Tip-Off: 9:30 PM CST
Location: Golden 1 Center (Sacramento, California)
Television: FSOK
Radio: The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game
Player to Watch
C DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins is arguably the most dominant center in the league. Cousins is averaging 26.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 14 games so far. Cousins is pretty solid at the free throw line making 77.2% of his attempts, and he manages to get there more than anyone else in the NBA averaging 10.6 attempts a game. Steven Adams will have his hands full defending Cousins, but Adams has been playing some of his best basketball lately.
Keys to the Game
- Take Better Shots: Oklahoma City has struggled consistently this season with starting games poorly simply because of an inability to knock down shots. Despite ranking 21st in the league in 3-point %, the Thunder likes to shoot a lot from behind the arc. Either the Thunder need to take more efficient shots, or they need to start making the shots they have been taking all along.
- Defend the Whole Game: At times, the Thunder has looked like one of the best teams defensively in the entire league. Other times, however, they have looked lost and confused. Oklahoma City needs to defend at a high level for an entire game and show what they are capable of doing on that end of the floor.
- Take Care of the Ball: Oklahoma City ranks dead last in turnovers, averaging 16.8 a game. The Kings force their opponents into only 13.9 mistakes a game, so the Thunder could take a step in the right direction by taking care of the ball tonight and limiting those unforced errors that they seem to find themselves committing far too often.
Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter and Instagram.