Golden State @ Oklahoma City preview
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Last Meeting ( Oct 30, 2021 ) Oklahoma City 82, Golden State 103
Golden State star Klay Thompson had to think a bit when asked ahead of a road matchup Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder if the Warriors should add something at the trade deadline.
"Maybe a washing machine," Thompson said.
It comes as no surprise that Golden State would not want to tinker too much with what has been working so well.
Golden State is the hottest team in the NBA, having won eight consecutive games and trailing only the Phoenix Suns in wins this season.
Thompson has been a big piece of that recent success, coming off his best game of the 11 he's played since returning from multiple injuries that kept him out since June 2019.
In Thursday's 126-114 victory over the Sacramento Kings, Thompson tied a season high with 23 points after hitting 7 of 9 tries from 3-point range. He also had a season-high seven assists.
"The shooting part is so much fun, and when you see hard work paying off, it hits different now than it did a few years ago," Thompson said. "Being happy can be so fragile doing what we do, and it can be taken away from you in an instant."
While the Warriors might not be adding any players through trades, they could add plenty more firepower, perhaps beginning Monday.
Andre Iguodala, who hasn't played since Jan. 20 because of a left hip injury that developed after an early-season knee injury, will be on the trip and could return in the game at Oklahoma City. The same goes for Otto Porter Jr., who has missed the last three games with back tightness.
Nemanja Bjelica has missed the last four games and will miss at least the two-game road trip with back spasms.
Draymond Green and James Wiseman are still a ways away from returning, but general manager Bob Myers said last week they were both expected back before the end of the regular season.
Golden State is going for a sweep of the Thunder for the second consecutive season. The Warriors won the first two meetings this season against Oklahoma City, both in October.
The Thunder are a completely different team than the last time Thompson faced them nearly three years ago. No players remain on Oklahoma City's roster from that game.
Oklahoma City is coming off a 113-103 loss at Sacramento on Saturday, which snapped the Thunder's three-game winning streak.
The Thunder's recent spate of injuries -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl will miss extended time while Aaron Wiggins, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Roby are also injured -- has opened the door for the return of Aleksej Pokusevski to the rotation.
Pokusevski has spent the season bouncing in and out of the Thunder's rotation after averaging more than 24 minutes per game as a rookie last season. He's spent a significant portion of the season in the G League.
He played more than 26 minutes against the Kings, his second-most of the season.
"You have to figure out how to divvy up those opportunities with a lot of balls in the air," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "We're trying to be competitive, we're trying to develop a system.
"(Pokusevski's) had a lot of experience, and we're putting pressure on him to compete harder and to play tighter, be more efficient, that sort of thing."
--Field Level Media