Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the San Antonio Spurs in it's first regular season game on Thursday, Nov. 1. Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. EDT and the game will broadcast live on TNT.
The NBA general managers predict that OKC could be one the teams to win the Western Conference and make it to the 2013 finals. Overwhelmingly, the GMs said OKC will win the Northwest Division.
About 30 percent of the GMs predict that forward Kevin Durant will win the 2012-2013 MVP title.
Durant, last year, averaged 28.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the floor and 86.0 percent from the line.
The OKC roster features rookies Perry Jones and Jeremy Lamb, newcomers Kevin Martin and Hasheem Thabeet and regulars Durant, Russell Westbrook, Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins.
Head Coach Scott Brooks said it's exciting to figure out ways to get better.
"A lot of times you have to improvise on the fly," Brooks said. "We're a no excuse team... When they step on the floor tomorrow night, I expect them to play at a high level and know everything we do."
According to a report, "Brooks has instilled a defense-first mentality in each player that the team hopes will carry over into the season, starting tomorrow night."
"We have to always have that defensive mindset, our guys believe it," Brooks said. "It's something that we have to do every night. Some nights are going to be better than others, that's part of the gig, but I like what we do and it's defensive-minded basketball."
The Spurs are coming off a win last night over the New Orleans Hornets.
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