Legends66NBA7
11-04-2014, 08:02 PM
Game Preview: http://www.nba.com/games/20141104/OKCTOR/gameinfo.html?ls=slt
The Oklahoma City Thunder have already seemingly gone through a season's worth of misfortune in terms of injuries in the season's first week.
Their roster will be depleted even further Tuesday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors.
The bad news for Oklahoma City (1-3) only got worse with Monday's 116-85 loss to Brooklyn as starting guard Andre Roberson suffered a sprained left foot in the first half, leaving on crutches. Coach Scott Brooks ruled him out for Tuesday.
Brooks also said he doesn't know what Perry Jones' status will be after he banged knees late in the contest. Jones scored 16 Monday and leads the team with 18.5 points per game.
The Thunder are off to their worst start since going 1-15 in 2008-09.
"That's just how things are going right now," Brooks said. "But we're not throwing the white flag. We're going to keep battling."
Oklahoma City is already without Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeremy Lamb, Anthony Morrow, Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett -- leaving it with no more than eight healthy players for Tuesday's second leg of a back-to-back, though the Thunder could add a 16th player to their roster with a hardship exception. The exception requires that at least four players miss consecutive games.
The Thunder are left with two true guards in Sebastian Telfair and Reggie Jackson, who made his season debut Monday after missing the first three games with a sprained ankle. Jackson scored 23 points but was 8 of 20 from the field and committed seven turnovers -- one shy of a career worst.
"I played pretty terrible," said Jackson, who averaged 13.1 points and 4.1 assists over 28.5 minutes per game in 2013-14. "That sums it up. Seven turnovers. Shot poorly. I felt like I let my team down."
Okahoma City is averaging 91.5 points per game and is 22 of 80 from 3-point range. Serge Ibaka is the leading 3-point shooter at 41.2 percent but has only attempted 17. Perry Jones is 6 for 16, while Telfair is 1 for 14. No other Thunder player besides Westbrook has hit a 3-pointer.
The Raptors (2-1) took a 107-102 loss at Miami on Sunday despite DeMar DeRozan's 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting.
"They executed well, especially down the stretch," DeRozan said. "We've got to understand when we play against a good team they're going to play well down the stretch."
DeRozan's words were curious given that the Raptors outscored the Heat 25-20 in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 16 in the third.
Toronto was outrebounded 43-28 after claiming a 98-82 advantage over its first two opponents and let Miami go 35 for 70 from the field -- the second time it has allowed a team to shoot 50.0 percent. Coach Dwane Casey's club ranked 10th in the NBA last season holding opponents to 45.0 percent shooting.
"At the defensive end, it's from start to finish," Casey said. "You don't just guard for 23 seconds. You guard for 24 and then come up with the rebound. We're not doing that right now."
DeRozan scored 33 on 15-of-16 foul shooting in his last matchup with the Thunder -- a 119-118 double-overtime loss on March 21 in Toronto.
Amir Johnson is averaging 20.3 points on 65.9 percent shooting in his last three meetings, but it's unclear if he'll play after he missed Sunday's contest with a sore left ankle.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have already seemingly gone through a season's worth of misfortune in terms of injuries in the season's first week.
Their roster will be depleted even further Tuesday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors.
The bad news for Oklahoma City (1-3) only got worse with Monday's 116-85 loss to Brooklyn as starting guard Andre Roberson suffered a sprained left foot in the first half, leaving on crutches. Coach Scott Brooks ruled him out for Tuesday.
Brooks also said he doesn't know what Perry Jones' status will be after he banged knees late in the contest. Jones scored 16 Monday and leads the team with 18.5 points per game.
The Thunder are off to their worst start since going 1-15 in 2008-09.
"That's just how things are going right now," Brooks said. "But we're not throwing the white flag. We're going to keep battling."
Oklahoma City is already without Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeremy Lamb, Anthony Morrow, Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett -- leaving it with no more than eight healthy players for Tuesday's second leg of a back-to-back, though the Thunder could add a 16th player to their roster with a hardship exception. The exception requires that at least four players miss consecutive games.
The Thunder are left with two true guards in Sebastian Telfair and Reggie Jackson, who made his season debut Monday after missing the first three games with a sprained ankle. Jackson scored 23 points but was 8 of 20 from the field and committed seven turnovers -- one shy of a career worst.
"I played pretty terrible," said Jackson, who averaged 13.1 points and 4.1 assists over 28.5 minutes per game in 2013-14. "That sums it up. Seven turnovers. Shot poorly. I felt like I let my team down."
Okahoma City is averaging 91.5 points per game and is 22 of 80 from 3-point range. Serge Ibaka is the leading 3-point shooter at 41.2 percent but has only attempted 17. Perry Jones is 6 for 16, while Telfair is 1 for 14. No other Thunder player besides Westbrook has hit a 3-pointer.
The Raptors (2-1) took a 107-102 loss at Miami on Sunday despite DeMar DeRozan's 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting.
"They executed well, especially down the stretch," DeRozan said. "We've got to understand when we play against a good team they're going to play well down the stretch."
DeRozan's words were curious given that the Raptors outscored the Heat 25-20 in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 16 in the third.
Toronto was outrebounded 43-28 after claiming a 98-82 advantage over its first two opponents and let Miami go 35 for 70 from the field -- the second time it has allowed a team to shoot 50.0 percent. Coach Dwane Casey's club ranked 10th in the NBA last season holding opponents to 45.0 percent shooting.
"At the defensive end, it's from start to finish," Casey said. "You don't just guard for 23 seconds. You guard for 24 and then come up with the rebound. We're not doing that right now."
DeRozan scored 33 on 15-of-16 foul shooting in his last matchup with the Thunder -- a 119-118 double-overtime loss on March 21 in Toronto.
Amir Johnson is averaging 20.3 points on 65.9 percent shooting in his last three meetings, but it's unclear if he'll play after he missed Sunday's contest with a sore left ankle.