The Thunder knows the strategy. Tonight is all about executing.
Playing against a division rival like the Utah Jazz often means that there is little new territory to uncover, but rather the team who imposes their style of play on the action for the longest period of time ends up as the victor.
In the third tilt of a four-game home stand at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder will host the up-and-coming Jazz on Wednesday night, with the understanding that stopping Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter on the block will be equally as important as closing off open shooting opportunities for guards Trey Burke and Gordon Hayward.
This game will be a test for big men Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison, but also for guards Reggie Jackson, Anthony Morrow, Jeremy Lamb and Andre Roberson. If the Thunder can learn from its first meeting with the Jazz, just last week in Utah, it will have a chance to come away with its fourth win of the year.
The Thunder jumped out to a 17-point lead in the early stages of that game last week, but allowed the Jazz to chip away and take control in the fourth quarter. Tonight, the Thunder wants to show the faithful in loud city a full 48 minutes of high level basketball.
“It’s mainly just knowing that we played a great game for about three quarters,” Morrow said. “We have to bring that same intensity for four quarters and 48 minutes. Our defensive discipline was good for three quarters. We have to bring that for four quarters.”
Rare Practice Time Helping Thunder
Practice opportunities have been limited for the Thunder during the month of November. With four road back-to-backs in the first 30 days of the 2014-15 campaign, any days off between games have been used for rest. In addition, the number of healthy players the Thunder had on its roster cut down on the types of full-speed activities that Head Coach Scott Brooks could get accomplished.
Now, however, with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Mitch McGary participating in portions of practice, including some contact drills, the Thunder has enough players to get some major work accomplished. There was also finally a breath of air in the schedule with no games on Monday or Tuesday, which provided the Thunder with valuable time at its practice facility, where it could take advantage of all of its amenities.
“We were joking about it that we haven’t stretched in a while to get ready to go up and down,” Morrow said. “It was a great feeling. To have the guys back practicing, their spirit has been good for us.”
“The last couple of practices have been really good for us in terms of execution on both ends,” Morrow continued. “Guys are really locked in right now and understand we have some guys coming back soon. We have to keep the intensity up that we’ve been having the last few games and the last couple of practices.”
Floater a Weapon for Morrow
The addition of Anthony Morrow in the offseason was one that was met with much excitement not just amongst fans in Oklahoma City, but within the walls of the INTEGRIS Thunder Development Center. The sharpshooter has a tenacity and intensity to his game that permeates throughout his minutes on the floor.
He’s known as a knock-down three-point shooter, and he’s provided that so far for the Thunder by shooting 36.1 percent from behind the arc while averaging 12.1 points in 28.9 minutes per contest. Morrow has kept defenders honest, however, by being able to put the ball on the floor for a one dribble pull up and has also displayed an array of runners and floaters to score moving towards the rim.
“It’s something I put in my game since I’ve been in the league,” Morrow explained. “That’s something I felt like I could incorporate in my game. A lot of great scorers-slash-shooters have that in their game. Usually if you have good touch it’s not as hard to get to that.”
“It’s something I still work on every day,” he continued. “A lot of times guys run me off (the three-point line). I’m not one of those above the rim guys, so I try to get the floater. Sometimes you can get the and-one.”
Broadcast Information
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CT
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: Thunder Radio Network, WWLS the Sports Animal