The Portland Trail Blazers are coming into this one after falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They struggled on the defensive end of the court, as they will have to get more stops in this one if they want to challenge the Thunder on the road.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were extremely efficient in the second half of their last game against the Blazers, as they continued to score basket after basket. They will have to stay hot in this one if they want to challenge the Blazers at home.

The Portland Trail Blazers are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, as they are still three games back from the first-place Memphis Grizzlies. On offense, they are scoring 112.6 points per game and they are shooting 47.7% from the floor. This is the 18th most points scored per contest and the 10th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Blazers have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.9, which is the sixth-highest rating in the NBA. Damian Lillard continues to lead the way for Portland, as he is scoring 28.3 points per game on 45.5% shooting from the field. The Trail Blazers have also shown that they have multiple players that can get extremely hot from behind the arc. As a team, they are shooting 38.9% from deep, which is the highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. Unfortunately, they have not taken care of business at the charity stripe. They have only knocked down 77.5% of their shots at the line, which is the 21st-highest free-throw shooting percentage. They can’t continue to miss out on these free points and still expect to win these games.

On the defensive end of the court, the Blazers have struggled to contest shots on the outside and near the rim. They are currently surrendering 112.1 points per game and they have allowed their opponents to shoot 47.3% from the floor. This is the 11th least amount of points allowed per game, but the 20th-lowest shooting percentage allowed from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Blazers have an adjusted defensive rating of 113.7, which is the 21st-lowest rating in the league. They have also struggled to apply pressure on the perimeter. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 35.7% from behind the arc, which is the 17th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the NBA. Portland has also continued to crash the glass. They are averaging 43.1 rebounds per game, which is the 16th most. They have to secure the ball after missed shots if they want to keep the Thunder from scoring second-chance points.

Injury Report: Jusuf Nurkic C (Calf) is listed as questionable. Nassir Little SF (Hip) is out.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently in 13th place in the Western Conference standings, as they are seven games back from the Grizzlies. On offense, they are scoring 115.5 points per game and they are shooting 46% from the floor. This is the ninth most points scored per contest and the 22nd-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Thunder have an adjusted offensive rating of 111.6, which is the 22nd-highest rating in the NBA. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 31.3 points per game on 50.1% shooting from the field. Oklahoma City has also shown that they struggle to consistently step behind the arc and knock down threes. They are only shooting 34.3% from deep, which is the 23rd-highest three-point shooting percentage. They are much more successful when they are attacking the basket and finishing inside the paint. The Thunder have taken care of business at the charity stripe, though. They have knocked down 79.6% of their shots at the line, which is the 13th-highest percentage in the league.

On the defensive end of the court, the Thunder are surrendering 117.1 points per game and their opponents have shot 46.5% from the floor. This is the 27th least amount of points given up per game, but the 11th lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Thunder have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.7, which is the 15th-lowest rating in the league. The Thunder have done a nice job defending shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has hurt them this season. They aren’t applying enough pressure, as their opponents have shot 36.5% from behind the arc. This is the 20th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the NBA. Luckily, they have continued to attack the offensive and defensive glass, as they are averaging 44.7 rebounds per game, which is the eighth most in the league. They can’t allow the Blazers to snatch up offensive rebounds if they want to stay competitive in this game.

Injury Report: Darius Bazley PF (Illness) and Josh Giddey SG (Illness) are listed as questionable. Ousmane Dieng PF (Wrist), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl PF (Ankle), and Chet Holmgren C (Foot) are listed as out.