We are beginning to wrap up premiere week, but we still have plenty of games left for this weekend slate. I actually think this will be a super fun game to watch, just because you have two super young squads that we don’t know much about. The Thunder are in full rebuild mode right now, but they just got some solid picks and will have many more for the years to come. Charlotte just grabbed some solid players in the draft, but it will take some time for that chemistry to develop. There are some injuries for this game, but I would say the most notable one would be Trevor Ariza sitting for OKC for personal reasons.
We will be getting our first look at Oklahoma City This Season
Oklahoma City’s first game against the Rockets due to COVID-19 issues with the Rockets, so this will be our first look at the team. While I think they are rebuilding, there is some strong young talent on this squad, and I think they will be better than people are expecting. We don’t have any numbers for this squad yet, and the team is missing some key players from last season, so I don’t think their stats will be all that accurate.
Again, I don’t think this squad is going to play like they did last year, but I do have confidence that they will have a decent season. I don’t see them making the playoffs just because the Western Conference is so competitive, but they will be decent. I actually like their chances against Charlotte for this game because Charlotte is in a similar position as OKC, and we saw them not play that well in their opener.
Charlotte Looks to Bounce Back After Losing Their Season Opener
Charlotte lost to Cleveland in their season opener, but they didn’t look terrible. Especially when you consider how young and inexperienced this squad is, they did not play badly. Although they didn’t score enough to get the win, I was impressed with their play. I think this squad will grow as the year goes on, but it will be a struggle at first. In their opener, Charlottle scored 114 points (13th) on a solid 50.0% shooting from the floor (8th).
Charlotte is young, so I don’t want to be too harsh on their defensive play in their opener, but it was bad, like really bad. If this team has any chance to grow and develop in the future, they will need to get way better at defense. In their opener, the Hornets allowed 121 points (23rd) and allowed 52.87% shooting from the floor (29th). What’s even worse is they gave up 46.67% shooting from deep (29th), which is just terrible.
Notable Trends
From Covers.com
- Charlotte is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games played in December.
- Charlotte is 1-8 SU in their last 9 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City.
- Oklahoma City is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games against Charlotte.
- Oklahoma City is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games played in December.
