Pregame 34: Abracadabra!

    VS.

Where: Washington D.C. - Verizon Center

When: January 7th @ 6 PM CST

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

      TV: Fox Sports Southwest (Cox 37, HD 722; Tulsa Cox 27; DirectTV 679; UVerse 754)

Stream: Click Here

The Oklahoma City Thunder face the D.C. Wizards tonight, the team with the worst record in the league at 4-28. 

OKC comes into tonight's game from the front side of a back-to-back in Toronto. Even with the odd noon tip, the Thunder got their business done in Canada with out any major snafus. Minus a outrageously efficient second quarter from Alan Anderson, Oklahoma City handled the Raptors and left nothing to chance in a 104 to 92 win that was not nearly as close in the second half as the score displays. 

The Thunder seem to have much of the chemistry worked out among their players and are working much more in rhythm than they were earlier in the season. Kevin Martin is starting to take more control of the ball and has regained his shooting rhythm which he lost for a stretch of games. Russell Westbrook has fixed his shooting stroke and is shooting and finishing at a better rate than he has for the past few games. Serge Ibaka is growing more confident in his offensive toolset and looking more smooth and confident from beyond the arch. 

However, as much confidence that Oklahoma City seems to be building, all that can come down in a matter of one off night against a bad opponent. Just ask the Heat. The Wizards have some talent that can definitely sneak up on teams, and if you aren't completely ready for this team, they can surprise you and end up placing  a loss on your record. Jordan Crawford, Jeremy Beal, and Nene can give an decent offensive output and you can never know when one of them will go off for a hot shooting night as some decent players have against the Thunder. However, the Wizards have only won four games for a reason. They have no real all-star or breakout players save John Wall, and Wall has spent the season on the bench injured. With Wall back, D.C.'s winning percentage might go up somewhat, but with out the chemistry of a veteran team and with a lack of scoring, this team is going to struggle to find wins for the rest of the season. 

Prediction: 109-83 Thunder 

Thunder UP!