Vitals: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Jersey Nets

Originally Published: Nov 30, 2010 7:4 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

New Jersey Nets (6-11) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (12-6)
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 6 p.m. CST
Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Game 18 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

Injury Report: None to report

Where to find it:
TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know...

At this point last year, the Nets were well on their way to setting the NBA record for losses in a season. New Jersey, however young it might have been, was considered one of the worst teams in some time after starting the season 0-18. The Nets came through and avoided making history, winning 12 games on the season to avoid the Philadelphia 76ers' 1972-73 record of nine wins all year long.

While the Nets are certainly no powerhouse this year, they are infinitely better than last year's squad. New Jersey already has six wins at the start of December, whereas last year's Nets still had only six wins well into the month of March. The Thunder, meanwhile, know what the Nets went through. In Oklahoma City's first year as the Thunder in 2008-09, it started off 1-15. But the organization has since been an epitome of how to build a franchise the right way - through the draft, player development and plenty of patience. Oklahoma City posted the league's biggest turnaround in wins from 2008-09 to 2009-10, and have only continued to improve since. OKC's 12-6 record currently has it sitting in the sixth spot in the Western Conference despite one of the tougher early schedules in the NBA to start the year.

Who to watch...

When Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets were not seeing eye-to-eye at the beginning of the season, The New Jersey Nets were among the most mentioned suitors for Anthony. But despite the notion of one of the league's superstars potentially dropping into their own back yard, the Nets made a statement to the league when they refused to part ways with their rookie forward Derrick Favors in a trade. And Favors has been returning the favor so far this year, showing plenty of potential and putting up solid numbers in limited minutes. Favors averages seven points and six boards, but also plays fewer than 20 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Nets big man Brook Lopez is one of the best young centers in the league and could provide problems for an undersized Thunder frontcourt - what else is new?

Before the season, everyone was talking about Oklahoma City's potential for an NBA MVP in the 2010-11 season and there is no question that is still a viable possibility. The new question that has come up through the start of the season, however, is who that MVP might be. Many analysts have started tossing around Russell Westbrook's name in the MVP race, and ESPN's MVP projection even has him as high as second, behind Orlando's Dwight Howard. Westbrook has averaged 24 points, 8.6 assists and five rebounds through the Thunder's first eight games and is cementing himself as an All-Star point guard despite the tough competition in the Western Conference. While it would be ludicrous to call Westbrook a better player than Kevin Durant, it would be safe to say he has played better so far this season and is much more than just a "sidekick" to Durant in the long run.