Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka have crowned the Toronto Raptors as serious candidates to win the Eastern Conference crown that was left vacant with the departure of LeBron James to the Lakers.

With a record of 51-21, second best in the NBA, the Canadian box is two games out of the box with the most victorious record, the Milwaukee Bucks, and still have time to try to snatch the throne from them and arrive in the best position. in the general table to the postseason.

This Friday they receive the Oklahoma City Thunder, at the Air Canada Center, a team that is experiencing a difficult moment in the season, but always represents an interesting test for their rivals because of the potential of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and his other figures .

The present of the Thunder is different from that of Toronto. Although OKC was in the top of the Western Conference standings, he currently occupies the eighth step with a mark of 42-30, a 2.5 games for Portland that is fourth, and seven games over the Sacramento Kings, which they are ninth and are currently out of the Playoffs.

Neither of them comes at a moment of grace, as the Canadians are 6-4 in their last ten games, while Oklahoma City has four of 10 possible wins. One of them, the most recent, was against the Raptors, who won 123-114 in overtime after equaling 110 units after 48 minutes of play.

That meeting was in the arena of the Thunder, so it is logical to think that at home, where they have the second best record in the league, the Raptors will regain the victory. As for points, the Thunder has averaged more than 10 points less than usual in their most recent meetings and Toronto exceeds its average by five, but there is a game with overtime and another against the New York Knicks, the worst set of the League, that inflate that number.