Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 Make Or Break Games Without Kevin Durant

Oct. 30 at Los Angeles Clippers:

I’m tempted to use our first spot on OKC’s season opener on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 29, but let’s be more original that choosing the first game of the year and instead go with their second game of a back-to-back away from home. The Clippers are, on paper, a superior team to the Blazers and will be even stiffer competition for the Thunder come playoff time than they were last year.

The key matchup here is obviously between Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. They’re arguably the two best point guards in the league and the Thunder won’t win without Westbrook outplaying CP3. But just as important might be Serge Ibaka’s defense on Blake Griffin, who was already a third-string MVP candidate last year and has now added a consistent jumper to his game.

Ibaka will knock down his 15-footers like he always does, but he’ll have to work exceptionally hard defensively against quite possibly the best power forward in the NBA. Griffin’s range has seemingly extended to three-point territory during the preseason, which could draw the Thunder’s best rim protector away from the paint. If the Thunder can get a monster game out of Westbrook, benefit from the Flyin’ Lion to miss some shots and limit the likely bench massacre that’s coming, they’ve got a shot to avoid potentially starting the season 0-2.