The Oklahoma City Thunder were dominant against the Eastern Conference last season, losing just one interconference game in the regular season.
While the Thunder haven’t been bad against the East this season, they haven’t been as dominant as they were a year ago.
Oklahoma City comes into Sunday’s home game against the Toronto Raptors having dropped two of its last four games against Eastern Conference opponents, including Friday’s 117-114 home loss to Indiana.
The Thunder are 9-3 against the East overall.
Oklahoma City had plenty of success early this season without Jalen Williams in the lineup.
Now, they’re once again learning how to play without Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain Jan. 17 in Miami and will miss at least two weeks.
But it’s not just Williams, the Thunder are also without starter Isaiah Hartenstein, who has missed the last 14 games with a calf injury.
Key reserves Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, and Aaron Wiggins were also out for Friday’s loss.
“It’s tough, because we’re missing a lot of our main guys, but you’ve just got to have that next-man-up mentality,” Kenrich Williams said. “Speaking for myself and the guys who are playing extra, you’ve just got to take advantage of your opportunity. So far, for the most part we’ve been doing that.”
Toronto has been without Jakob Poeltl since Dec. 21, while Ja’Kobe Walker has missed the last seven games with a hip injury. Collin Murray-Boyles has missed the last three with a thumb injury.
The Raptors enter Sunday’s game on a three-game winning streak, coming off a 110-98 win at Portland on Friday.
Toronto guard Gradey Dick’s play has been up and down most of the season as he’s adjusted to coming off the bench. He had 10 points against Portland.
While Dick’s scoring hasn’t been as much of a piece of the Raptors’ offense this season, Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic spoke of the improvement Dick has made away from the ball and on defense recently.
“I’m trying to build my confidence on the defensive end first, I feel like,” Dick said. “I feel like I’ve grown up. I’ve been used to just finding my rhythm strictly from scoring. … I’m learning that with my defense first, if that builds my rhythm, I need to do that and lock in there.”
Defense figures to be at a premium for both teams in Sunday’s matchup.
The Raptors lead the league in fast-break points with 19.2 per game.
Oklahoma City leads the league in limiting them, allowing just 11.3 fast-break points per game while Toronto is second at 12.5.
The Thunder average just 13.9 fast-break points per game.
Sunday’s game is the first of two between the teams this season.
The Thunder have swept the season series the last two seasons with the Raptors last win in Oklahoma City coming in February 2022.
