The Thunder are thankful to be home after the holiday!  Five consecutive games worth beginning tonight against the surprising 8-5 Milwaukee Bucks at the Ford Center. This is a season long stretch of time of having the luxuries of multiple practices and a five game home-stand over the next two weeks. And what an opportunity at 8-7 for Oklahoma City to begin making hay and moving substantially above the .500 mark. Nothing given, Houston (8-7), Philadelphia (5-10), Boston (11-4) and Golden State (5-9) visiting the Ford Center after Milwaukee tonight on this stand.

Tonight, before addressing the Bucks, OKC is again without key reserves Nick Collison and Kevin Ollie with knee ailments AND Kyle Weaver (7 points, a career-high tying 3 blocked shots in Tuesday's ten point win at Utah) due to a shoulder injury. So the Thunder have signed six year veteran Mike Wilks to back-up Russell Westbrook (16.5ppg, 6.9apg) at the lead guard spot. Tonight sensational rookie scoring point guard Brandon Jennings (23.4ppg, 5.8apg) and ex-Seattle floor leader Luke Ridnour (10.7ppg, 4.0apg), who's playing terrific basketball, are the Bucks one-two punch at the point. They combine for 34.1ppg, 10.8apg!  They lead a Bucks offense that's averaging 100ppg on a robust 38.4% three point shooting. An offense that now has one-time All-Star shooting guard Michael Redd (10.3ppg) back from injury and features an outstanding bench led by long, athletic Hakim Warrick (11.4ppg, 5.6rpg).

This is a challenging foe and and it will be a late 8:30pm CT start as the game is nationally televised on ESPN. It is a great opportunity for the young Thunder to validate, in the minds of those that have yet to see them play and are intrigued from a distance, their progress on the court. What are the keys to gaining win number 9 this season? Protect the ball. The Bucks force 17.4 turnovers a game and feed off of mistakes that they create with a ball-hawking defense. Rebound as a team enmasse. Milwaukee averages nearly 3.5 more rpg than the Thunder, so it will take a unified across the board effort for Oklahoma City to hold it's own on the glass.  Defend the three point line with tenacity. The Bucks are fifth best in the NBA in long range accuracy at 38.4% three point shooting as an outfit and they attempt a whopping 22 treys a night.  OKC yields just 30.3% three point accuracy to it's opponents. It will be important to keep that trend intact in this game. And the Thunder must simply PLAY HARDER than the Bucks from start to finish.  Scott Skiles coached teams are scrappy! It will be important that the Thunder beat the Bucks to the punch consistently to take full advantage of the home court in front of a captive national television audience.