Things to watch tonight in Sioux Falls

As the Tulsa 66ers look to move to 4-0 on the season against Sioux Falls tonight in South Dakota, here are three keys to the game.

1. The inside play. Chris Richard looked better last night, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds for Tulsa. However, there were some troubling signs. Sioux Falls outscored Tulsa 66-48 in the paint and outdid Tulsa in blocked shots 7-4 (with Greg Stiemsma having five blocks for the Skyforce). Tulsa and Sioux Falls were even in terms of rebounds last night, and it was Richard grabbing the inside boards and Mustafa Shakur harnessing the long rebounds (he had eight) that paced the 66ers.

Make no mistake that Sioux Falls will look to pound the ball inside to Stiemsma and Keith Brumbaugh tonight.

2. Shakur's play. Tulsa's point guard carried his team when they needed it most last night, including scoring eight of his season-high 32 points in overtime. Will Shakur be able to keep up the pace or will his shoulders be tired tonight? If he can drive and score, then dish off when covered, Tulsa will find success. He is the catalyst of this team and is currently Tulsa's best shot to be a D-League All-Star.

3. Quality minutes. With only eight players going last night for the 66ers, there can be no weak links. Everyone stepped up last night, contributing at different times and in different ways. It's going to take that kind of mentality to pull off another win tonight in Sioux Falls. The old saying, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" is very appropriate for Tulsa right now.