NBA In-Season Tournament: West Group C Teams & Game Previews

Nov. 3: Thunder @ Warriors - 8:00 p.m. ET

The Thunder travel to Oakland to start group play for Group C in a battle with the loaded Warriors. While many may quickly write off OKC in this matchup, the battle between the two teams will be a closer contest than some may think. Slowing down Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will obviously be a huge point of intent for the Thunder, but OKC will present some defensive issues for the Warriors as well. Expect a close matchup between the team of the future and a team with multiple future Hall of Famers.

Golden State Warriors (+195 to win Group C)

The Warriors made a fairly underrated move this offseason, bringing in Chris Paul to be a floor general off the bench. Allowing Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to play off ball more will open up the Warriors offense even more, which was scary before Paul joined forces with the Splash Brothers. In addition to the Paul acquisition, the Warriors also brought in Dario Saric and Cory Joseph to add to their deep bench. Ultimately, with a starting five as good as any in the league and a talented bench to support them, Steve Kerr’s Warriors will always be in the mix for a championship.

Sacramento Kings (+220 to win Group C)

The Kings surprised a lot of people last season with their postseason push. Now, Sacramento looks to build off what they started last year and take another leap. With the offensive firepower to do it, Mike Brown’s group can compete with any team in the league. The duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis has quickly become a top duo in the league, and as long as the two stars stay healthy, the Kings could make a run for a championship this season. Unfortunately, for the start of group play, the Kings will be without Fox as he recovers from an ankle injury that he suffered in a recent overtime battle with the Lakers. However, when Fox returns, Sacramento will be a tough team to beat.

Minnesota Timberwolves (+340 to win Group C)

Minnesota enters the season as an interesting team to watch. The Wolves only got a small sample size of their frontcourt of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert last season. With doubt that Minnseota can make that frontcourt pairing work, it doesn’t take away from the fact that they have one of the league’s best young scorers in Anthony Edwards in the backcourt. While the T-Wolves may not be a favorite for anything, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them steal some big wins, including in the group play.

Oklahoma City Thunder (+360 to win Group C)

Sam Presti has done an outstanding job rebuilding the Thunder roster. Not only does OKC have an outrageous amount of draft picks, but they also have a team full of young and talented players that look ready to make the next leap. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder could be a dark horse team for group play and even a postseason run. As the team continues to grow alongside each other, Oklahoma City is a team to keep an eye on.

San Antonio Spurs (+2300 to win Group C)

The Spurs are another team in amid a rebuild with a talented young roster. Adding arguably the most coveted prospect in NBA history, Victor Wembanyama, this offseason only increased the hype for San Antonio’s future. With Wembanyama getting the chance to learn from Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, and even David Robinson, Wemby may lead the Spurs towards a postseason push, winning a lot of games along the way. Although expectations should be tempered, it’s hard not to feed into the impact the No. 1 overall pick has already had in the first four games of the season.

Nov. 3: Thunder @ Warriors - 8:00 p.m. ET

The Thunder travel to Oakland to start group play for Group C in a battle with the loaded Warriors. While many may quickly write off OKC in this matchup, the battle between the two teams will be a closer contest than some may think. Slowing down Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will obviously be a huge point of intent for the Thunder, but OKC will present some defensive issues for the Warriors as well. Expect a close matchup between the team of the future and a team with multiple future Hall of Famers.