Thunder Gameday: Oklahoma City Looks to Jump Sacramento in the Standings

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a chance to jump in the Western Conference standings with a win over the Sacramento Kings.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a roll, winning four of their last five games. As such, they’ve started to rise in the Western Conference standings.

In fact, a win over the Sacramento Kings today would put the Thunder ahead of them in the standings.

Sacramento has once again struggled this season as it continues the long streak of being a team out the outside looking in on the playoffs. If the Kings aren’t able to turn things around soon, there could be big questions to answer this offseason.

Regardless, this is a game Oklahoma City has a good chance to win, depending on how healthy the team is.

ODDS: 

The Thunder enter the day as 6-point underdogs to the Kings, and the total over/under is 219 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME: 

The Thunder are the latest team to get hit by players entering health and safety protocols. As of now, they’ve got four players that are unavailable in this matchup with the Kings because of this.

Regardless, Oklahoma City still has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Josh Giddey active as of now. As long as that trio is playing, the Thunder will always be competitive.

With that in mind, this game could truly come down to who takes the floor for each respective team.

The Kings have lost four of their last five games, but have gotten solid production out of Tyrese Haliburton. He’s led Sacramento in scoring in three consecutive games, showing another huge leap in production this season.

In a matchup that could truly go either way, it will likely come down to guard play as both teams have solid depth in the backcourt.

RECORDS: 

Oklahoma City Thunder (12-20) vs. Sacramento Kings (13-21)

WHEN: 

Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 9:00 PM CT

LOCATION: 

Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

TV/RADIO: 

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

FINAL WORD: 

The Thunder will have new faces on their roster in this contest via hardship contracts to fill voids in the roster. This will be yet another opportunity to explore lineups and prospects.

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