The Golden State Warriors are facing their toughest test of the season tonight as they host the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, at Chase Center at 8:00 PM EST. The two teams met earlier this year on November 11th, and the Thunder steamrolled Golden State 126-102, even when the Warriors were close to full strength. This time, the challenge is even steeper, and the margin for error does not exist.
The Warriors enter the matchup with an 11-10 record and are eighth in the West, and are still searching for consistency. They are coming off a 104-96 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, a game where Jimmy Butler had 24 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists. Gary Payton II came off the bench and exploded with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
It was the kind of win the Warriors needed after their recent slump. The problem is that the Pelicans are the worst team in the West, and the Thunder are the best.
The injury report is an even bigger problem for the Warriors.
Jimmy Butler (left gluteal contusion), Trayce Jackson-Davis (knee injury), and Draymond Green (right foot sprain) are all questionable.
Meanwhile, Stephen Curry (quad injury), Al Horford (back injury), Alex Toohey (knee injury), and De’Anthony Melton (Achilles) all remain out.
If the Warriors take the court without both Butler and Green, the game is as good as over. Even with them, this is a massive task for the Warriors. Without their leadership and physicality, the gap between these two teams becomes impossible to overcome.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking like a team ready to stomp through everyone in their path. At 20-1, they own the best record in basketball and have won 12 straight games. Their numbers are quite astonishing: 5th in offensive rating, the best defensive rating by a large margin, and they have the best net rating in the league.
They have a +325 point differential after 21 games, which means they are destroying teams by an average of 15 points per night.
What makes the Thunder even scarier is that they’re not fully healthy either. Alex Caruso (quad injury), Luguentz Dort (adductor strain), Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus strain), Nikola Topic (testicular cancer), and Thomas Sorber (ACL) are all out.
Yet even with that many rotation pieces missing, Oklahoma City still has overwhelming depth and star power. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are playing at an elite level, and Mark Daigneault’s system keeps the machine running no matter who is available.
The Warriors will need an inspired performance to keep this one close. They’ve battled through adversity before, but facing the best team in the league without their superstar and possibly without their emotional anchor is a different challenge entirely. If Golden State wants to send a message that they’re still a threat in the West, tonight is the night. The question is whether they still have enough firepower and enough bodies to do it.
