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After winning eight of nine games, the Thunder lost to the Bobcats on Wednesday and they're currently tied for fifth in the West fighting to break into the top four seeds for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Looking at them now, it's hard to believe they went 23-59 last season and were just 13-14 after their first 27 games this season. They've been 28-11 since then and they have emerged as one of the best teams in the NBA. The keys have been their new commitment to defence (they're sixth in Defensive Rating this season) and the improvements by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant has scored 25 or more points in 38 of his last 40 games, which is fairly decent for a 21-year-old, I suppose.
The Raptors last played the Thunder in a 119-99 loss on Feb. 28. Bosh was out of the lineup for that game and Durant nonchalantly scored 29 points in 32 minutes. Bosh is back tonight, of course, but James Harden will sit out with a strained hamstring and Antoine Wright is probable with a sprained ankle.
Start time: 7:00pm ET
Channel: TSN
Probable starting lineups
Toronto: Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani
Oklahoma City: Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic
Five questions
1. Will Andrea Bargnani carry over his intensity from Wednesday's game?
2. Is Chris Bosh going to be spurred on by his game-winner on Wednesday to return to his pre-injury performance?
3. Will Kevin Durant be the youngest scoring champion in NBA history? He's 0.2 points per game behind LeBron and 0.9 points per game ahead of Carmelo at the moment.
4. Considering that Durant and Westbrook are both 21 years old, is the Thunder's future so bright that they gotta wear shades on the court?
5. The Thunder have the worst logo in North American professional sports. That's not a question, it's a definitive declaration.
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