Two teams in competition in the tank race for Victor Wembenyama will get a direct chance to try to increase their odds in the draft lottery against each other when the San Antonio Spurs head across the state border to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
One team has been a bit better at purposefully losing than the other, as the Spurs sit 2.5 games behind (ahead?) of the Thunder in the standings, holding the 14th seed in the Western Conference while OKC is at 12th.
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To the Thunder’s credit, it has to be pretty difficult to lose games with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominating in the manner that he has been so far this season.
SGA has been an absolute revelation, carving up defenses inside of the arc for unorthodox drives at the rim or patented midrange jumpers to average 31 points per game while shooting over 51 percent from the floor, 35 percent from beyond the arc, and 90 percent from the free throw line.
That puts him tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo for third in the league in scoring.
Between SGA’s offensive dominance, Josh Giddey’s continued ascension, and the arrival of Alekjej Pokusevski, Oklahoma City has a bright young core that may get in the way of them maximizing their lottery odds — even with second-overall pick Chet Holmgren potentially shelved for the entirety of the season.
While the Spurs have been one of the more putrid teams in the league, they haven’t been as bleak as many fans and pundits thought they might be when examining the roster before the season.
Keldon Johnson has continued his two-way excellence since making a surprise appearance with Team USA through their gold medal run at the 2020 Olympics. Devin Vassell has looked like a legitimate future star showing fierce point-of-attack defense and skillful midrange shot-making.
Tre Jones has shown to be one of the most steady hands in the league at point guard running the offense. All of this talent was on display when they started off the year 5-6 before making it more apparent that they wanted to stack up as many losses as possible.
These young cores will face off in a matchup that could have a ripple effect when the NBA conducts its draft lottery later this summer. One head-to-head loss against another tanking team could have a significant impact on the standings with such a razor-thin margin of error.
The 8-13 Oklahoma City Thunder return home to play the 6-15 San Antonio Spurs. https://t.co/tteW1my2P9
— OKC Thunder Wire (@The_ThunderWire) November 30, 2022
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| Title: San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunder preview
| Author: Andy Quach
| Date: Nov 30, 2022
