Thunder:

Guns blazing the Thunder have come out gangbusters and put the Western conference on notice eclipsing the last couple of year’s champions and running away with the number one seed. Although they have had their struggles and prior to their current 3 game win streak had lost 4 out of 5 against some questionable opponents. They look to this week with franchise cornerstone Draymond Green sitting out but are in good hands with their insane depth especially in the front court. So it’s next man up as they say and OKC look to get a big win on the road against the streaking Jazz.

Jazz:

The Jazz’ season looked to be another toiling in frustration fighting for a playoff spot as the talented roster came out to start the season tired and CP-less. Since their slow start they’ve won 7 out of their last 10  and found their way back into the mix and are threatening to take home court advantage in the play offs if everything goes to plan. Their recent win now moves to bring in shooting and defence in the form of Ariza and Mills has shown their fans that they mean business and it’s all in for the Jazz as they put together a campaign with deep post season aspirations.

Match ups:

JaVale McGee vs Marc Gasol

JAAAVAAAAALLEE! The Slider team sought to shelf every second tier big in the game but McGee persists to put up ridiculous numbers which warrant him the starting gig for another week. This should be a one line statement saying something along the lines of Gasol is going to eat this kid for breakfast but it won’t be the case. McGee is putting up 17/11 shooting 77% from the field as a starter and is a big reason for the Thunders success early in the season. Gasol of course is more dynamic offensively and even though their numbers are similar you would imagine he will be a handful for McGee going into this match up.

Nikola Jokic vs LaMarcus Aldridge

Another premier match up in the front court of more traditionally legitimate standards.  The Joker faces off against one of the NLL greats in LaMarcus who has been consistently good for years now. The Jokic has Progressively gotten better in almost every statistical category since coming to the league and is trending upwards with season averages of 14.4 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 1.7 steals while getting to the line for easy points. Across the floor is LMA who is just a step above as the crafty veteran who should have the slight advantage with a polished offensive game.

Paul George vs Trevor Ariza

Along with Cousins PG was the biggest name on the move in the offseason and had everyone throw their hands in the air saying “screw it” lets chalk this season up as a loss as one of the Western juggernauts got even more over powered. Not surprisingly OKC are quietly ruling the West on the back of this guy who has taken a hit production wise but has brought elite play on both ends of the floor.  Ariza will draw this assignment and was brought in from the Pistons specifically for this reason as he is by far the best wing defender the Jazz have. He can get his shot and has impressed with his efficiency this year but it’s PG by a long margin.

Jimmy Butler vs Andrew Wiggins

Getting kind of depressed having to talk about these All-Star studded match ups as we focus on one of the more marquee contests within a contest.  We’re just splitting hairs here to be honest as both these guys output is virtually the same. Butlers more mature game especially on the defensive end might prove crucial because if he is able to limit the upstart Wiggins in any fashion then this may be the decider.

Ricky Rubio vs Chris Paul

Ricky has seemed to always be the perfect Point guard for this OKC team mainly with his ability to facilitate and defend. Slowly but surely he is surrendering minutes to their promising young PG and sixth man Dennis Schroder. This year has seen his production waiver a little and fall into the shadows of his All-Star team mates. CP3 is still the same dominant force he has always been and with a brief hiatus to start the year has come back with force and driven this Jazz franchise up the standings and to their recent success. It’s CP in a landslide and It’s probably in the Thunders best interest to make sure Rubio is matched up on him as much as possible as Dennis is prone to Turnstile-Syndrome.