What to watch for tonight when the Cavaliers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a pre-Thanksgiving matchup:

-  One of the results of the ouster of P.J. Carlisemo was the Kevin Durant will be getting minutes at small forward, instead of the shooting guard spot.  Durant has small forward height (6′9″), but he’s on the light side (at 215 lbs he’s giving up about 40 lbs to LeBron James tonight).  Durant’s speed will be a greater asset at the 3, but he’s going to take some punishment he was able to avoid last season at the 2.  Durant has been shooting much better this season, he has stopped constantly hoisting 3-pointers (take a note LeBron), and he looks like he’s developing into a Carmelo Anthony-type player.  And yes, between LeBron, Danny Granger and now Kevin Durant, CavsHQ agrees to cut out the Carmelo Anthony comparisons for the rest of the month at least.

-  Both the Cavs and the Thunder are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, with the Cavaliers romping to a win over the Knicks while the Thunder lost a heartbreaker to the Phoenix Suns.  The schedule certainly favors the home team tonight, but the Cavaliers have to avoid looking past the Thunder to the Thanksgiving holiday.  Well, at least for the first quarter.

-  Former Cavalier Joe Smith is currently a member of the Thunder, thanks to the trade that brought Mo Williams to the Cavaliers.  It wouldn’t be a complete shock to see the Thunder move Smith and his expiring contract at the trade deadline, so he could end up back in a Cavalier uniform if things work out.  I wasn’t too disappointed to see Smith leave in the Williams trade, but I wouldn’t mind the Cavs reacquiring Smith for the right price to help ease the late-season minutes of Ilgauskas and Wallace.

Go Cavs.

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