Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder: Keys to the Game

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Feb 28, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Doug McDermott (25) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) celebrate against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Key Stat – Three-Point Percentage

I hate to be repetitive, pinning three-point shooting as the key stat three times in a row overall and for the second straight time against the Thunder, but given what happened last time these two teams met, I believe it’s entirely fitting.

OKC, despite being the worst three-point shooting team in the league, started out the game against the Jazz a perfect (and insane) 12-of-12 from the three-point line and finished the game 15-of-22. At 68.2 percent on the night, the Thunder shot over twice as accurately as their season average of 32.4.

Given that incredible performance from the arc, it was practically a miracle in and of itself that the Jazz were able to keep the game close at all. It was clear that Utah’s game plan was to give the poor-shooting Thunder some leniency from deep, and while that strategy would have likely worked more often than not, in that one instance it definitely backfired.

However, it has certainly appeared that the Thunder have come back down to earth in recent contests. In the five games since their win over the Jazz, OKC is shooting just 29 percent from deep, including an abysmal 2-of-22 (.091) performance against Dallas on Sunday.

Therefore, as long as Utah can prevent the Thunder from having the wild shooting night they had the last time around and keep them closer to their typically bottoming three-point percentage, Utah should have a distinct edge in this area.

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