Definitive Guide to Warriors vs. Thunder and Friday's Top NBA Games
Consider the NBA's Friday night offering the greatest Thanksgiving leftovers in the holiday's history.
On the heels of a turkey-infused off day, the Association comes running back in nearly full force.
Twenty-six teams take to the hardwood on Friday, meaning 26 coaching staffs are hoping that the tryptophan has run its full course. Between the turkey rests and ungodly early hours of the Black Friday door-busting crowds, this calendar date has all the makings of a necessary day of rest.
But sleep is certainly the close cousin of death for real hoops heads here.
With a bevy of full-fledged contenders in action, this 13-game slate is hardly one you'd want to miss. Highlight reels will be built, packaged, signed, sealed and definitely delivered before the night is over.
Still feeling the aftereffects of the holiday spirit, we're most thankful for a battle of Western Conference juggernauts set to ignite Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena. Let us know which games have you thanking the basketball gods in the comment section below.
Friday Night's Lineup
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte Bobcats, 7 p.m. ET
San Antonio Spurs vs. Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. ET
Miami Heat vs. Toronto Raptors, 7 p.m. ET
Dallas Mavericks vs. Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m. ET
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets vs. Houston Rockets, 8 p.m. ET
Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET (NBATV)
Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 8 p.m. ET
New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET
Phoenix Suns vs. Utah Jazz, 9 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. ET
*Unless otherwise specified, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
Best Matchup of the Night: Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
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Who doesn't like an early holiday gift?
With a dream matchup between the Thunder and Warriors, suddenly that incessant Christmas music in late November doesn't seem quite as ridiculous.
Seriously, how good was this game the last time around? It had two apparent coffin-closing shots, first Russell Westbrook's miracle triple from steps inside Oracle Arena, then the buzzer-beating game-winner on Andre Iguodala's fadeaway some two seconds later.
"Couldn't ask for a better game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said, via Eli Kaberon of the Associated Press. "Unfortunately, somebody had to lose."
Mark Jackson's team is hoping it can rediscover some of the magic that led to the team's first (and only) signature win of the season. Marred by injury and subsequent lackluster efforts, Golden State (9-7) has lost four of its last five games.
Perhaps spurred by that defeat, Oklahoma City (10-3) has headed in the opposite direction. The Thunder have rattled off a season-best five straight victories since that last-second loss, most recently knocking off perennial powerhouse the San Antonio Spurs 94-88 on Wednesday.
Motivation is high, and the excitement level shoots even higher. This is the reason you sacrificed half of your Thanksgiving to steal a Black Friday big screen.
Must-See Individual Matchup: Stephen Curry vs. Russell Westbrook
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If Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook aren't "true" point guards, then maybe we have gotten the importance of the position all wrong.
Curry is equal parts ridiculous shooter and devastating distributor. He's one of only two players averaging better than 20 points and eight assists (20.5 and 8.8 to be exact), and one of the most accurate snipers (43.3 three-point percentage) the league has ever seen.
Oklahoma City knows exactly how good Curry can be. Despite struggling with his shot (8-of-22 from the field), he still ripped the Thunder for 22 points and nine assists the last time these teams met.
But Curry's production couldn't stand next to Westbrook's. The supercharged 6'3" athletic freak torched the Warriors 31 points, nine boards, five assists and three steals. If not for Iguodala's game saver, we might still be talking about the former Bruin's heavy-hitting night some two weeks later.
Westbrook definitely has his critics, and his effort over his last two games (9.0 points on 24.1 percent shooting) has fueled some of those fires.
But Warriors coach Mark Jackson is not a member of that camp.
"The guy's a great player," Jackson said, via Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. "Russell Westbrook completes this team and makes it tough for an opposing team's coach or design to be simply on Kevin Durant."
The Warriors survived despite a monstrous night from Westbrook in their last meeting. They might not be as lucky in the sequel.
Who Has the Most on the Line?
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For the first seven-plus years of his NBA career, Carmelo Anthony called Denver's Pepsi Center his basketball home.
On Friday night, the reigning scoring champion can only hope it's not the latest setting in a season gone horribly wrong for his New York Knicks.
New York (3-11) has dropped seven straight games. The Knicks have held a pair of team meetings this month alone.
"Right now the game is not fun for nobody," Anthony said, via ESPN LA's Arash Markazi. "We're just not making it happen."
Aiding in New York's demise would certainly fall in the fun category for the Denver Nuggets. The franchise certainly hasn't forgotten the "Melodrama" that handcuffed it during the 2010-11 season.
The Nuggets (8-6) are hardly the type of team the Knicks would like to see on their schedule. Denver, winners of four straight, is playing its best basketball of the season, and point guard Ty Lawson (20.9 points, 8.4 assists) is making it hard to subscribe to the theory that this team is lacking a star presence.
With Anthony's free-agent decision in 2014 looming, New York desperately needs to climb back in the win column. Finding that elusive victory against his former club would be the icing on the cake—or the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie to stay topical—for Anthony.
Injury Report
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For all of the star power that Friday night has to offer, here's a look at some of the notable names that could be missing out on the festivities.
Boston Celtics
Rajon Rondo (Knee)
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said there still is no timetable for Rondo's return, via MassLive.com's Jay King. The oddly intoxicating run of Jordan Crawford the distributor continues.
Brooklyn Nets
Brook Lopez (Ankle)
A rare bit of (almost) good news for the reeling Nets. Lopez told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that he "hopes" to be able play against Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets.
Deron Williams (Ankle)
Via Bondy, Nets coach Jason Kidd said his hobbled point guard is "day-to-day." In other words, his status sounds like his credentials as an elite point guard—questionable.
Denver Nuggets
JaVale McGee (Leg)
He's still out, and Shaqtin' A Fool is still searching for a new lead actor.
