Game Thread GAME# 80: THUNDER @ BLAZERS - APRIL 6, 2016 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM (PDT), KGW

Westbrook will feast on our tired transition defense. Durant and Ibaka might rest. Westbrook never rests. Hopefully we can pull out the win. It's not a must win but it certainly would be nice and potentially gives us a chance to clinch the 5th seed Saturday.

Go Blazers!

 

If the Thunder were smart, they'd rest everyone and throw the game. They want Portland to get that 5th seed so they can play Memphis instead.

 

Really tough to call this game tonight. The Thunder don't need it and it is the second of a B2B for them also after beating Denver last night. I looked at the box on their game. The Thunder won comfortably with Durant playing the most starter minutes but just under 30 was all that was needed. THey spread the minutes around very well. The Thunder are playing very good ball right now and in my mind they are not to be looked past going all the way. A very solid team indeed that can score and play strong defense.
I would suspect however the Blazers would play to win tonight. They always do and i would have it no other way. Problem is they fall prey to strong dominant PG's that lead their team in triple D's and average over 10 assists a game not to mention score at will. Westbrook is quite possibly the toughest match this team faces of any in the NBA. You see Lillard and CJ score right along with Curry and Thompson at times but never do you see either dominate the way Westbrook does.

Like i said. This game tonight can go a lot of ways. If the Blazers come out scoring and keep it close on their home court this is a very winnable game. But if the outside shot is not falling as they are prone to do on second nights then this could very well be a long night and maybe even a bit demoralizing for the home team.

 

I won't be bothered if we lose this one. It's looking like we can get to fifth with the last four games Memphis has. They could lose all of them. We just need the last two games. This would be a nice win though. Crabbe needs to show up. Dame does too. Harkless, aminu, and hendo have been pretty consistent, not worried about them. Defense needs to be turned up. If we play like we did those first two quarters of the Warriors game than I think it's a win. All depends on how we come out and start. I don't think they rest Westbrook or durant but maybe they do. If we are gonna get any offense from dame, we need a bigger body on Westbrook. Maybe crabbe, aminu takes durant. I'm looking forward to this game but won't be too upset if we lose it. Okc has been playing really good basketball the past couple weeks.

 

It makes perfect sense for the Thunder to rest tonight. 3rd game in 4 nights. Back to back. They just clinched the 3rd seed yesterday. They would much rather see the Grizzlies in the playoffs than the Blazers.

....and that is why I think they aren't going to rest today.

 

Wasn't it just a few years ago that Stern fined Pop and the Spurs a massive amount for resting his players?

How come it's so much more accepted now? So many teams are doing this.

 

Cause Pop didn't give a shit and so now more teams are doing it.

Also Stern isn't in charge anymore.

 

The Thunder are playing to get ready for the Spurs or Warriors in the second round and conference finals. They don't give half a shit about any of the teams at the bottom of the west standings. If playing their guys gets them in a better rhythm for the playoffs they'll do it. If they need rest to stay fresh they'll do it. The notion that they'll throw a game to avoid us is a losers mentality that isn't entering their mind in the slightest. Hell they might prefer the hardest matchup possible in round 1 to better test them for future series.

 

Because Pop didn't have the players travel with the team or announce it. Now teams announce resting players prior to the game.

 

Honestly, if Westbrook plays I hope Dame plays low minutes and they put Roberts in a bunch. I don't think Roberts will do any worse on Westbrook than a tired Dame.

 

HAHA thats what im saying they could care less about the blazers or grizz they have bigger goals to worry about.

i dont think they are worried who they play to be honest... if your in their position and your worried at all about por/memphis then you aren't close to a contender

 

A "Contender" never takes any team lightly.

 

This sounds ideal, but only in theory. I won't believe for one second that the Thunder aren't aware of what's going on in Memphis. They'll probably beat Portland too but the Blazers are a team that other teams should avoid if they can. They are going to make whoever they play work for everything. Why would the Thunder not care about that? Wouldn't they want to be as fresh as possible to take on GS/SA? It's not a loser mentality. It's just smart.

 

A loser mentality is "let's miss the playoffs because we would obviously have the greatest asset in the world". I agree though, who wouldn't want Memphis in the first round? They have to know we are right on Memphis ass on taking the 5th seed. No different than us trying to get the clips first round. Whatever first round match up is easiest you take it because as the playoffs go on the teams only get tougher. Why not sweep Memphis and have that extra rest for the second round? Has to be in their heads

 

They could rest them but another thing is, Memphis could completely fall out of the playoffs. They play Dallas, clips, Warriors twice. Maybe okc doesn't care who they play and rest them anyways, maybe not, who knows.

 

Yeah; maybe Houston wins out and the Thunder get stuck having to face them while if they beat us they play Dallas or something odd.

 

We need this one badly tonight. It's not only Memphis who we are trying to catch, but we're also trying to keep Dallas in our rearview. Right now we're at 37 losses, Dallas 38. As we know, Dallas holds the tie-breaker, so technically Dallas would pass us if they won out and we lost.