Oklahoma City Thunder bid to arrest slump with visit to Toronto Raptors
Watch Oklahoma City Thunder @ Toronto Raptors on Sky Sports Arena on Friday night at 11:30pm
Saturday 23 March 2019 04:10, UK
The faltering Oklahoma City Thunder bid to arrest their alarming recent slump with a visit to Eastern Conference high-flyers the Toronto Raptors, live on Sky Sports Arena.
Live NBA: Oklahoma @ Toronto
The Thunder (42-30) have hit the wall at the worst possible time. They come into this match-up having lost four successive games and 10 of their last 14. That has put a huge dent in their hopes of earning any homecourt advantage for the playoffs.
The faltering Thunder have slipped to eighth in the West but, in a tightly-contested conference, they still have time to arrest their decline. The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers are both tied with Oklahoma City and the third-placed Houston Rockets are just three games ahead.
A lot can happen over the final few weeks of the regular season but Oklahoma City's recent form indicates they'll have a tough road come postseason time.
The Raptors (51-21) have pretty much guaranteed themselves a top-two seed in the East. They're two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks in first and six games up on the Philadelphia 76ers in third.
That means they'll have homecourt advantage throughout most of the playoffs. Toronto own a 29-7 record at home this season and it's a tough task for any team to play in Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors' biggest concern is the health of their All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, who will miss this game after injuring his right ankle in Tuesday's game against the Knicks.
The Raptors faced the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, with Toronto prevailing in overtime, 123-114. Prior to that, the Thunder won nine of their previous 12 games over the Raptors dating back to 2012.
Key battle: Kawhi Leonard vs Paul George
Two of the league's best two-way players face off in this encounter. Leonard has been on the fringes of MVP consideration all season, averaging 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals on the year.
The only thing holding him back from truly challenging James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP honours is the number of games he has missed. Leonard, who missed almost all of last season through injury, does not play on the second night of back-to-back games. As a result, he has missed 20 of the Raptors 72 games thus far.
For a significant stretch of the season, George was neck-and-neck with Harden and Antetokounmpo in the MVP race, propelling the Thunder up the West standings with consistently explosive scoring and tenacious defense.
His candidacy has been derailed by a shooting slump that is likely the result of a shoulder injury that caused him to miss three recent games. Since returning the court, George hasn't been able to summon the offensive efficiency that characterized his elite play before the All-Star break.
There are reports that George is playing despite not being 100 per cent fit, something which - if true - will give Leonard a significant edge in their head-to-head battle.
Last time out
Numbers game
9.6 - That's the number of steals the Thunder rack up per game, no team in the NBA produces more.
The Thunder's ability to create turnovers reflects their defensive identity - they hold opponents to 105. Points per 100 possessions, the fourth-best figure in the league.
In Kyle Lowry's absence, expect Westbrook and George to put extreme pressure on the Raptors ball-handlers in this contest.
One of watch (Thunder): Dennis Schroder
Aside from George and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have long been considered an offensively-challenged team. They desperately needed a reliable scorer off the bench to keep the scoreboard ticking over when their two All-Stars take a rest.
Schroder has filled that role to the letter this season, averaging 15.4 points and 4.5 assists per game while putting up 17 20-plus-point games.
One to watch (Raptors): Fred VanVleet
With Lowry out for the second straight game, VanVleet should be in line to start against the Thunder.
VanVleet, usually an explosive scoring option off the bench, scored 23 points as a starter in the Raptors' road win over the Thunder on Wednesday night and will be hoping to deliver a repeat dose on his home court.
