“There’s a certain seriousness it takes to win in this league. And there’s a certain fear you have to instill in teams in order to win. I just don’t know if they’re instilling that fear in teams with all the bromance and stuff after the game.” That’s what Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green had to say almost two weeks ago concerning the Oklahoma City Thunder and their group postgame interviews. Now, the Thunder hosts the Warriors in a battle of two of the top teams in the West.
Oklahoma City rebounded from their first loss of the season with a convincing 126-107 win against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Golden State, however, had a rougher night as they fell 136-117 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. OKC and Golden State have plenty of history, but a shift is taking place in the league, and it’s largely because of the quick ascension to success by the Thunder.
Don’t count the Warriors out just yet, though. While they still maintain some of their core from the recent dynasty—namely Steph Curry and Draymond Green—they have a handful of young players and a few veteran role players that are all working together in attempt to get Golden State back to a place of former glory.
Golden State is going to want to get the bad taste from Friday’s loss out of their mouth, so Oklahoma City needs to be ready. This game has all the makings of a classic clash between two embittered teams, and the game will likely be decided in the final minutes.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 6 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: FanDuelTV – 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, Golden State Warriors Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Warriors
- PG: Steph Curry
- SG: Moses Moody
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Trayce Jackson-Davis
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Ducas (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Adam Flagler (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (fractured left hand) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left ACL surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
- Kenrich Williams (right knee surgery) is OUT.
Warriors
- NONE
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 26-30 against the Warriors in the regular season (16-12 at home, 10-18 on the road) and 3-4 in the playoffs (2-1 at home, 1-3 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Warriors 7 times, lost it 7 times, and tied twice.
- The Thunder went 3-1 against the Warriors last season (1-1 at home, 2-0 on the road).