Saturday, October 11, 2008

Pregame in a Paragraph: Thunder at Warriors

OK, this preview is completely rushed cause I'm in a hurry to get out of town and hopefully Zorgon will add a short take to this, considering it concerns the Warriors. So here's nothing:

Backstory: The Thunder are still winless, and have fallen into huge holes in these games only to come back in garbage time. Obviously they hope to reverse this trend tonight against a Golden State squad that lost a lot of fire power this off-season. Also, we hope to see an improved Kevin Durant, that is if P.J. plays him at all.

Analysis: Lots of scoring, blocked shots, rebounds, timeouts, who cares. The Thunder will prob lose their third game in four days. Why is that? Because its their third game in four days!

Player to Watch: Jeff Green. If Durant sits, they'll def be feedin the ball to Green to look for some spark, any spark, for a struggling Thunder team.

Predicted Result: Warriors 89 Thunder 80

Zorgons Take: Okay, Okay, I'll add my take.

Am I totally psyched for this game?! Yes. Am I the ONLY person in Oklahoma who will be watching this instead of the Oklahoma State matchup or sitting alone in their room being depressed that Oklahoma lost? Yes!

What team will I be cheering for? The Golden State Warriors. Always have been, always will be. Sorry guys, but I'm a Warriors fan through and through. I'll be cheering on Corey Maggette, and hoping he destroys Kevin Durant. I hope I'll see lots of late game Stephen Jackson 3s. Most of all, I'd love to see Big Al and his post game. Of course, not much of this is going to happen, as it's a Pre-Season game.

But this game is really interesting to people who are not me because this game is a total clash of styles. The Warriors are a fast-paced, break neck team that fires up 3s like nobodies business. The Thunder are a slow paced, mid range jump shooting team that avoids the 3 as if it were a new invention. Now, don't get me wrong, we're NOT the Spurs. The Spurs are a team that relies on inside play from Duncan and drives/3s from Parker and Ginobili. The Thunder sometimes drive, but also shoot a LOT of midrange. If anything, think of this game as the 80s vs. the 00s.

In the end, though, the Thunder will probably win the game. Why? Well, P.J. Carlesimo is still trying to get his lineup figured out, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Weezy, Green, or Durant on the floor at the end of the game. Don Nelson is more old-school, and is a believer in resting his starters for real games because they deserve it. Expect the Warriors to get out to a quick lead and then slowly lose it throuhout the 2nd half. But, in the first, expect them to run the Thunder into a panic, and for the Thunder to start taking a lot of forced shots.

Zorgon's Predicted Final- Oklahoma City 99, Golden State 92