Slicing Up The Schedule Part V: March
Our month-by-month breakdown of the Thunder’s 2010-11 season has reached the home stretch and, up to this point, OKC hasn’t had much trouble establishing itself as a team to be reckoned with. We expect that trend to continue in the month of March, when we’ll see 16 games on the schedule, including a very favorable six-game home stand.
The Thunder should see a few tough battles on its hand this month, but by and large these 31 days don’t offer much difficulty. If the season unfolds how we think it will, the Thunder just might topple last season’s win total prior to April. Let’s break it down.
HOME/ROAD: Nine at home; seven on the road.
BACK-TO-BACKS: Three. The Thunder will play two sets of home-road back-to-backs, while the other pairing is a road-road set. The first set is against Phoenix at home on March 6 followed by a road game at Memphis on March 7. A week later, the Thunder plays at Cleveland and at Washington on March 13 and 14. The final pairing comes at the end of the month when the Thunder plays host to Golden State on March 29 before traveling to Phoenix. All three are winnable sets.
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Average. With 16 games, March ties December as the Thunder’s most jam-packed months. Once again, that won’t be easy to endure. But much like December, the March schedule brings some bona fide bottom feeders. Indiana. Philadelphia. Detroit. Cleveland. Washington. Toronto. Minnesota. Golden State. That’s at least eight wins you can pencil in the Thunder for this month. A season-long six-game home stand at the end of the month should help pile up more victories. Balancing out the month, however, are road games at Atlanta, at Miami and at Phoenix. Home dates with Phoenix, Charlotte, Utah and Portland also provide solid challenges.
MARQUEE MATCHUP: At Miami on March 16. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are taking their talents to South Beach for the second and final meeting between these two teams. You can believe LeBron James sees Durant in his rear view mirror gaining ground in everything from MVP favorite to league poster boy to the NBA’s best young baller. In a nationally televised game on ESPN, the Heat won’t want to be shown up on their home court, while the Thunder will want to show it can stomp with the big boys. We can only hope to soon see this battle play out over a seven-game championship series.
TOUGHEST TEST: At Miami on March 16. The Thunder has a handful of weapons it can throw at LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in an attempt to slow down the Heat’s three-headed monster. But even with Durant, Jeff Green, Thabo Sefolosha, Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, the Heat still holds the edge. Miami’s trio, and the veterans that surround them,also have experience the Thunder core still lacks. A trip to American Airlines Arena in and of itself will be tough to overcome. Heat fans are prepping for a season-long party on Biscayne Boulevard.
WORRY-FREE WIN: Detroit on March 11. The Pistons could be pitiful. Their roster is filled two types of players, youngsters who have yet to figure out the league and veterans who are past their prime. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have seen better days, and with this game coming after the trading deadline both could be off the roster by now. Either way, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey are now the Pistons three most talented players and they’re all role players. Adding motivation for the Thunder, this one is scheduled before the start of a three-game road trip, meaning OKC will want to get a win in the bank before hitting the road.
CATCH THEM WHILE YOU CAN: It doesn’t matter who leaves Phoenix, the Suns have remained one of the league’s most entertaining teams because of Steve Nash. The two-time MVP brings his act to town on Sunday, March 6. Nash will be 37 by the time he makes this second visit so his days of playing at a high level have to be numbered. If you haven’t seen him perform live, we highly recommend you scurry on down to Reno Ave. for this one.
ROOKIE WATCH: Five top 10 picks come through the Ford Center in March. Indiana’s Paul George, the 10th overall pick, starts things off on March 2. Greg Monroe, the seventh pick by Detroit, visits on March 11. Gordon Hayward, Utah’s ninth pick, makes his way to OKC on March 23. Wesley Johnson, the No. 4 pick by Minnesota, comes March 25. And Ekpe Udoh (Sante Fe), who was taken sixth by Golden State, comes to town on March 29.
SAME FACE, NEW PLACE: Tracy McGrady is giving it another shot, this time with Detroit. And if he’s still on the team at this point, the seven-time All-Star will make his Ford Center debut as a Piston on March 11. T-Mac is nowhere near the assassin who led the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons. But in his Knicks debut last season (against the Thunder inside Madison Square Garden), McGrady showed he does indeed have a little something left in the tank. And the scuttlebutt is he’s improved even more after another few months of training. We’ll see how much more McGrady’s bruised and battered body can handle.
PREDICTION: 12-4. Marginal opponents mixed with a six-game home stand should provide plenty of momentum to have a very strong month. Road games at Atlanta, at Miami and at Phoenix will be tough, as well as a visit by Portland in the fifth game of that six-game home stretch. But of the remaining 12 games, there isn’t a single one on the schedule this month that the Thunder shouldn’t be able to win if focused and prepared. Now is the point in the season when the intensity in the games typically kicks up a notch. But a younger, less experienced Thunder squad survived that pressure quite well last season, going 11-5 against an even better onslaught of opponents. If OKC can replicate whatever recipe worked so well last season, it could be hovering around 50 wins by the end of March.
-DM-
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