The Oklahoma City Thunder have looked very impressive this preseason after being eliminated in the playoffs last season to the Memphis Grizzlies and they will put their 4-1 record to the test on Tuesday night in a game against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center.
The Thunder are coming in after being the best team in the western conference last season and it will be a tough test for the squad to return as the number one seed, as they are going up against the improved Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers and on top of that Russell Westbrook will be rebounding from knee surgery. Last year in the postseason Westbrook was injured in the first round matchup after a collision with Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley and that likely will be the biggest question hounding the team for the coming season. The Thunder are coming off of a victory against the Utah Jazz on Sunday and Kevin Durant had an off night, putting in just five points while missing eight of 10 shots.
Check here for the NBA.com streaming coverage for the NBA League Pass for the Thunder and the Suns from the preseason.
The Thunder have been playing without Kendrick Perkins during the preseason after he dislocated his finger and Reggie Jackson was the leading scorer with 18 points and six assists in the victory. The team opened the preseason with three straight wins over a European team, the Philadelphia 76ers and then against the Denver Nuggets and then the team lost its first game by three against the New Orleans Pelicans. The last two games of the preseason will be against the Suns on Tuesday and then against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday for the last game, which will air on ESPN and Watch ESPN at 9:30 pm.
The Thunder are coming into the season after winning 60 games and finishing three games ahead of the Nuggets and Durant comes back after just missing the scoring title with over 28 points per game. Kevin Durant also led the team in rebounding with nearly eight boards per game and Russell Westbrook was tops in assists and steals per game for the team. The Thunder ranked third in points per game last season with over 105 per contests and they were also ranked in the top 10 in defense and in rebounds per game. The Suns are 3-2 on the preseason and they will get another look at the Jazz quick when they open the season against them next Wednesday.
The Thunder then will play against the Timberwolves on the road before playing the Suns and Mavericks next at home and then they will play against the Detroit Pistons and the Wizards. On Tuesday, the Suns will host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the US Airways Center at 10 PM in the NBA preseason.
