Thunder Gameday: The First of Three Consecutive Matchups in Los Angeles
In this story:
Tonight will be the first of two contests this week between the Oklahoma City Thunder and LA Clippers. Both teams are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, which makes these games significant.
The Clippers are currently the No. 5 seed in the West, just 2.5 games ahead of the No. 9 seed Thunder. With a pair of wins this week, Oklahoma City would close in on the Clippers.
OKC also has the right to swap picks with LA this summer, which makes this head-to-head dynamic even more interesting.
Alonzo Adams / USA Today
ODDS:
The Thunder enter the day as 7.5-point underdogs to the Clippers, and the total over/under is 236.5 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
The majority of the Clippers’ primary rotation will be healthy in this contest, with the exception of Norman Powell. For the Thunder, they’ll be without Aleksej Pokusevski and Kenrich Williams, which has been the case for quite a while now.
As such, both teams should be comfortable in this game and have access to the rotations that have worked well of late.
LA is headlined by the dynamic duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, who form one of the best pairs in the league when healthy. Interestingly enough, Oklahoma City’s two best players right now are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, who were byproducts of the George trade from OKC to LA several years back.
This game will likely come down to defense and which team can slow the other down better. There’s plenty of star power and offensive upside on both rosters, so defending will be key.
The Thunder have won seven of their last ten games and are one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference. With that in mind, they’re 13-21 on the road this season and could struggle due to that tonight.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (35-36) vs. LA Clippers (38-34)
WHEN:
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 9:30 PM CT
LOCATION:
Crypto.com Arena - Los Angeles, CA
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
FINAL WORD:
Following this contest, both teams will have a day off before matching up once again on Thursday. Which group will make better adjustments in the second game?
Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