Danilo Gallinari (Knee)
Not only is Gallinari missing a return date, he's not even sure when he can begin "on-court running," per The Denver Post's Christopher Dempsey. When Ty Lawson's manning the offense, it feels like running might be kind of important.
Golden State Warriors
Andre Iguodala (Hamstring)
Mark Jackson already ruled Iguodala out of the Warriors' current three-game road trip, via Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. That's bad news for Warriors Nation, but a welcome update for Kevin Durant.
Houston Rockets
James Harden (Foot)
Harden's officially questionable, but if he's not 100 percent, he should be ready for another night on the sideline. I mean, Houston is playing Brooklyn after all.
Jeremy Lin (Knee)
Rockets coach Kevin McHale said X-rays were negative on Lin's injured knee, via ClutchFans.net. He's another entry into the questionable category.
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul (Hamstring)
After making in early exit on Wednesday, CP3 told ESPN LA's Arash Markazi he would "be ready" for Friday night's game with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have the league's 26th-ranked defense (104.6 defensive rating). I'd hurry back to play against them, too.
Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant (Knee)
The Mamba told ESPN LA's Dave McMenamin he's "probably weeks" away from making his 2013-14 debut. In related news, the basketball world is "probably weeks" away from watching the Lakers.
New York Knicks
Tyson Chandler (Leg)
Still a week away from the earliest return projections for Chandler. It's not like the Knicks are missing him or anything...
Phoenix Suns
Eric Bledsoe (Shin)
Bledsoe's missed the Suns' last six games, and he'll once again be called questionable heading into this contest. The fact that Phoenix has held serve without him (3-3 over that stretch) is impressive. The fact that the Suns have remained one of the league's most entertaining teams is astonishing.
*Unless otherwise noted, injury information used via CBS Sports.
Pop-in Potential: Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers
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The Indiana Pacers are worth a watch regardless of the competition.
For anyone bemoaning the loss of physically-imposing play in today's game, Indiana should be your favorite team.
Roy Hibbert is the immovable object personified. There is nothing gentle about this 7'2", 278-lbs. giant. Come anywhere near the rim, and the former Georgetown star will send you away feeling dejected and rejected (league-best 3.9 blocks a night).
Paul George wreaks havoc at both ends of the floor (23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds). Lance Stephenson has taken a page out of Ice Cube's book, messing around and dropping a pair of triple-doubles already.
Yet, the Pacers aren't the real reason this game has caught my eye. For as much as I enjoy watching a suffocating defense, I'm more interested to see how John Wall navigates around this mobile brick wall.
The former No. 1 pick appears ready to turn the superstar corner. He's looked every bit like an All-NBA talent over his last four games (29.5 points on 56.0 percent shooting, 6.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 steals).
But the numbers do need to be qualified a bit. He's faced some leaky defensive groups over that stretch (New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers), a descriptor that couldn't be farther from the truth for this Pacers team.
It's so tempting to toss that elite label on Wall's shoulders, but something is always holding the basketball world back from making that leap. He could lift those restrictions with a dominant performance on Friday night.
Fantasy Stock Watch
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Nights like this are when the elites of the fantasy world shine their brightest.
No, I'm not talking about the players filling the stat sheets. I mean the forecasting fantasy owners that know a great matchup when they see one.
With all but four teams in action, you should have a near full complement of your roster available.
In some ways, that's not a good thing. With so many options to choose from, you can do more harm than good by micromanaging.
But this is a gift for folks who know that fantasy sports often comes down to keeping it simple. Maybe you've spotted a sleeper deep from your roster, but don't move a stud out of his way to get him in your lineup.
Remember the guys who have brought you this far. More importantly, plug in these three players and you'll feel like Christmas came early for you this year.
The Big Guns
Kevin Durant
For as good as that first Warriors-Thunder matchup was, the Durantula was uncharacteristically quiet.
Well, quiet by his standards. The three-time scoring champ finished with 20 points, but shot just 5-of-13 and battled foul problems all game.
So, what exactly makes this sequel enticing? Because the person primarily responsible for Durant's struggles, Andre Iguodala, won't be a part of the action.
Durant has six games of 30-plus points on the season already and could easily be staring at No. 7. This should be a close contest for the full 48 minutes, so KD will have ample opportunity to pad his stat line and help swing your matchup in your favor.
Ty Lawson
Defending the rim is a vital piece to the puzzle of slowing down the lightning-quick Lawson. Protecting the paint is not one of the Tyson Chandler-less Knicks' strengths. See what I'm getting at?
Opposing teams are shooting 61.4 percent within five feet of the basket against New York this season (22nd in the league). That figure has ballooned to 65.9 percent since Chandler went down on Nov. 5, the second-worst rate in the league over that stretch.
Lawson doesn't have to attack to the basket to make in impact. He's a career 38.0 percent shooter from distance.
But he makes the most of his combination of speed and strength. Lawson's averaged 6.0 points a game on drives alone, via NBA.com's SportVU tracking, a number he could probably triple against this injury-ravaged frontcourt.
Lawson's probably the best story in the NBA that no one's talking about. That could all change tonight. We might still be discussing his performance at season's end.
The Sleeper
Goran Dragic
The hoops world would love to see the return of "mini-LeBron," but Dragic owners would be just as happy to see the Suns take their time with Bledsoe.
He needed a game to figure out how to play without his new running mate, but he's been more than comfortable over his last five outings. During that stretch, he's poured in 22.6 points (on .513/.450 shooting), dished out 9.0 assists, snagged 4.2 rebounds and coughed up just 2.4 turnovers.
Even if Bledsoe's back, though, Dragic belongs in your lineup. The Jazz have the third-most generous defense in the league (105.1 defensive rating), and the 27-year-old has the savvy to exploit Utah's growing pains.
