warriors vs thunder preview: Klay Thompson vs. Kevin Durant Tonight! (Photo: Ballislife Tumblr)
Golden State Warriors Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors (25-15) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (28-10)
Tip-off: Friday, January 17th, 2014 – 6:30 PM PST
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
Spread: Oklahoma City (-2) meaning Thunder are 2-point favorites
TV: CSN Bay Area/ESPN | Radio: KNBR 680 AM
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors (by @kingofmyworld19 first half, @goldenstatenz second half)
Last Game / Streak:
OKC– Lost N/A at HOU in Houston, Lost 2 straight games
GSW – Lost 123-116 at DEN in Oakland, Lost 1 straight game
Probable Starting Lineups:
Warriors:
PG: Stephen Curry (23.0 PPG, 9.2 APG, 4.6 RPG)
SG: Klay Thompson (19.3 PPG, 2.6 APG, 3.2 RPG)
SF: Andre Iguodala (10.3 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.3 RPG)
PF: David Lee (19.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 9.9 RPG)
C: Andrew Bogut (8.0 PPG, 1.6 APG, 10.3 RPG)
Thunder:
PG: Reggie Jackson (12.8 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.9 RPG)
SG: Thabo Sefolosha (6.3 PPG, 1.4 APG, 3.9 RPG)
SF: Kevin Durant (29.8 PPG, 4.9 APG, 8.1 RPG)
PF: Serge Ibaka (13.9 PPG, 0.9 APG, 9.0 RPG)
C: Kendrick Perkins (3.3 PPG, 1.2 APG, 4.3 RPG)
INTERVIEW WITH THUNDEROBSESSED.COM
Special thanks to @thunderobsessed for the following!
OKC held HOU to 19 pts 2nd half last night. Is there something about the defense that has occurred lately? Does it have to do with Westbrook being out?
That happened due to head coach Scott Brooks. The young coach is learning to adjust. During halftime they watched EVERY three-pointer the Rockets made and committed to stopping the three. Not many wide open three-point looks for the Rockets in the second half. That was a very crucial part in the Thunder holding the Rockets to just 19 points.
Westbrook is such an under rated defender. All people see is is flash and pull up jumpers. He’s one of the league leaders in steals (when playing) and can score with ease and gets hot very easily. Oklahoma City’s defense has actually been worse since he has been out.
How has it been on offense with him out, per Reggie Jackson handling pg? What are OKC’s keys to beating GSW and is there a feeling that GSW might be a dangerous foe tonight?
With Reggie running the point has been tumultuous at best. While he has flashes of brilliance, he still lacks the creativity to get to the line the way Westbrook did. Defense is sup-bar and at times non-existent. However, he’s just a third year player and he’s learning. Doing it at a level and speed that most players aren’t accustomed to doing. He’s been thrown into the fire his entire NBA career, this year is no difference.
Oklahoma City needs Serge Ibaka to play well. He cannot let David Lee have a 20-15 game. Not get caught up in a three-point shooting game, if you do, that ugly 31 percent three-point percent of Oklahoma City’s might show up and we’ll get blown out. Also try to defend the three. You’re not going to stop the W’s from hitting their three-pointers. However, if you’re able to force them into a lot of contested shots and try to limit ball rotation, you have a chance.
*** END OF INTERVIEW ***
The Warriors will try to get on back after dropping a high scoring game at home against Denver. They will have some help behind Curry and Thomspon in this one however, Jordan Crawford (scouting report) and MarsShon Brooks (scouting report) will both be in uniform Friday night, per Wednesday’s trade. That should help us out on the bench, can’t wait for them to show off their talents to #DubNation.
Oklahoma City will be without Russell Westbrook in this one as he had surgery not to long ago. That means, the load will be all on Durant to lead this team to a win. The Thunder just had a game last night in Houston, so they may be a little bit fatigued after that one.
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