Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Preview

Only the Portland Trail Blazers have been able to topple the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder this season. On Sunday afternoon, the Blazers will have a chance to get two wins against the defending NBA champions before any other opponent can beat them even once.

Both the teams will face each other for the third time this month. Portland won 121–119 at the Moda Center on November 5, with Oklahoma City getting revenge on November 23 at its home field.

Gear up early: Tipoff for the third round is scheduled for 3 p.m. Pacific.

The Thunder are 19-1 and every bit as dominant as their record suggests. They are winning by an average of nearly 16 points per game, which would break the NBA record they set last year en route to the championship. Last season’s league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has picked up right where he left off. He ranks second in the league in scoring with 32.9 points per game, even though he only plays 33.4 minutes per night and often gets a fourth-quarter break during Thunder blowouts.

Oklahoma City has the best defense in the NBA. They are tied for the league lead in steals and allow the fewest second chance points, fewest points in the paint and second fewest fast break points.

And if that wasn’t enough, they’re about to get better and deeper. Jalen Williams returned to the Thunder lineup for Friday’s 123-119 home win over the Phoenix Suns. After the team lost its first 19 games, Williams made only 3-12 shots for 11 points, but was coming off a breakout season that earned him third-team All-NBA honors, a spot on the All-Defense second team, and his first All-Star appearance.

But as great as the Thunder have been, the Blazers have proven that they can be beaten.

The Thunder avenged their only loss when the teams played last weekend. This time, the Blazers are looking to bounce back not only from that performance, but from a disappointing end to their NBA Cup Tournament.

If the Blazers have any advantage against the Thunder, it’s that they will be playing at home, well rested, and likely well fed since they haven’t played since the night before Thanksgiving. That night, they suffered a 115–102 home loss to the Victor Wambayama-less San Antonio Spurs, eliminating them from the NBA Cup race.

This was one of the first big tests for this iteration of the Blazers. Had they won, they would have won Group C and advanced to the knockout rounds. Fans may be divided on whether or not the NBA Cup means anything, but several Blazers admitted after the game that it does matter to them.

Although they didn’t pass that test, there was at least some good news on Wednesday night. Shadon Sharp scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in his return from a four-game injury layoff. As he ramps back up, the Blazers will need his scoring if they have any hope of handing the Thunder their second loss.

Oklahoma City Thunder (19-1) at Portland Trail Blazers (8-11) – Sunday. November 30th – 3:00 pm Pacific

How to watch via antenna or cable: Check out your options at Rip City Television Network.

How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else

How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM

Trail Blazers Injuries: Scooter Henderson, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley, Jrue Holiday (out); Donovan Klingon (doubtful).

Vajra Injuries: Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, Aaron Wiggins, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein (out).

Speed ​​and theft. Are the Blazers really a fast-paced team? On the season, the Blazers currently rank third in the NBA in terms of pace, which basically measures how many possessions a team gets in a game. It appears that yes, the Blazers like to run the shot clock early and take shots.

But over their last 10 games, the Blazers rank just 16th in game pace as their defense has struggled to generate turnovers. During that span, they are 28th in steals and 27th in overall defensive rating.

Portland recorded a season-low three steals in Wednesday’s loss to San Antonio. This will not give him any challenge against the defending champion. They will need to find a way to force some turnovers to remain competitive against Oklahoma City.

Three point shooting. In the modern NBA, three point shooting is something to behold in every game. But it’s especially important for the Blazers, as they take the fourth-most threes per game despite making the second-lowest percentage in the league.

In their eight wins, they shot 37.8% from behind the arc. In their 11 losses, that percentage has dropped to 28.3%.

Not surprisingly, this has been one of the stories from his last two meetings with the Thunder. They were 12-47 (25.5%) in the loss. In wins, they were 19-43 (44.2%) with major contributions from unexpected places. Duop Reith scored 4-5 and Toumani Camara scored 3-5. Can Reith, Camara or Portland’s other role players step up again on Sunday?

SGA’s shot placement. No one can stop Gilgeous-Alexander. He gets to the basket on his drives, he draws fouls, he makes nearly 90% of his free throws, he’s one of the game’s best mid-range shooters, and this year, he’s taken his three-point shooting to a new level (42.3% on 5.2 attempts per game).

For the Blazers on Sunday, it’s not a matter of shutting down Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s a matter of making things more difficult for him.

Let’s take a look at Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot selection in the last two matches:

Keeping him away from the paint doesn’t guarantee the Blazers can keep him under control. But it definitely gives them a better chance.

Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer thinks the single-season wins record could come in handy for the Thunder:

Every other team is allowing at least 110 points per 100 possessions so far this season. The Thunder are allowing 103. The difference between them and the second-place Pistons defense is seven points per 100. That’s the difference between the Pistons and the 22nd-ranked Bucks.

And OKC isn’t just about winning games; It’s blowing everyone away. Aside from their only loss in Portland, every Thunder game this month has resulted in double-digit wins.

Bleacher Report ranked each NBA team’s City Edition jerseys. The PDX Carpet uniforms, which the Blazers will wear on Sunday afternoon, are ranked 11th:

Teal looks great against black. White was the perfect choice for the lettering and markings, and the large stripe across the torso looks sharp.

However, what really sets them apart lies in that stripe. If you look closely enough, you will see some geometric shapes. And the whole pattern is an homage to the aforementioned airport carpet. Yes, carpet.

Is this a little strange? Sure, but the city proudly proclaims, “Keep Portland Weird.” And more importantly for today’s practice, the entire jersey looks great.