Tip-Off: 7 CT

Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, OK)

Television: FSOK

Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal

Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game

After an embarrassing loss to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder looks ahead to perhaps the most important week of the season so far. The Thunder plays three consecutive 18-win teams, starting with the Orlando Magic. These games are expected wins, but the Thunder has struggled against lesser-talented squads, so they cannot afford to mess around.

As far as Orlando goes, the Magic has won only nine games since defeating the Thunder on November 29, with four of those coming in the last 10 tries. The Orlando is essentially playing for a lottery spot in the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft, but they have a lot of young talent, so the Thunder cannot be too cautious.

Projected Starters

Thunder

• PG: Russell Westbrook
• SG: Josh Huestis
• SF: Paul George
• PF: Carmelo Anthony
• C: Steven Adams

Magic

• PG: D.J. Augustin
• SG: Evan Fournier
• SF: Jonathon Simmons
• PF: Aaron Gordon
• C: Nikola Vucevic

Injuries

Thunder

• Andre Roberson (rupture left patellar tendon) is OUT.

Magic

• Marreese Speights (personal reasons) is OUT.
• Terrence Ross (sprained right MCL, not-displaced fracture of right tibial plateau) is OUT.

Head-to-Head

• Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 12-7 against the Magic (7-2 at home, 5-5 on the road).
• Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Magic four times, lost once, and tied four times.
• Oklahoma City is 0-1 against the Magic so far this season (0-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).
• The Thunder has won five of the last seven matchups with the Magic.
• The Magic shot 59% from the field against the Thunder on March 29, 2017, in Orlando, the highest by a Thunder opponent all season.
• Last season, Russell Westbrook tied a career-high 21 made field goals against the Magic on March 29, 2017, in Orlando. In the process, he set the record for the most points ever recorded in a triple-double at the time with 57.
• Aaron Gordon scored 40 points against the Thunder in Orlando on November 29, third-most by a Thunder opponent all season.

Game Notes

• Oklahoma City most recently lost to Golden State, while Orlando is on a five-game losing streak.
• Oklahoma City is 4-6 in the last 10 games, while Orlando is 4-6.
• Oklahoma City is 20-10 at home, while Orlando is 7-24 on the road.
• Oklahoma City is 15-9 against the Eastern Conference, while Orlando is 7-14 against the Western Conference.
• Oklahoma City is 18-18 in games coming off of one day of rest, while Orlando is 8-25 in the same situation.
• D.J. Augustin played in 62 games with the Thunder over the course of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook.