Things have turned around in Oklahoma City. The fan base has stopped considering the benefits of tanking and the team is playing in a way that just seems more enjoyable. They are having fun in this recent stretch of games and it is reflected in the way we as fans feel about the team. They are on a 4 game win streak, and arbitrarily 8-12 in their last 10. On the season they are only 5-5 in road games. That's not good enough to get things done, but wins at Utah and Memphis during the current 4 game streak is nice. It's impossible to draw any conclusions from that since the 2 losses in the last 10 were at Atlanta and Miami. Both games were close, but couldn't close out. Things feel better currently but we won't know if things are changing for a while. At Cleveland will be a good test, especially considering Kyrie will most likely be back. Tonight, we see Utah at home. The spread is 9.5 points in the favor of the home team. The numbers don't play out saying the Thunder will cover, but I expect a victory. The fourth quarter, near collapse Friday should be a good reminder to this team that they have to finish strong. So far this season this team has been frustratingly incapable of taking the knockout blow when they get up early. A first half 14 point lead inevitably shrinks in the 3rd quarter. It's time to learn that killer instinct. Its time for the bench unit to either produce better, or alter lineups to help them out.
KD and Russ on the court together has an Ortg of 114.5 and Drtg of 99.6. KD on Russ off has an Ortg of 105.3 and Drtg of 106.2 (wut?), and Russ on with KD off has an Ortg of 112.0 and Drtg of 104.6. I'm definitely surprised by the KD without Russ numbers, but have faith that that will progressively get better this year. Regardless, my point is it might be time to do more staggering and less time with both on the floor together. This could be a good way to limit the loss of leads with the bench unit.
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