Broadcast Information
- Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CT
- Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
- Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
The Thunder removed itself from a rut of losses in 5-of-6 games in style. Backing up wins on the road in Philadelphia and New York City with an excellent playoff-style gut-check win over the Portland Trail Blazers at home provided the team with 3 wins in 4 nights, the type of slump-buster that can right the ship immediately.
Despite now being 11 games over .500 and more securely in third place in the Western Conference than it was a week ago, the Thunder’s focus immediately shifted to continuing this homestand the right way. On Thursday the New Orleans Pelicans come to town, and the Thunder can’t afford to be lulled into a trap game against a Pelicans squad that will be missing Anthony Davis. Even without its best player, New Orleans put a 20-point drubbing on the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. The Thunder will have to be ready to defend, and rebound, for 48 minutes.
“Our guys always respond because they’re really competitive,” said Head Coach Billy Donovan.
While the Pelicans will likely have Jahlil Okafor up front alongside Julius Randle instead of Davis, the problems on the perimeter that the Pelicans create remain the same. The shifty speed of Jrue Holiday and Elfrid Payton can make staying in front of the ball difficult, particularly with the perimeter shooting provided by players like Darius Miller.
“Pick-and-roll, it’s so important that we have our hands ready, playing with activity,” said Thunder guard Dennis Schröder.
Fortunately the Thunder has a bevy of players defensively whose skill, size, physicality and length make scoring on Oklahoma City a total chore. Russell Westbrook (2.38) and Paul George (2.33) are numbers one and two in steals per game this season, and with George’s uncanny ability to deflect passes, snag loose balls, defend shooters and be in the right spots, he’s garnering not just MVP but Defensive Player of the Year buzz. George, a strong candidate to become an All-Star starter, isn’t concern with any of the accolades – only the on-court results.
“The focus is coming out, trying to win, trying to get us in a good position going into playoffs,” forward Paul George added. “Only thing for me is to sustain this level and keep going at this rate.”
That team-first mentality is pervasive within the Thunder’s locker room. George, Westbrook and Schröder have shared the floor and the ball not just with one another but the entire team to produce some incredible harmony lately. Over the past 9 games, the Thunder has made 10-or-more three-pointers 8 times, shooting 41.5 percent from behind the arc during that span, third-best in the NBA. The scoring hasn’t just been concentrated amongst the leaders. In fact, the Thunder has 14 games this season of 6-or-more players scoring in double figures. Last season, that feat only occurred 9 times.
“It’s tough when PG, me and Russ are on the floor,” said Schröder. “We got three who can be on the ball and off the ball. I think it’s hard to see where it’s coming from. I think we did a great job this season playing with a pass as well and everybody creating for each other.”
“We're all confident as a team as long as we make good passes to open guys, make the right plays and confident guys can make shots," Westbrook noted.
1-on-1: Abdel Nader
SHOOTAROUND NOTES
- Despite not having Davis, the Pelicans are still a very formidable foe for the Thunder tonight, and one that the team is not taking lightly. Being able to defend New Orleans’ quickness, ballhandling and scoring will require sharp focus, communication and cohesion on the defensive end, along with some physicality and toughness.
- “This team is going to have the same principles,” said George. “They’ll try to play early and quick into the shot clock. They’ll stay in attack mode with Jrue, with Julius, with Elfrid.” We can’t look at it because AD is out that this is going to be an easy game.”
- “We got size. Hopefully the size will overmatch their speed,” George added. “We’ll play fast. We’ve got the length, the guys, the athleticism to cover those guys. It’s just about us performing at a high level.”
- For the third-straight season, Westbrook is averaging a triple-double, a feat previously completely unheard of outside of one man, for one season – Oscar Robertson in 1962. So far this year, Westbrook is averaging 21.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game, while also leading the league in assists and steals per contest. Impossibly, Westbrook’s incredible energy and productivity has made the idea of a triple-double, once revered and hallowed, a footnote in his nightly box score, and something that opponents have to routinely gameplan against.
- “It’s his game. It’s how he affects the game,” said George. “It’s just special that he can do it on a nightly basis. It’s not like he’s going for it. It just happens. It’s the way he plays. He rebounds the best at his position. He passes the best at his position and he scores the ball easily. It just happens. That’s just his print on the game. He’s a walking triple-double.”
- “Teams are going to send four or five guys, keep us out of transition,” George said. “That’s the only way they can keep Russ out of the paint and out of the transition game.”
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NEWS & NOTES
- Alex Abrines has been with the Thunder over the last few games, including active and on the bench against New York and Portland. Donovan stated before those games that Abrines would not be in the rotation. There does seem, however, to be a pathway towards Abrines’ eventual return to action.
- It remains to be seen whether the trend will continue in the Pelicans game, but over the last two contests, Donovan has altered the rotation minutes a bit to ensure that one of the starters has been with the second unit at all times. On Monday in New York it was Steven Adams. On Tuesday it was George whose minutes changed. After the win over the Blazers, Donovan explained his thought process and the way George (36 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals against Portland) responded to the adjustment.
- “Helping those guys with maybe another playmaker or ball handler out there, with either Dennis or Paul, helps them a little bit, or someone like Steven who we can throw the ball inside to them,” Donovan noted. “It’s something I think we have to look at. It may not always be Paul-- maybe Steven, like it was in New York, just to give those guys another option to play off of.”
- “It speaks to our team and their willingness and sacrifice to want to win,” Donovan continued. “They’re competitive. Whatever we can do to help the team play well, everybody for 48 minutes, they’re willing to do. For me it was such an easy conversation, because Paul is such a great guy to talk to.”
- One of the reasons that staggering of minutes could work for the Thunder is that it allows the team to also keep one of George and Terrance Ferguson on the floor at nearly all times. Despite being just a second-year player, Ferguson has cemented himself into the rotation and is gathering more crunch-time minutes due to his unrelenting energy, effort, footwork and hustle on the defensive side of the ball. As a partner with George on the wing, Ferguson has assumed the duties of rushing around screens to get in front of three-point shooters who are catching on the move.
- “Ferg is a hundred pounds. It’s kinda easy to slip through those,” joked George with a sly grin. “It’s nothing that we’re forcing Ferg to do. He embraces those challenges of flying around, getting through those screens, and playing defense. And you’ve got to love it. Our job, my job especially, I’ve been through that part in my career, is to help him and try to give him little points that helped me through my career.”
- After another hot shooting performance against Portland (6-for-8 from the field, 2-for-4 from three), Ferguson is also flashing some incredibly helpful offensive repertoire that can help the Thunder keep the scoreboard moving. During the month of January (11 games), Ferguson is averaging 10.2 points on 49.4 percent shooting, including 50 percent from three.
- “It’s awesome. Definitely big weapon for us, big upside,” George said. “He’s just scratching the surface—he’s young. He’s got a lot in his future. Again, our job is to help.”
- “Everybody is proud of him. He keeps working, working every day,” said Schröder. “He kept working and now it’s paying off. Everybody is happy for him.”