

Broadcast Information

Tip-off: 2:00 p.m. CT

2:00 p.m. CT Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Fox Sports Oklahoma Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network

All wins count the same during an NBA season, and so do the losses. At 36-29 this season, the Thunder would like to rack up a few more victories before the final 17 games are through, and it has a chance for another one today at home against the Utah Jazz.

After dropping four straight games in close fashion, the Thunder broke through a stretch that featured seemingly endless change and uncertainty by securing a 10-point victory over the San Antonio Spurs, who have already amassed 50 wins this year. While the opponent doesn’t make one win more special than another, it was an important validation that the process the Thunder has committed to is going to pay off. Head Coach Billy Donovan and his staff knew that their players would come together and find a way to make the requisite changes. It was just a matter of figuring out the how and the when.

“We have a great group of guys in that locker room who are trying, with our coaching staff, figure out how we can get better, improve and utilize everyone,” Donovan said.

“There are going to be times where you go through adversity. The strongest teams stick together through adversity,” point guard Russell Westbrook noted.

Strong communication and defense were keys to last night's victory over the Spurs. See more on the Thunder Mobile App. Next up for your Thunder: a 2 p.m. game on Saturday against the Jazz. A post shared by Oklahoma City Thunder (@okcthunder) on Mar 10, 2017 at 9:19am PST

One game and one win doesn’t suddenly turn the tide, however. The Thunder now has to go out and repeat the same level of defensive intensity, focus and communication for 48 minutes against the Northwest Division leading Jazz.

One of the tweaks that Donovan and the coaches made on Thursday night was to flip-flop Domas Sabonis and Taj Gibson, putting the latter in the starting lineup for his veteran presence and giving Sabonis a chance for more varied opportunities in a different role. At least in the Spurs game, that decision proved to be fruitful. It remains to be seen whether that lineup will be the one that Donovan sticks with moving forward, but both players’ skill sets can be assets against a Jazz front line with Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Boris Diaw roaming the paint.

“It freed Domas up to do a little bit more. It gave him more playing time. I was hopeful that it would. I thought it was good for us. Taj played a really good game. He did some positive things for our team,” Donovan explained. “I thought the change that we made helped us some.”

“Taj did a great job. He’s used to starting,” Westbrook echoed. “Domas did a great job of coming in and still playing his game and made an impact.”

As for the perimeter, the Thunder’s guards will also have their hands full. Gordon Hayward, George Hill and Rodney Hood present an extremely long, physical combination that can be very disruptive defensively and deadly from behind the arc on offense. With Joe Johnson chipping in off the bench, Utah can hurt teams in a lot of ways.

As a result, the Thunder will have to make sure it is forcing Utah to pull the ball out of the net as much as possible on Saturday afternoon. That starts with Russell Westbrook. His ability to survey the landscape of the game and how teams are defending, then pick apart the seams to find scoring opportunities for himself and teammates is the Thunder’s life source on offense. Today, Westbrook will have to find the correct balance as it pertains to this specific matchup in terms of how to attack the Jazz defense.

“(Westbrook) is always evaluating the game,” Donovan said. “He’s always evaluating what is going on in terms of making decisions of what the team actually needs. He always puts the team first.”