The NBA’s first ever in-season tournament is kicking off on Friday night, and the Golden State Warriors have an exciting matchup with the OKC Thunder. Both teams have revealed their injury reports, and for Golden State it is entirely clean, meaning superstar point guard Steph Curry is available to play.
While there are varying levels of interest in this tournament from players and fans, these games still count towards a team’s overall regular season record. Because of that, the players will be locked in on trying to win, even if they don’t have added motivation because of the tournament.
The Warriors are off to a great start to their season, having won four of their first five games, including four-straight after their opening night loss. The addition of Chris Paul has looked like a good one so far, as not only has he elevated their play on the court, but his chemistry fit seems to be a good one as well.
While OKC will be shorthanded in this game, the Warriors can’t take them lightly. With several young and talented players who compete hard every night, the Thunder are never a free win. At 3-2 on the season, OKC has also gotten off to a solid start, and will look to give the Warriors a tough one in this in-season tournament opening game.
