Game On: Thunder @ Hornets (With Live Pre-Game and In-Game Chat)

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Published: January 11, 2012

Chat it up with our writers about tonight’s game and get the latest breaking information from behind the scenes at the Arena.

Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder come to New Orleans for the first and only time of the season tonight. Oklahoma City ranks second so far in overall offensive efficiency (106.8) while the Hornets sport the 17th best defense (99.9, so far there is very little disparity between 8th and 22nd overall).

If you’re looking for the best matchup for the Thunder, take your pick—In our 4-on-3 earlier (which fortunately is the same price as the 3-on-3), Royce Young from Daily Thunder took Westbrook over Jack, Mason and Trew took just about everything, and I went with Durant over the inexperienced Aminu.

Still, the Hornets team has held its own with quality opponents before this year, and they also have the advantage of being relatively well rested. This will be OKC’s fifth game in the last six days, a hectic schedule even considering the condensed season. After beating the Nuggets on the road, this Hornets team will look to build on that success defensively.

Check back for a pre-game chat starting around 6:45 and in-game chat chat following.

Notes from the Arena

  • Jason Smith is out. Gordon is out. Ariza is out. Henry is out.
  • Hornets are shooting 52.6% from three-point-land over the last three games.
  • When the Hornets hold opponents under 90 points, they are 3-0.
  • Monty is more worried about role players beating him than Westbrook, Durant or Harden. He says they will get theirs.
  • Monty said that the reason guys are getting hurt is because they are out of shape.
  • “…a lot of guys play for a while, get paid and just quit. It’s one of the things that’s wrong with the league in my opinion.” (talking about how Jarrett Jack, who will play, isn’t one of those guys).
  • Monty thinks xavier Henry is at least a week away, citing injury and lack of experience with the system.

 

Also I’ll hopefully be asking Eric Gordon what he was watching on Monday night—Hornets and/or LSU vs Alabama. His twitter indicated at least the latter.

The Hornets are 25th in free throw attempts per game (20.3), and 11th in conversion rate (76%)

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