The Portland Trail Blazers (6-8) fly into Oklahoma having won their previous three games. Portland defeated the Atlanta Hawks 114-110 on Sunday and is enjoying their first three-game winning streak since last November. They haven’t won four straight games since October 24, 2022, which makes this matchup against the Thunder all the more exciting.

Oklahoma City (11-4) comes into this game after two straight losses. The Thunder suffered a two-point loss to the Mavericks on Sunday despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 36 points, and they were defeated by the Spurs 110-104 last night.

This is the second game of a back-to-back for Oklahoma, while Portland has had three days off.

At a glance

WHO: Portland Trail Blazers (6-8) at Oklahoma City Thunder (11-4)

What: A midweek showdown between conference rivals

When: Wednesday, November 20 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time)

Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Why it’s important: The Blazers are trying to extend their best winning streak of the season to four games

How to watch: You can see via antenna or cable options on the Rip City Television Network; for streaming; BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington and League Pass elsewhere.

Injuries at Trail Blazers: Matisse Thybulle, Deandre Ayton (doubtful); Anfernee Simons (doubtful)

Thunderstorm injuries: Isaiah Joe (daily); Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Nikola Topic (out)

What can you expect from the wind players?

With the exception of a small handful of players, the Blazers’ roster is young. This is likely to be the first three-game winning streak for many of these youngsters: they will undoubtedly come into this game excited and ready to make it four in a row. Expect a lot of energy from people like Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara.

Additionally, expect Portland to take advantage of this banged-up Thunder team, especially given their lack of rest as they play the second game of a back-to-back. Watch as the Blazers take the ball to the basket often, make mistakes and sap their opponents’ energy early.

What to expect from the thunder

Oklahoma is back home after a disappointing loss to the Spurs. But this Thunder team is no picnic, especially at Paycom Center, where they are 7-2 on the season. Expect Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company to push hard to get back into the win column.

The Thunder are one of the best defensive teams in the league this year, allowing opponents just 103.5 points per game. Expect nothing less in this battle with the Blazers. Their defensive men will work hard to stifle the Blazers’ high-energy offense by locking up key players and forcing mistakes.

Questions from readers

Thank you all for the questions! We always look forward to hearing from you, so keep an eye out for posts like this one asking you questions about the game.

From Jalmond:

Do you think the Blazers win because of Billups and his staff, or despite Billups and his staff (just luck)?

Luck has nothing to do with it. Chalk these early season wins up to young players maturing. Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara all have another year under their belts, and it’s starting to show in the win column.

From The Mind of Petteri Koponen

In what ways can the Blazers benefit from Chet’s absence from the Thunder lineup?

Watch Portland try to score as much as possible in the paint against the Thunder. With Holmgren and Hartenstein out, Oklahoma is short on big men. This means strong drives to the basket by Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, and perhaps more playing time for the Blazers’ new big guy, Donovan Clingan.

From ClingFree:

Given Chet Holmgren’s situation (and Hartenstein’s situation), does OKC wish they hadn’t traded Alperen Sengun for even more draft picks? Could they trade some of those picks for Deandre Ayton or Timelord?

If only it were that simple. Due to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, teams that trade among themselves must match (or at least come within a certain percentage) their incoming and outgoing salaries. Of course, there are trade exceptions that could change salary matching requirements, but for simplicity’s sake, let’s leave these out of our comparison. In order for the Blazers to offload Ayton and/or Williams III to Oklahoma, they would have to receive salary filler in the form of other players from OKC. This would certainly reduce the number of draft picks the Thunder would be willing to let go of in any deal.