Thunder Gameday: OKC Kicks off Eastern Conference Stint Against Wizards

In the first of three consecutive games against Eastern Conference teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Washington Wizards.

With less than a month until the NBA trade deadline, the Oklahoma City Thunder are on track to win 27 games. This is on par for where the team was expected to finish when the 2021-22 season kicked off.

There’s been plenty of highs and lows this season, but for the most part Oklahoma City has been competitive in nearly every game it has played. As the halfway point in the season gets closer, the Thunder’s next contest will be on the road against the Washington Wizards.

ODDS: 

The Thunder enter the day as 9.5-point underdogs to the Wizards, and the total over/under is 216.5 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME: 

The Wizards are an extremely deep team, but have been pretty mediocre to this point in the season. They’re 5-5 in their last ten games, which mirrors their .500 record on the season through 40 contests.

Hosting the Thunder tonight, Washington has been much better at home (10-7) than on the road (10-13) this season. As such, it’ll be a tough test for Oklahoma City.

As expected, Bradley Beal has been the Wizards’ best player this season, posting averages of 24.0 points, 6.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. He’s also gotten quite a bit of scoring help from his teammates, as Washington has six players that average double-digits in points per game.

Kyle Kuzma has been solid for the Wizards recently, coming off of a 27 point and 22 rebound performance. Off the bench, Montrezl Harrell has been one of the best in the NBA this season, averaging 14.5 points and 7.3 boards per contest.

If Oklahoma City is going to be competitive in this matchup, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will need to get out of his offensive slump. He’s struggled to get shots to fall of late, which has been detrimental to the Thunder’s offense.

RECORDS: 

Oklahoma City Thunder (13-26) vs. Washington Wizards (20-20)

WHEN: 

Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 6:00 PM CT

LOCATION: 

Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

TV/RADIO: 

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

FINAL WORD: 

“Being drafted here was a blessing for all of us. We love the team,” said Josh Giddey of the Thunder rookies.

While the team hasn’t been winning many games of late, the young guys on the team know it’s all about the process and more important to develop than win games at this point.

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