Three Things to Watch: Thunder at Wizards
By Jesse Jones
The Battle of the Big Men
Jan 2, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Washington Wizards forward Nene Hilario (42) dunks the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
This is where Washington can really hurt Oklahoma City.
While the Thunder have one of the best shot blockers in the league in Serge Ibaka and a towering presence at center in Steven Adams, they lack overall depth in the front court.
Ibaka has even begun to drift further and further away from the paint over his career and this season is no exception. Twenty nine percent of his field goals attempted are from the three-point land, the highest of any distance from the court, according to Basketball-Reference.com. That’s not something most teams want from a strong power forward.
And Adams is only averaging seven points and seven rebounds a contest.
On the bench, the Thunder rely on Nick Collison and Kendrick Perkins. There’s no need to say more about those two.
If Marcin Gortat and Nene can get off to a good start against Ibaka and Adams, and set a physical tone down low on the boards, Kevin Seraphin and Kris Humphries should have no problem against the second unit.