Preview 82 of 82: Thunder @ Bucks
Time: 7:00 PM CST
TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
The Oklahoma City Thunder (48-33) are closing down the 2018-19 regular season tonight in Milwaukee, taking on the Bucks (60-21) at the Fiserve Forum. Though the Bucks are locked into the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference and will be resting several of their best players, things are far less clear for the Thunder. OKC can secure the 6-seed in the West with a victory, but may be forced to do so without Paul George, who is questionable with shoulder soreness.
Tip-off is at 7:00 PM CST and will be televised on Fox Sports Oklahoma. The Thunder are 5-point road favorites according to Odds Shark.
Injury Report
Thunder
- Paul George: Questionable — Shoulder
- Andre Roberson: Out — Knee
Bucks
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: Out — Rest
- Brook Lopez: Out — Rest
- Malcolm Brogdon: Out — Foot
- Nikola Mirotic: Out — Thumb
- Pau Gasol: Out — Foot
- Donte DiVincenzo: Out — Heel
- Tony Snell: Out — Ankle
- Pat Connaughton: Questionable — Ankle
Probable Starters
Bucks: Eric Bledsoe, Sterling Brown, Khris Middleton, Ersan Ilysasova, DJ Wilson
Stats
Advanced
| Team | ORTG | DRTG | NET RTG | PACE | PIE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKC | 109.7 | 106.4 | 3.3 | 103.33 | 50.5 |
| MIL | 113.6 | 104.8 | 8.8 | 103.52 | 55.5 |
Four Factors
| Team | EFG | FTA% | TO% | OREB% | OP EFG | OP FTA | OP TO | OP OREB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKC | 51.3 | 0.268 | 13.4 | 29.9 | 52.3 | 0.272 | 16.1 | 26.2 |
| MIL | 55.0 | 0.255 | 13.3 | 25.0 | 50.2 | 0.222 | 12.8 | 24.4 |
Previous Results
OKC leads season series 1-0
What to Watch For
Scenarios. There’s a host of possible playoff scenarios still alive for the Thunder, all of which are broken down here. To put it as simply as possible, OKC is guaranteed the 6-seed with a victory, which would result in a first round date with either Denver, Houston, or Portland. Should the Thunder lose tonight’s game in Milwaukee, landing in the 7/8-seed (with a potential first round matchup with Golden State) is on the table.
Winning When You’re Supposed To. Tonight’s game looks good for the Thunder on paper — after all, there’s no Greek Freak, Brook Lopez, and others to contend with. That being said, this OKC team is notorious for dropping games to wounded opponents. No such errors can be made in the regular season finale.
PG’s Sore Shoulder. Despite scoring 27 points and hitting the game-winner last night against Houston, George is ‘questionable’ due to shoulder soreness tonight in Milwaukee. Given what’s at stake for OKC, it wouldn’t be surprising to see PG give it a go. However, against a Bucks team resting most of their starters, one might assume the Thunder could win it without him. Should George ultimately sit, look for Dennis Schroder to enter the starting lineup.
The Brodie. Russell Westbrook has been filling stat sheets over the Thunder’s four-game winning streak, posting 23.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 15.3 assists per game over the run. The most important stats there are the assists — but, should George have to sit, Westbrook may be forced to leave the pass-first mentality he’s taken lately. Getting some help from Steven Adams, Schroder, Jerami Grant, and others would be preferable, but it might be buckle-up-and-bombs-away for Westbrook if he finds himself as the lone alpha dog.
