Warriors, Thunder set for high-intensity affair

Stephen Curry vs. Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson vs. Kevin Durant, Draymond Green vs. Serge Ibaka — NBA basketball doesn’t get much better than that right now.

The Warriors (21-3) are looking to bounce back after their franchise-record win streak was snapped n Memphis. However this is a daunting task as they host the hot Oklahoma City Thunder. The winners of seven straight (and 9 of their last 10), the Thunder are right back in the playoff picture after they struggled without Westbrook and Durant. With their superstars back, OKC is just as scary as any other team in the Western Conference.

Last season, the Warriors and the Thunder battled in games that became instant classics. OKC took 2 of the 3 games; however, all were exciting and close. Andre Iguodala splashed a jumper as time expired to lift the Warriors over OKC in the first game; however Wesbrook would return the favor and hit an incredible three pointer to win in Chesapeake Energy Arena. The third game was a high scoring affair that finished with a six-point difference.

Basically, when these two teams get together, you’re going to see something special. There’s no reason to expect anything less than amazing this time around because both teams are hungrier than ever. The Warriors are trying to get back to their winning ways and hold onto the top seed in the tough West, while OKC is trying to claw its way into that 8th seed.

How do you stop Westbrook and Durant? Well, honestly, you don’t. They’re too good. The Warriors have to be active defensively and force them to get rid of the ball and make someone else beat them.

Now, for the short-handed Warriors to win this game they need to try to slow down Westbrook and Durant. Of course, this is much more easily said than done. Unlike Mark Jackson, Coach Steve Kerr doesn’t seem to “hide” Curry on defense as much. In other words, Thompson would almost always guard the best guard on the opposing team. Kerr normally lets Curry guard point guards regardless of who it is. However, Westbrook is a freak so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of looks Kerr will throw at him. Westbrook loves to drive so without Andrew Bogut in the middle, it’ll be tough keeping him out of there. Kevin Durant, the reigning MVP, will require a lot of help and it’s almost a guarantee that the Warriors will need to double team him for stretches throughout the game. Defensively, it’s a huge challenge for the Dubs.

OKC doesn’t really have front court players who can get points at will in the low post like a Zach Randolph. If the Warriors can match the physicality of Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, and Kendrick Perkins with Draymond Green, Marreese Speights, and Festus Ezeli, then Golden State can actually manage without Bogut and David Lee. Ibaka has a tendency to fall in love with the perimeter which would help the Dubs defend the size difference.

The Warriors did not play well in Memphis and almost pulled off the victory against a team that is bigger and deeper than OKC. Something tells me Curry won’t shoot 1-of-10 from deep again. The Thunder are being carried by their superstars and have been on a tear. On the other hand, the Warriors have 16 of their last 17 games and have a few special players as well.

Regardless of the result, history has shown that when these teams come together, it’s going to be some incredible basketball.