Tip-off: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

Two teams that are fighting for postseason life in their respective conferences clash when the Thunder faces the Hornets in Charlotte Saturday.

Oklahoma City hosted Dallas on Thursday and came away with a huge 104-89 victory as a 5-point home favorite. The Thunder has now won-and-covered in four straight games and is 6-1 SU in its past seven overall. Over the past two games, Oklahoma City is allowing just 89.0 PPG and that kind of defense combined with its firepower on offense will make the team very tough to beat. The Hornets, meanwhile, have lost three straight games and will need to start stringing together some wins. Charlotte has shot under 36% from the field in two of those contests and needs to find a way to be more effective offensively. Oklahoma City has been dominant in this head-to-head series lately, winning eight straight games against Charlotte and covering in seven of them. In the past 20 meetings between these two teams, the Thunder is 15-5 SU and 12-7-1 ATS against the Hornets. The Thunder has also won three straight games in Charlotte, covering in two of those contests but not the most recent one. Oklahoma City has played well after covering this season, going 15-9 SU and ATS when coming off of an ATS win. They are, however, just 12-17 SU and 10-18-1 ATS on the road this season. Luckily for Oklahoma City, the Hornets are just 13-15 SU and 11-17 ATS when playing at home this season. Charlotte is, however, 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS against the Northwest Division this year. C Steven Adams (Hand) is out indefinitely for the Thunder and SF Kevin Durant (Foot), C Enes Kanter (Acquired), SF Steve Novak (Acquired), PG D.J. Augustin (Acquired) and SF Kyle Singler (Acquired) are all questionable. C Bismack Biyombo (Knee) and PG Kemba Walker (Knee) are both out indefinitely for the Hornets. SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Hamstring), PG Mo Williams (Acquired) and PG Troy Daniels (Acquired) are all probable for Charlotte.

The Thunder picked up a big victory over the Mavericks on Thursday and the team is starting to look like a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, especially after making some excellent trades. After having a pretty thin bench for a majority of the season, PG D.J. Augustin (10.6 PPG, 4.9 APG) will now backup Russell Westbrook. He is a solid decision-maker and can provide the Thunder with some good minutes off the bench. C Steven Adams (7.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.2 BPG) will now slide to the bench when he returns from injury and provide defense and energy where he belongs, instead of being forced into a starting role. SF Kyle Singler (7.1 PPG) brings a smart player who can knock down open shots and give SF Kevin Durant (25.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.1 APG) more rest. Durant will need it as he’s been having a lot of issues with the foot he injured early in the season. Luckily for the Thunder, PG Russell Westbrook (26.0 PPG, 7.7 APG, 6.3 RPG, 2.2 SPG) has been playing at an extremely high level lately. Westbrook scored 34 points and dished out 10 assists against the Mavericks on Thursday and has been unstoppable this season. He had 29 points and five assists against the Hornets last meeting and will need to dominate as the team waits for Durant to get healthy and also for its newest piece. C Enes Kanter (13.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG) likely won’t play against the Hornets, but he was the big addition for Oklahoma City at the deadline. He is a big-time scorer in the paint and gives this team an element that it has never had in the Durant and Westbrook era.

The Hornets have lost three straight games and are hoping that PG Mo Williams (12.2 PPG, 6.7 APG) can improve their play at the point guard position. Charlotte acquired Williams to fill in for the injured PG Kemba Walker (18.8 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG) and he should be able to provide a solid presence at the position. He is an excellent shooter from the outside (35% 3PT) and will make sure teams are not doubling C Al Jefferson (17.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG). Jefferson is averaging 17.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 2.0 BPG over the past five games, but he has not shot the ball well in those games (48% FG). With somebody shooting from the outside that defenses will need to respect, Jefferson should have a lot more room to operate in the post. SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (10.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG) is set to return from this game after injuring his hamstring and missing two games before the break. He is one of the best defenders in the league at his position and could really give Kevin Durant issues if he ends up giving it a go. The forward is long and very athletic and doesn’t back down from a challenge, so at the very least he can tire out Durant on both ends. SG Lance Stephenson (9.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.9 APG) is still in Charlotte after the deadline and the team will really need him to get things together offensively. He’s averaging just 6.6 PPG over the past five contests and has to start scoring or at least begin to play more efficiently. Another guy that has to take his game to the next level is PF Cody Zeller (7.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG). Zeller has really struggled recently, averaging just 3.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 25.6 MPG over the past five contests. His shooting has been awful in that span (26% FG) and he needs to play with more confidence going forward. He is a capable shooter from midrange and runs the floor well, but he has been unable to put it all together.