The second and fourth best squads of the West are clashing in this high stakes matchup, when the defending champions Golden State Warriors, who have been unstable for the whole month and want to turn their latest victory into a streak, are visiting the Oklahoma City Thunder, who on the other hand want to return to the winning ways.
Warriors are 46-21 so far in the league and are sitting on top of the Western Conference. They are 2-1 in their last 3 games and in their latest matchup they were victorious against Houston on the road, 106-104. Thunder are 42-27 so far in the league and are tied with Portland on the fourth place of the Western Conference. In their latest matchup they saw a 2-game victory streak end with a road defeat by Indiana, 106-108.
Golden State are led in scoring by Stephen Curry with 27.9 ppg. He also adds 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, while Kevin Durant follows with 27.4 ppg, adding 5.7 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game. Klay Thompson adds 22.5 ppg and 4 rebounds. Oklahoma City are led in scoring by Paul George with 28.2 ppg. He also adds 8.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while Russell Westbrook follows with 23.2 ppg and leads the team both in assists made with 10.5 and in rebounding with 11.1 per game. Dennis Schroder adds 15.4 ppg and 4.2 assists off the bench.
This will be the third meeting between those two teams so far this season and they are tied 1-1 wins. Golden State won at home with a 108-100 score and Oklahoma on the road 95-123. Oklahoma City are 23-9 at home, while Golden State are 22-11 on the road. Golden State have the best offense in the league with 118 ppg to Oklahoma City’s 114.9, while Oklahoma City have a better defense, allowing 110.9 ppg to Golden State’s 112.2. Golden State have a better accuracy both from the field (48.8% to 45.7%) and from behind the arc (37.8% to 34.8%). Oklahoma on the other hand grab more rebounds (48.1 to 46.1), while Golden State dish more assists (29.1 to 23.1) and both squads commit almost the same number of turnovers (13.7 to 13.8). The defending champions are having their ups and downs lately so pick Oklahoma City for the home win in this one.