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Oklahoma City Thunder (29-25) vs. Charlotte Hornets (22-30)
Game Time: Saturday, Feb. 21, 7:00 p.m. ET
Projected Starting Lineups:
Oklahoma City Thunder: PG: Russell Westbrook, SG: Andre Roberson, SF: Kevin Durant, PF: Serge Ibaka, C: Enes Kanter
Charlotte Hornets: PG: Brian Roberts, SG: Gerald Henderson, SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, PF: Cody Zeller, C: Al Jefferson
The Thunder have finally climbed out of their early-season hole and have reached the eighth spot in the Western Conference. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that Kevin Durant is now experiencing foot soreness. The team is saying that it is not serious, but any lingering effects from coming back too early from his previous foot injury would derail the Thunder’s playoff chances. His status for this game is unknown, but the Thunder should get their first glance at their new acquisitions.
Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler, D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak are all expected to make their debuts for Oklahoma City. The Charlotte Hornets will be the first team that gets a crack at the new-look Thunder lineup. The Hornets will also have a player making his debut with Mo Williams, who they acquired last week from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williams will provide some added depth in the backcourt while Kemba Walker is out with a knee injury.
The Hornets and Thunder are in similar positions in their respective conferences. The Hornets are currently in the eighth position in the East with a handful of teams right on their heels. They will have to up their game down the stretch considering the teams behind them added key pieces before the trade deadline.
The interesting part of this game will be seeing the new players for the Thunder. Kanter was the headline pickup, but the additions of Augustin and Singler shouldn’t be understated. Augustin is one of the better backup point guards in the league, and Singler will finally get to be in the role he should be. He had to be a starter for the Detroit Pistons, but he is really more of a seventh or eighth guy on a good team. Bringing in Novak also gives them a lethal shooter from the outside who can spread the floor for them in certain situations.
While it will be interesting to see how the new players fit in, the real fun in this game will be watching Russell Westbrook. The All-Star game MVP continued his incredible season on Thursday, dropping 34 points and adding 10 assists in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. He looks like he is playing at a different speed than everyone else on the court right now. One area that Westbrook is taking advantage of is at the free throw line. Over his last 10 games, he has gone to the line 99 times, making 93 of those attempts.
The Hornets play at one of the slowest paces in the NBA and will have to keep it that way if they want to contain Westbrook. I have a hard time seeing that happen and think the Thunder will roll to a win in their first game with their new players.
Final Prediction: Oklahoma City 104, Charlotte 92
