It’s the long-awaited return to Oklahoma City this week for Kevin Durant, when the NBA superstar with the Golden State Warriors heads back to face off against his former team, the Thunder. Durant isn’t putting up the same crazy statistics as he did in OKC with less of a supporting cast, but is enjoying all the winning that comes with playing for Golden State.
The Warriors are on their way to wrapping up the Western Conference’s best record as it will enter the playoffs as the favorite to win the NBA title. The Thunder is in the playoff mix but not near as successful as it was with Durant.
Even though Russell Westbrook is having an MVP-caliber season, the Thunder will be home underdogs against the best team in the league.
Don't miss the hardwood action from Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 11, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on ABC.
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Oklahoma City is 30-23 straight up and 29-24 against the spread. The Thunder has played in 25 home games this season and has performed very well, covering in 16 of those contests. They will be getting points in this one and have gone 8-13 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
The Warriors are 43-8 straight up but only 24-25-2 against the spread as they have been such big favorites so often. Golden State has played in 26 road games and has gone 11-14-1 against the spread in those contests. The Warriors have been favored in every game they have played this season.
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Durant -- Earlier this week, the current Golden State small forward dismissed talk of any drama that still exists between him and Westbrook. But, whatever the motivation may be, Durant has played incredibly well each time these teams have met this season.
This week will mark the third time the Warriors and the Thunder have faced off this year, with Golden State winning each of the previous matchups handily. Durant had 39 points, including seven three-pointers, in Golden State’s first win over Oklahoma City in November and put up 40 points and 12 rebounds in the second meeting on January 18th.
Durant has been a big boost to this already-powerful offense, averaging 25.8 points and 8.4 rebounds a game for the Warriors. He finished with a season-low ten points in the team’s surprising loss to the Kings on February 4th, and will be looking to put that performance behind him quickly as he heads to his former home at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Scheduling Situation
The Thunder faces two of the league's top teams this week, hosting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday before taking on the Warriors this weekend. Oklahoma City is trying to avoid a three-game losing streak, as it enters these games after falling 93-30 to the Pacers on Monday.
The Thunder will be the underdog in both matchups, having already fallen to Cleveland as well this season. The team will look to Westbrook, who leads the Thunder in points, rebounds, assists and steals this season. He is averaging a triple-double and needs to have an incredible game to keep his team in it.
There’s no question that Westbrook has been playing at elite level this season, finishing with 27 points and 18 rebounds in that loss to Indiana earlier this week. The issue is that the superstar hasn’t been getting much help from his team that lacks another standout talent.
The worry is that Westbrook will force shots as he tries too hard to keep up with the talented Warriors.
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This game is going to be a sight to behold. The Thunder fans can’t be happy that Durant left them this offseason, but there is also a huge respect there for lifting them to such lofty heights.
He is usually not a ball-dominant player, so it will be interesting to see if Durant gets into a more selfish mode in his return to OKC. While the Thunder fans would love to see its underdog team pull this one out, it’s just too big of a mismatch.
The Warriors should be able to roll to the victory as Durant’s teammates will want to get him a win in his return.
NBA Odds: Warriors 123, Thunder 112
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