The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered from poor shooting and questionable defense on Saturday at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, and the result was a 129-120 thanks primarily to the hot-shooting from Lebron James and Co. OKC looks to get back on track on Tuesday night as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are currently atop the Western Conference standings.
The Wolves are similar to the Thunder in that they are a young, well-balanced team ready to emerge as a legit contender in the West. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are both solid offensive threats, and Rudy Gobert is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. While Minnesota falls into the middle of pack when it comes to their offensive capabilities, they are one of the top defensive teams in the NBA.
Oklahoma City is going to have to shoot the ball a lot better than they did on Saturday, but that can’t be their only focus, and it probably shouldn’t be the primary one either. The Thunder is at their best when they are playing well on both ends of the floor, and it typically starts with the defense. OKC is going to have to lock in and go to battle down low, as Gobert and Towns are two of the better big men in the league. If the Thunder can compete in rebounding the basketball, then they have a good chance at giving Thunder fans a late Christmas present.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Minnesota Timberwolves Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Wolves
- PG: Mike Conley
- SG: Anthony Edwards
- SF: Jaden McDaniels
- PF: Karl-Anthony Towns
- C: Rudy Gobert
Injury Report
Thunder
- Josh Giddey is QUESTIONABLE (sprained left ankle).
- Jalen Williams is QUESTIONABLE (illness).
Wolves
- Jaylen Clark is OUT (right achilles tendon rupture rehab).
- Karl-Anthony Towns is QUESTIONABLE (left knee soreness).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 36-23 against the Timberwolves (18-10 at home, 18-13 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the 4-game regular season series against the Timberwolves 9 times, lost it 3 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 1-4 against the Timberwolves last season, including the Play-In Game (0-2 at home, 1-2 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-1 against the Timberwolves so far this season (0-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).