Broadcast Information
- Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CT
- Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
- Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
For the ninth straight year, the Thunder will ring in the New Year at Chesapeake Energy Arena with its annual opening night contest on New Year’s Eve - but the Thunder’s opponent will be anything but new. In fact, they’re quite familiar.
Just 34 games into the regular season, the Thunder will now be seeing its 11th opponent for at least the second time already this year. Back home against the LA Clippers, who the Thunder are facing for the third time over the first two months of the season, the challenge will be different, but there’s an opportunity for the Thunder to learn from the first two meeting between these two squads, which the teams split.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul may not play and Blake Griffin will be out tonight, but with its shooting on the perimeter and the interior presence of DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers present many, many problems on both ends of the floor.
“They’re a good team in transition,” point guard Russell Westbrook said. “They do a good job of finding different guys, especially with their shooters. We have to do a good job of matching up to those guys.”
Russell Westbrook from today's shootaround:
At 7-1 over the years in Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve, the Thunder has enjoyed the home environment for its annual tradition. Just like playing on Christmas, it’s a chance to be with the community that the team doesn’t take for granted.
“You have an opportunity to ring the New Year in right regardless of win or loss,” Westbrook said. “The opportunity to play and do something you love doing on New Year’s Eve is great.”
Playing one final game in December isn’t just a great way to ring in the start of 2017, but also a way to reflect back on the past year and what the Thunder has accomplished in 2016.
“I think as a team we’ve grown," Westbrook said. "As players, as men, the different things we’ve done around here for the community, for the team and for ourselves. There are a lot of things to look back on and be proud of.”
At practice and at shootaround, the Thunder works on itself as a team and finds ways to improve within its core concepts, but the team also analyzes what will be coming at them from its opposition. Tonight, that will be an up-tempo Clippers group that can play above the rim while also raining down three-pointers from the perimeter
“Our guys do a really good job in terms of trying to take what we can learn from the previous game and how we can improve from the previous game,” Donovan said. “It’s a little bit different, but style and system, what both teams are trying to do, you have some information you can utilize to get prepared to play.”