CHICAGO – The Thunder ranks in the top three in the NBA in field goal percentage, 3-point shooting percentage, offensive rebounding, blocks and points per game. The two areas where it wants to improve, turnovers and fouls, are what have produced the two losses on its 3-2 record.
Controlling what it can, capitalizing on its strengths and minimizing its mistakes can be just the recipe for earning a road victory against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night and getting back to winning ways.
After losses to the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors where the Thunder held leads in the fourth quarter, the team utilized the wide-angled lens perspective to how it is currently playing. It is still early in the season, and while it is trying to smooth out any rough edges from the introduction of an adjusted style of playing on offense and defense, the Thunder recognizes that the process to becoming the team it wants to be will be a continued one.
In the meantime while the wrinkles are being ironed out, Head Coach Billy Donovan’s squad will simply try to control what is in their hands on every possession – its energy. In the Thunder’s fourth game in five nights, it will face a Chicago team coming off of a loss on Tuesday night. Thunder veterans know they will have a hungry, rested team waiting for them tonight.
“[We have to] come out and play harder than them,” guard DJ Augustin said. “They’re going to be fired up to play us. We have to come with that same energy and try to hit them first.”
Fortunately for the Thunder, the Bulls have been allowing 94.4 field goal attempts per 48 minutes and only forcing 13.2 turnovers per contest, so Thursday will be an opportunity to get back to its usual standards for ball protection. Where the Thunder can look to take advantage of Chicago is on the offensive glass, where it currently snags 14.2 of its own misses per game compared to the Bulls’ meager 7.0 offensive rebounds per game.
On the other end of the floor, the Thunder will have to be vigilant against the Bulls’ offense, which is playing quite differently than in seasons past. Chicago currently ranks fifth in the NBA, two spots behind the Thunder, in three-point field goal percentage at a 38.6 percent clip.
“They have a different offense right now,” guard Anthony Morrow said. “We just have to do what we’ve been doing defensively and attack the things that have been hurting us, which are turnovers and fouls. If we do those things, we’ll be fine.”
“They have a new high-powered offense and they space the floor for their guys,” forward Kevin Durant said. “We have our work cut out for us on the road, we just have to rely on each other.”
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Broadcast Information
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m. CT
Television: TNT
Radio: Thunder Radio Network, WWLS the Sports Animal