NBA Matchups: February 25

All but one of the six games have at least one team that played last night, and the one that doesn’t has two teams on the front end. It’s a little tougher to talk through because of many of these teams possibly managing guys.

OKC @ DET | SAS @ TOR | GSW @ MEM | SAC @ HOU | CLE @ MIL | BOS @ DEN

Oklahoma City Thunder (back end) at Detroit Pistons

Team Totals: Thunder 106.5, Pistons 114

Injury Report: Isaiah Stewart (O, suspension), OKC on a B2B

Thunder projected starters: Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams

Pistons projected starters: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Daigneault quotes: OKC uploaded Cason interview twice instead of Daigneault.

Bickerstaff quotes: Said he thought Ron Holland II was playing well and he played him over Ausar Thompson, said he thought they did a good job on Wemby, said the majority of their threes were open.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Pistons go from facing the No. 3 defense in the Spurs to the No. 1 defense in OKC. It hasn’t gone well in defensive games for the Pistons with a 1-5 record when they don’t score more than 103 (not surprising), and this will be another tough test to score in the paint. OKC ranks first in paint defense, along with all the turnovers they force, and they’ll be able to apply a ton of pressure on Cade Cunningham. It’ll help that the Thunder are on a B2B, though. For the OKC offense, it’s been inconsistent with two duds in their last three (not counting last night), and they’ll have a tough test against the No. 2 defense in the NBA. The Thunder have still been getting OK paint pressure, which will be a tough task against an elite paint defense. Plus, they may be sitting more guys on a B2B.

*This is a tough one to talk through on a B2B. Cason Wallace’s role spiked on Sunday with 10 dimes on 14 potentials, and he uncharacteristically drove it 15 times, too. This matchup is just not one to attack, especially on a B2B. He may also see Ausar Thompson to make this a really tough spot for him.

*Chet Holmgren got a Q tag last night and could miss this one. This isn’t a great matchup anyway to make it a fade spot. Assuming Isaiah Hartenstein is out, there’s a good opportunity for Jaylin Williams. The matchup is brutal, but he would still be firmly in play.

*Assuming the Thunder don’t sit everyone out for this one, Cade Cunningham gets a terrible matchup here. He was clamped big time by Stephon Castle and went just 2-of-12 shooting on his drives in that game. This matchup may not be as bad as that one with Hartenstein likely out, and maybe Chet Holmgren misses, too. It’s still not a great spot against Lu Dort.

*Jalen Duren’s matchup is very much up in the air. If Isaiah Hartenstein does suit up, it sets up much better. We have a decent sample of the Thunder being worse on the boards without iHart, and they may be a bit smaller overall. Plus, Chet Holmgren‘s absence would make it a lot easier to score around the basket. We’ll have the injury report for the show later, and I’ll be able to talk through that more.

Great matchups: Nobody

Good matchups: Jalen Duren (if no iHart)

Bad matchups: Cason Wallace, Cade Cunningham

San Antonio Spurs (front end) at Toronto Raptors (back end)