Thunder vs. Clippers: Pregame Primer

vs.

Thunder (42-16, 16-12 road) at Clippers (43-18, 23-6 home)

TV: ABC (Cox 8, HD 705)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 2:30 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 112.8 (2nd), Clippers– 109.5 (7th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.8 (8th), Clippers – 102.1 (5th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.8 (8th), Clippers – 91.7 (17th)

View from the enemy: ClipperBlog

Something you probably didn’t want to hear: The Clippers are just a half game behind the Thunder, two behind in the loss column. OKC already has the season series in hand against the Clips, but those two games have addendums on them. The first was the second of a back-to-back for the Clippers, the second was without Chris Paul.

Friday’s game against the Nuggets was pretty heartbreaking and puts the Thunder in a tough position. They’re looking at back-to-back losses, something that would be a significant bummer seeing as they had a three-game losing streak recently and then made us mostly forget about it by blowing out three straight teams.

Clippers coming in: Beat the Cavs on Friday.

Three Big Things

1. CP3. As he goes, so do the Clippers. The Thunder used Thabo on him in the first meeting, a very effective strategy that forced Paul into one of his worst games ever as a pro. Who gets the assignment today?

2. Turnovers. The Clippers don’t play fast, except when they turn you over live. They take live-ball turnovers and turn them into two points as good as any team in the league. The Nuggets made OKC pay in their transition game, but the Thunder didn’t help by giving possessions away.

3. KD. If it’s close, it’s time for him to finish a team. He hasn’t done that in a while.

Tip at 2:30 CT. Go Bounce.