 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
 at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Tip-off: Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A Russell Westbrook and co. enter the unfriendly confines of Oracle Arena on Saturday night. You can be forgiven for not having paid close attention to the Warriors-Thunder matchups this season, given that sports media hyped the Westbrook-Durant "feud" past the point of enjoyment last season. But if you haven't paid attention this year, you may be surprised to hear the results: Not only is the Thunder 2-0 against Golden State this season, but they have wiped the floor with the Warriors in both games. There was a 108-91 victory in Oklahoma City on November 22—when the Thunder weren't even good yet—and another trouncing in the Bay on February 6, when they took down the Dubs by a 125-105 score. However, this time around figures to be different. First of all, the Warriors have been repeatedly claiming they'll be re-energized after the All-Star break, so hopefully they'll be playing with enough focus to avoid another embarrassment. Second of all, well, these are the Warriors we're talking about. They just don't lose three times in a row to the same team—2015-16 Cavaliers excepted.After their aforementioned rough start to the season, the Thunder found a rhythm and, as of the All-Star break, were only two games back from the No. 3 seed in the West. With San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard perhaps out for the season, that feels like an attainable spot in the standings for OKC. But in the crowded West, they're also only three games up on a lottery spot, and with the volatility and inconsistency they've displayed this year, such a fall wouldn't be an unfathomable outcome. That volatility starts with PG Russell Westbrook, who is only about half a rebound away from averaging a triple-double yet again this season. He had exactly 34 points in each of his two previous games against Golden State this year. In his last game before the break, he had a stuffed stat line of 23 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds. His play down the stretch and in the playoffs will serve as an argument for or against SF Paul George staying in town, as George has expressed interest in both re-upping with OKC and in bolting for LA. Either way, he's been a good fit next to Westbrook as a dependable scorer and tremendous, versatile defender. Entering the break he had scored at least 25 points in every February game except for one. He was more than deserving of the All-Star bid he ultimately received. SF Carmelo Anthony may be the wild card. He was notably (and rightly) absent from All-Star Weekend this year, and he's not the player he once was. But if he can score efficiently going forward, he could put the Thunder over the top. OKC's postseason hopes took a huge hit when SG Andre Roberson, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, went down with a season-ending injury last month. Oklahoma City is not a deep team, and they have no real replacement to plop into their lineup in his place. C Steven Adams is having an excellent year down low. Now is the time for the Warriors to rediscover their energy and motivation, because they'll want to ramp things up steadily as the playoffs approach rather than "flipping a switch" and hoping that they're ready to go. Of course, they might be unstoppable either way. They're the only team in the league with two true superstars (PG Stephen Curry and SF Kevin Durant) and two regular ol' stars (SG Klay Thompson and PF Draymond Green) to go along with them. Curry is a serious MVP candidate despite having missed 15 games (and despite playing alongside Durant), which speaks to his brilliance this season. He entered All-Star Weekend shooting a deadly 49% from the floor. Durant's shooting over 50%, once again showing how crazily efficient he is when surrounded by a set of brilliant teammates. He's also a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and the Warriors are certainly happy to have the length that almost tripped them up two seasons ago in the Western Conference Finals on their own side. Thompson is having the best three-point shooting season of his career (45.5%), which is no small statement for one of the greatest shooters of all time. He's disappointed against OKC this year, though, with 21 total points between the two contests. Green only has nine total points against the Thunder this season, although he's obviously relied upon less for scoring than he is for just about everything else. He had four blocks the last time these two teams played, and a similar performance in that respect would be helpful for getting the Dubs past Oklahoma City for the first time this year.
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