By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
The hottest team in basketball returns to action Friday night, in a nationally televised game you won’t want to miss. Since December 3, 2014, no team in the NBA has more wins than the one victory compiled by the Philadelphia 76ers. They’ll look to keep their winning ways going against an Oklahoma City team to whom they’ve lost 10 straight contests (last beating the Thunder in November of 2008). Unfortunately for Sixers fans, Oklahoma City’s 5-13 record doesn’t come close to telling the whole story, as Tuesday marked the first time this season they’ve had their full starting lineup on the court.
The Thunder Tuesday’s game to the Pelicans, but were happy to welcome superstar Kevin Durant back to action. Durant scored 27 points in 30 minutes in his season debut following surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. Despite the customary high point total, the franchise forward did commit 5 turnovers, and understandably looked rusty by all accounts.
Tuesday’s loss also marked the second game back for Durant’s co-pilot, Russell Westbrook, who suffered a broken hand a couple games into the season. After scoring 32 points in 24 points in his initial return versus the Knicks 2 games ago (which you can’t really count, because, well, they’re the Knicks), Westbrook looked much worse against New Orleans. The dynamic point guard shot just 6-20 from the field for his 21 points, and turned the ball over 7 times. While the Sixers would much rather have faced the Thunder a week ago when both stars remained out, the hope is that there’s still plenty of rust for them to shake off, Taylor Swift-style.
Things I’m Excited to Watch:
- How do the Sixers look following their first win of the season (and for many of the players, the first win of their professional careers)? The long losing streak had to be weighing on them, as pressure mounted to avoid historic levels of ineptitude, and even the national media began to make a spectacle of the team. Now, they can just get back to playing basketball as yet another terrible team in the Eastern Conference. Will the team look visibly looser, leading to shots that don’t collide with the side of the backboard? Or will a more care-free attitude turn into sloppier play? Either way, I’m curious to find out.
- How will K.J. McDaniels fare in guarding Kevin Durant? Sadly, we’ll probably see too much of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute matched up against the Thunder star, but we should still see the Sixers rookie draw the assignment on occasion. It will be a nice test of not only his ability to play against a forward who has some size on him for a change, but also whether McDaniels can keep an eye on a man who will be a focal point of the attack, and not drift too far off in search of those weakside blocks.
- The Nerlens Noel-Serge Ibaka matchup. Ibaka is basically a best-case, pie-in-the-sky scenario for what the Sixers hope Noel becomes some day. Although Ibaka has begun to stretch his shooting range behind the arc (something Noel will likely never achieve), he’s the type of defensive game-changer and low-usage offensive weapon the Sixers would like their big man to develop into over time. Seeing the two go up against one another should make for some fascinating viewing.
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