The Oklahoma City Thunder lost their first two games out of the break, the first time they suffered consecutive defeats since early December. They will try to return to their winning ways against the New Orleans Pelicans, who they drubbed by 26 points in the final game before the All-Star hiatus.
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LOOK AHEAD
It was one thing for Oklahoma City to come suddenly apart at the seams on Friday night and lose a home game to the Pacers. These surprising things happen over the course of an NBA season. But it was quite another to see OKC bellyflop against LeBron James and the Cavaliers the very next time out. The deeper question now is whether it gives anyone a sudden reason to question OKC’s credentials as challengers for the championship. The standings show the Thunder at 40-16, the No. 3 seed in the West behind Golden State and San Antonio. The calendar shows them as 19-6 since Christmas. But as the real meat of the schedule against the better teams with winning records awaits OKC, there remain holes that need to be patched.
After the back-to-back road set that concludes against the Pelicans, the closing schedule becomes perilous. The Thunder face Golden State home and away in the space of six days and still have three games left against both the Spurs and No. 4 seed Clippers. The Thunder haven’t been involved in too many back-to-backs this season and will play just their 10th set with games at Dallas and New Orleans. OKC is 5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
INJURIES
Thunder guard Andre Roberson remains out indefinitely as he continues rehab from a right knee sprain. He started some individual workouts as part of his recovery process, but there is no definitive timetable for his return.
Center Omar Asik is expected to miss up to two weeks of action after suffering a sprained ankle Sunday against Detroit. The Pelicans will also be without the services of guard Tyreke Evans for the remainder of the year after having surgery on his right knee.
KEY MATCHUP
Ever since Kevin Durant took home the league’s MVP hardware, Russell Westbrook has outshone him in real plus/minus and box plus/minus. You can blame a little of that on a banged-up Durant working through injuries – his per minute numbers are slightly down since 2013-14 – but most of it is because Westbrook has become an irrepressible force in his own right. Durant hasn’t gotten worse; Westbrook has simply gotten that much better. He may not quite be the best player in basketball right now, but Westbrook has staked a pretty solid claim to the No. 2 slot. Though the Thunder offense stalled a bit out of the break, it hasn’t been because of Westbrook, who averaged 21.5 points and 14.5 assists in two games where OKC failed to reach 100 points. Through seven games in February, Westbrook is averaging 23.3 points, 12.0 assists and 9.1 rebounds and continues to do it all. Westbrook nearly collected a triple-double when OKC defeated New Orleans 121-95 just before the break. He had 23 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, and had his way with the undersized Pels backcourt.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
One game after attempting 34 field goals and scoring a career-best 59 points, Anthony Davis was nearly invisible on the offensive end for the Pelicans. Davis attempted just nine shots scoring nine points and the Pels tallied 89 in a 20-point loss to the Wizards. Having Davis involved in the offensive game plan seems like a must if New Orleans wants any chance of winning games. No disrespect to Jrue Holiday, who attempted 12 more field goals than Davis on Tuesday, but nine shots. Come on Alvin Gentry, you better give the ball to the best player on your team. OKC’s No. 2 offense stumbled out of the break, failing to reach 100 points while losing the first two games. The Thunder had scored at least 100 points in 23 of 24 games prior to the break and averages nearly 110 per game so it’s hard to imagine the slump will last much longer, especially considering they blasted the Pels 121-95 in the last game before the hiatus.
Oklahoma City 113, New Orleans 105
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans is scheduled for Thursday, February 25, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
