April 10: Home against the New York Knicks
Wait – the Knicks aren’t a good team. All these other games have playoff implications. What East Coast, New York bias allowed them to make this list?
This inclusion is not about how tough this game should be.
It’s because this is the only game against an opponent not expected to be in the playoff hunt over the final 11 days. It’s a very important game to win.
In April, the Thunder take a trip to LA to face the Clippers and Lakers on April 4 and 5, respectively, play against a Brooklyn Nets team that may be fighting for its playoff life on April 7, the same type of matchup on April 11 against the Memphis Grizzlies and then close out the season against the Jazz and the Mavericks on April 13 and 15, respectively.
With six games against potential playoff teams, taking care of business against the Knicks is vital.
There’s a big difference in a seven-game stretch between a 2-5, 3-4 or 4-3 record.
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