It’s only the eleventh game of the season, it would be a stretch to say this is a must-win, but everyone is expecting Oklahoma City’s reaction after the awful loss in Sacramento.
Keys to the Game
Attack the Paint – For a change, the Thunder should stop to take contested mid-range shots and start to aggressively attack the paint. The Nuggets don’t have any good rim protector, they are below average in blocks (18th with 4.5 blocks per game), and they are slightly above average for points allowed in the paint (11th with 41.5). Oklahoma City should be able to create better shots than what they did so far in the season due to the talent advance.
Build on the Defense – The Thunder are, for now, the second-best defensive team in the league. Building their game out of their best strength will be crucial tonight. Once you make it hard for the opposite team to score, you can run, fastbreaks are possible, the defense is not settling down and possibilities to score will open up. Until the half court offense clicks, using transition offense could be the best option to win games.
Rebounds – Oklahoma City won all the games when they outrebounded the opposite team while, when they lost, they have been outrebounded. Despite not having a real back up center, the Thunder have the personnel to dominate the rebounds battle and consequently to win games.
Injury Report
Oklahoma City Thunder
- N/A
Denver Nuggets
- N/A
Teams Stats
Oklahoma City Thunder
PPG 102.4 – OPP PTS 96.7
FG% 44.4 – 3PT% 34.0 – FT% 73.2
APG 21.6 – RPG 42.1 – TOV 15.2
Denver Nuggets
PPG 106.5 – OPP PTS 106.1
FG% 45.9 – 3PT% 36.7 – FT% 72.1
APG 23.9 – RPG 45.1 – TOV 15.6
