The Oklahoma City Thunder and the LA Clippers face off early on Thursday morning live on SuperSport in a match that promises much for both teams.
They both want to start a winning run having just won their last games with losses pegging them back before that.
The Thunder are 5th in the Western Conference while the Thunder occupy the final playoff place in the west, 8th place.
The Clippers (41-23) will have to work very hard to stop a Russell Westbrook inspired Oklahoma side whose record (35-28) doesn’t show how dangerous they can be.
It is a match-up between the NBA’s leading scorer in Westbrook, who’s currently averaging 27.4 points per game, and DeAndre Jordan who’s the best defender in the league with 14.4 rebounds per game and 2.2 Blocks per game.
If we look at team statistics then it makes things even more interesting as there’s very little to separate the sides.
In the points per game stakes the Clippers are behind the Golden State Warriors, in second spot as they average 106.0. Compare that to the Thunder who’re tenth in the standings, they average 102.3.
In defence the Thunder are better than their opponents on Thursday. They only allow on average 99.6 points against them. The Clippers average is 100.0.
It’s too close to call on the numbers alone.
A star turn from one of the players on court will probably decide it in the end. Westbrook watch continues as the race for the MVP award heats up. DeAndre Jordan might have a big say in how he performs in their encounter.
