Oklahoma City hits the road to face an old foe in the Golden State Warriors. Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng remain sidelined, while the Warriors will be without Draymond Green. Stephen Curry is also questionable to play. 

Check out three key matchups for this potential playoff preview. 

Golden State often struggles against teams that love to pressure the rim due to its undersized roster. Draymond Green can no longer anchor the defense and cover every weakness, and it doesn’t help that the Warriors’ stable of lengthy forwards from its prime years no longer exists. 

Green’s absence tonight is a massive blow to the defense, especially since the Thunder’s offense is built on slashers attacking via driving lanes. Golden State must be concerned because it lacks the necessary length and elite help defenders to obstruct Oklahoma City’s drivers. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell should feast if they get past the first line of defense. That seems likely given Golden State’s mediocre athleticism and point-of-attack defense. 

Chet Holmgren is coming off his best defensive game of the season. He recorded eight stocks in 25 minutes and completely shut down Portland’s paint scoring. It’s clear that Holmgren feels more comfortable at center, and this will continue against Golden State with Isaiah Hartenstein injured. 

The Warriors’ offense unsurprisingly leads the NBA in three-point attempt rate, so Holmgren’s interior defense is not as much of an X Factor as usual. However, it’s still important for him to deter paint attempts from Jimmy Butler and essentially force Golden State to live behind the arc. 

On the other end, Holmgren has averaged 23 points per game on 67.6% shooting from the field in six healthy career matchups against the Warriors. He’s a walking mismatch because Golden State does not have the length or size to bother his shot. Look for Holmgren to dominate on turnaround jumpers and shots around the basket. 

According to Cleaning the Glass, Oklahoma City has scored 124.4 points per 100 possessions with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court this season compared to 112 points per 100 possessions when he rests. Whether the Thunder can withstand this dropoff is arguably the biggest obstacle in its path to another title. 

Ajay Mitchell is in Sixth Man of the Year conversations thanks to his scoring and playmaking. He’s the key ingredient to Oklahoma City surviving the non-Gilgeous-Alexander minutes. If Mitchell puts on a show tonight, then it’s unlikely Golden State is able to pull off the upset.