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OKC Thunder: Big Western Conference matchups coming up

By Albert Dadson

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - FEBRUARY 11: Russell Westbrook (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - FEBRUARY 11: Russell Westbrook (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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With big Western Conference matchups coming up, the OKC Thunder are on a three-game winning streak. These two games will be a big test.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a three-game winning streak after having a four-game losing streak and seem to have turned things around. These are bright days, but now the OKC Thunder face behemoths in the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors.

The Thunder have beaten the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls — three teams with a combined 9-31 record — on their win streak. The Spurs and the Warriors together have a record of 20-10. These two games will be a challenge compared to the last three games.

This is what Carmelo Anthony and Paul George came to OKC for and this is what the Thunder got the tandem for. These two games are a chance to make a statement. Against the Western Conference, the Thunder are 2-6, with both wins coming from the recent three-game winning streak.

In between those games, the Thunder have to face the New Orleans Pelicans. Coming out of the next three games 2-1 would be a win for the Thunder.

Russell Westbrook has been playing great lately and is a +44 overall on the season. He has been able to affect the game the same way he did last year while playing with other superstars. The days of being called out for shooting too much are over.

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    • So far Westbrook is close to averaging a triple-double again with 20.2 points, 9.6 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. He has been able to have an effect on the game other than scoring the ball and that is a complete 180 from the Kevin Durant era.

    The Golden State games are always going to be big for him as long as Durant is on that team, but there will be a little bit of extra intensity after the Warriors said Westbrook was easy to guard.

    The rivalry will be different this year though, because OKC does not have the players that were on the team when Durant was on the team anymore. Other than Westbrook, the only other Thunder players that were there for the Durant era were Steven Adams, Nick Collison and Andre Roberson.

    As far as I know, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony do not have a beef with Kevin Durant or anyone else on the Warriors. it will be interesting to see how the game plays out on the court because of all the new players the Thunder have, young and old.

    Josh Huestis, Terrance Ferguson, and Dakari Johnson are all rookies while Patrick Patterson, Raymond Felton, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George are all new players that were signed and traded for. Those are new players that get minutes for the team and the sense of rivalry may not be there for the Thunder.

    If the players do not start anything on the court, the fans will definitely be rowdy. Chesapeake Energy Arena is one of the toughest courts to play on and the Thunder crowd will be awake for that game after they rained down boos on Durant for two games last year.

    The Thunder’s new balanced attack will be tested these next three games. The Spurs are the class of the NBA, the Pelicans have studs in DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, and the Warriors are the NBA champions with public enemy No. 1 Kevin Durant.

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    This team has not been tested this season like they will be coming up, and they are just .500. The season is still early and the Thunder face the Warriors and the Spurs three other times each this season, but it is never too early to make a statement.

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