Durant. Curry has struggled a bit against the Thunder this season, shooting just 33.3% from the outside on 6.0 threes attempted per game in two meetings. If he can shoot a better percentage on Saturday then it would really help the Warriors in this one. PF Draymond Green and SG Klay Thompson will also need to play their games in order for Golden State to come away with a tough road win.

If the Thunder are going to beat the Warriors in Durant’s return to Oklahoma City then PG Russell Westbrook is going to need to go off. In two meetings with Golden State, Westbrook is averaging 23.5 PPG, 11.5 APG, 10.5 RPG, 2.0 BPG and 1.5 SPG. He is, however, shooting just 31.6% from the floor in those two games. While the triple-double average is nice, Westbrook needs to take better shots for his team. He could also use some help, though. His supporting cast comes and goes, but he’ll need both SG Victor Oladipo and C Steven Adams to play well on Saturday. Oladipo has done just that in his two meetings with the team this season, averaging 20.5 PPG and 2.0 SPG on 53.3% shooting from the floor. He will, however, need to lock in on defense, as he can’t let Thompson go off in this one. Adams, meanwhile, must protect the rim and provide some second chance opportunities.