Justin Cooper
December 7, 2018
Coming off a gutsy road win versus the Nets on Wednesday, the Thunder (16-7) wrap up their three game road trip in Chicago tonight, looking to continue their strong play on the road against the lifeless Bulls. The Thunder have been one of the better road teams in the NBA this season, establishing a 7-4 record away from Chesapeake Energy Arena. Unlike last season, the Thunder, currently only a half game out of the top spot in the West, are taking care of business against sub-.500 competition, posting a league best 13-0 record. Oklahoma City should keep adding to the win column this evening versus the Bulls who are just 5-20 on the year and currently sitting in 14th in a surprisingly adequate Eastern Conference.
To say the Bulls, currently hemorrhaging having lost 7 straight, have had a rough year would be starkly understated. With injuries to shooting guard Denzel Valentine (out for the season, ankle), point guard Kris Dunn (out indefinitely, knee), and PF Bobby Portis (day to day, knee), the Bulls have been absolutely hobbled. While the feeling in Chicago was that Fred Hoiberg would get a pass under the circumstances, after a horrendous 5-19 start to the season, the Bulls announced on Monday that they were parting ways with the coach, elevating assistant Jim Boylen to the interim head coaching position. Boylen is 0-1 in his new job, having dropped his first game at the helm to the Pacers on the road Tuesday night and his job won’t get any easier tonight against a Thunder team boasting wins in 16 of their last 19 contests.
Oklahoma City hopes to get off to a better start than they did in their last outing on Wednesday, falling behind by 23 and narrowly escaping defeat as Paul George exploded for 25 points in the final 7:11 of the 4th. The Thunder have had a lot of success this season starting games with an emphasis on working the ball in to Steven Adams in the deep paint for easy, high percentage buckets and they likely won’t deviate from that strategy in tonight’s matchup. The Bulls are in the bottom third in the league in rim protection, coming in at 21st in blocked shots. They rank 25th in total rebounds on the year while the Thunder occupy the top spot in the NBA on the glass. Expect the Thunder to feast on shots at the rim and easy put backs tonight as Steven Adams, Jerami Grant, and Nerlens Noel should prove to be too much for Chicago bigs, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr.
This matchup pits Chicago’s league worst offensive efficiency rating against a Thunder team that leads the league in defensive efficiency. The Thunder are favored in the contest by 8.5 points, however, if they can avoid coming out flat and get it going early, they should beat the spread and return home from their road stint a perfect 3-0; a positive start to December, where two thirds of the Thunder’s games will be played away from The Peake.
Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00PM CST and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Oklahoma.
Sound of Thunder 