Thunder vs. Spurs (8:30 ET, NBA TV)
The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are both adjusting to life without a key interior scoring presence. Both teams had winning streaks that came to an end on Sunday and both are led by a viable MVP candidate. The first of three matchups between these Western Conference foes will play out tonight on NBA TV’s Fan Night.
Triple-Russell
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook leads the NBA with 24 triple-doubles, making him one of three players (Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson are the others) to record 20 or more triple-doubles in a single season. Westbrook has 61 career triple-doubles, which is first among active players and the fifth-most in NBA history. Even better for OKC? The Thunder are 51-10 when Westbrook records a triple-double.
Equal Opportunity
While some may question Westbrook’s triple-double motivation, consider that Westbrook’s 24 triple-doubles in 2016-17 have come against 21 different teams. In fact, the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets are the only teams Westbrook has never had a triple-double against. In the Thunder’s last outing, he recorded his first career triple-double against the Cavs, putting his next two opponents (Spurs and Bulls) on alert.
Consistent Kawhi
While much of the attention in tonight’s game will be on Westbrook, the spotlight will be shared by Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has emerged as one of the game’s best two way players. While he’s often overlooked due to his quiet demeanor, his numbers of late speaks volumes. In his last eight games, Leonard is averaging 32.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and shooting 52.5 percent overall and 41.2 percent on 3-pointers. And, in each of those eight games, he’s scored at least 24 points.
The Big Payback
Despite winning their last three regular season home meetings with the Thunder, the Spurs seek a little retribution after dropping two home games to OKC in the 2016 Western Conference semifinals. San Antonio’s defense will be key and the Spurs are 6-0 this season when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field. In their last outing, the Thunder shot 37 percent against the Cavs, dropping them to 0-6 this season when they shoot below 40 percent.
Moving Forward
Both teams are still adjusting to life without an interior scoring presence. The Spurs enter Tuesday’s matchup 6-2 without Pau Gasol (fractured left fourth metacarpal), while the Thunder will play their second game (0-1) without Enes Kanter (fractured right ulna). Both players are expected to be out a least a few more weeks. While the Spurs have Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge’s scoring to lean on, the Thunder need someone in the frontcourt to offset the absence of Kanter’s scoring average (14.4 ppg).
Rocky Road
The Thunder close out January with a league-leading 12th road game this month. Throughout the month, OKC has traveled more than 16,000 miles while logging nearly 40 hours of flight time. The Thunder are 4-7 on the road in January and a Spurs squad looking to end their two-game skid.
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Coverage begins on NBA TV with the Autotrader Pregame Show at 8 ET, followed by GameTime immediately after the game.
