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

Nov. 23 vs. Golden State Warriors:

The Thunder have a four-game home stretch to close out November, with the Nets, Dubs, Utah Jazz and New York Knicks all coming to town, so it obviously makes sense to choose the toughest opponent of the bunch. The Warriors are a team that’s never been afraid to trade blows with Oklahoma City and they’re also the second game of said stretch, which means not looking ahead is key.

I’ve been beating around the bush so far, but this is one game where Russell Westbrook absolutely has to go into Point God mode for the Thunder to win. The Warriors have superior depth, they’ll probably have a top-five defense once again, they have one of the best point guards in the league in Stephen Curry, they have a defensive stopper who will dedicate all of his minutes to harassing Westbrook with Klay Thompson and on paper, they’re just a better team with Kevin Durant sidelined.

But a monster Westbrook game could shift the scales and open things up for his teammates. Jackson will need to combine for a big night with Westbrook to counter the Splash Brothers’ three-point attack. OKC can’t leave shooters open and will have to hope that guys like David Lee and Draymond Green aren’t hitting midrange jumpers so Ibaka can protect the basket. It’ll take an off night from the Dubs, but this could be a huge win in an important four-game home stand if everything goes OKC’s way.