Milwaukee Bucks in Oklahoma City this evening to play the Thunder. This continues a very winnable string of games for OKC as the next five up are Milwaukee, Phoenix, @ Charlotte, Sacramento, and Memphis. It should be a stretch of games where OKC wins games and addresses their inconsistent defense and struggling bench lineups. Plus, it gives Billy Donovan the real option to decide if he’s serious about making the move from DJ Augustin to rookie Cam Payne at the backup point guard position or at least somehow integrating Payne into the regular rotation.
Milwaukee is not a good basketball team right now. The Bucks come in tonight at 12-20 and firmly in possession of the No. 13 seed in the East. Bucks are 3-14 on the road this season and 3-7 in their last ten games played. Add to the fact they’re on the second night of a road back to back after losing in Dallas 103-93.
Bucks head coach Jason Kidd is out indefinitely after having hip surgery earlier this season. Assistant coach Joe Prunty is serving as the interim head coach.
Things just aren’t meshing in Milwaukee despite the optimism from last season with an interesting roster of promising young players. Greg Monroe was secured in the off season, plus Jabari Parker has returned from injury, but neither seem right or in mesh with one another within a fluid team flow. The Bucks have struggled with their interior defense and offensively they’re near the bottom of the NBA scoring at a 96.3 scoring clip per game.
Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Jerryd Bayless, OJ Mayo, John Henson, Johnny O’Bryant, Mason Plumlee and Grevis Vasquez round out the rotation.
OKC comes off a sluggish ten point home win over Denver on Sunday night where they failed to cover the 16 point Vegas spread. The Thunder are firmly entrenched as the No. 3 seed in the West kind of in their own little vaccum behind both the Warriors and Spurs, yet safely holding the third seed from the rest of the field in the West.
Thunder are 14-4 at home this season, yet a surprising 6-8 versus Eastern Conference teams to date this season. Vegas has OKC listed as a 13.5 home favorite tonight.
Durant and Westbrook are both having exceptional offensive seasons. This week it’s Russell Westbrook winning Western Conference Player of the Week honors.
OKC’s ball movement was good last game with 27 assists with Westbrook and Durant accounting for 22 combined.
Adams and Ibaka should both have solid nights against this Bucks interior defense.
The slate of games this week provides OKC with a chance to win games, have some practices, get better defensively, plus get some better play from the bench. If OKC just starts with energy and focus they should be 22-10 heading into the New Years’ Eve game.