Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

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Oklahoma City returns for the second time in six weeks, which is the schedule doing everybody a favour for once. A team assembled almost entirely from players other franchises did not want badly enough, playing a style that is difficult to defend and close to impossible to look away from, is worth seeing twice in a season rather than once. The half past five tip on a Saturday is the single most useful slot in the week - early enough that the evening afterwards is completely intact, late enough that the day before it was not wasted waiting around. March also means the standings have become arithmetic and everybody in the building is doing the same sums three games ahead. Come for the version of this fixture where both sides actually need the result. A late-afternoon Saturday also means the restaurants downtown are empty when you come out, which is the reverse of the usual arrangement and considerably more pleasant.