Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
It’s been just 6 days since the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans last met, a 113-80 result in favor of the Pelicans. Due to the nature of the NBA schedule this year, teams will often meet close together like this, if not in back-to-back games, so this one is not exactly out of the norm.
Not a lot has happened in the last week, so in order to achieve a different result, the Thunder is going to have make a number of adjustments. Perhaps the biggest problem in the first meeting between these two teams was OKC allowing the Pelicans to score at will down low. Keeping Steven Adams out of the game is a tough call, as he’s capable of being a playmaker whether it shows up on the stat sheet or not. Winning the battle down low is a tall task, but if the Thunder can do that, they can get a win.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: George Hill
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Al Horford
Pelicans
- PG: Lonzo Ball
- SG: Eric Bledsoe
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Zion Williamson
- C: Steven Adams
Injuries
Thunder
- Trevor Ariza is OUT (not with team).
- Ty Jerome is OUT (sprained left ankle).
- Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (concussion protocol).
Pelicans
- Sindarius Thornwell is OUT (health & safety protocols).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 28-16 against the Pelicans (16-7 at home, 12-9 on the road).
- The Thunder has won the season series with the Pelicans 8 times, tied it once, and lost it 3 times.
- The Thunder swept the Pelicans 4-0 in the regular season last year (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-1 against the Pelicans so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).