Russell Westbrook / Thabo Sefolosha / Kevin Durant / Jeff Green / Nenad Krstic
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Deron Williams / Raja Bell / Gordon Hayward / Paul Millsap / Al Jefferson
Matchup
The last time we saw the Jazz, it was in the doldrums of November. Utah was coming off their ridiculous East coast swing, and OKC was trying to shake off the early season cobwebs. Both teams look a lot different now.
Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko missed the Jazz's victory against Denver last night, and it does not sound like either will play tonight. Carmelo Anthony had his way with Gordon Hayward and Raja Bell did some Carmelo duty later in the game. It will be interesting to see who matches up with Kevin Durant - if KD makes mince meat of Hayward it wouldn't surprise me if Bell got a shot. Deron Williams returned from injury and was alright, if a bit rusty on his jump shot. Al Jefferson has had an impressive streak of games, and was a load against the Nuggets.
The key matchup for me in this game is Williams vs. Westbrook. Williams is one of those point guards who will exploit Russ' lazy defense, especially on the perimeter, and he's had games against us where he's hit jump shot after jump shot. It's conceivable that Brooks will stick Thabo on Williams, but that's probably not that much better when you take Thabo's recent performance into account. If Westbrook can match Williams blow for blow then the Thunder will probably win the game against a slightly depleted Jazz team.
Jefferson and Millsap, of course, present a problem for our starting front court. Ibaka and Collison will hopefully get big minutes in this one.
Some Numbers
Since December 1st, the Thunder offense is scoring 114.1 points per 100 possessions, which is #1 in the league in that time frame.
A Question
Can Jeff Green come through with another solid shooting night?
