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Dissecting the OKC Thunder Road Woes and Regressing Defense

By Tamberlyn Richardson

Mar 5, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) looses the ball while guarded by Dallas Maverick forward Wesley Matthews (23) at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) looses the ball while guarded by Dallas Maverick forward Wesley Matthews (23) at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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OKC Thunder
Jan 26, 2017;  Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) drives to the basket against OKC Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis (3) and center Steven Adams (12). Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Home versus Road Disparity:

Of the 30 teams in the Association, only three teams (Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards) have a better home win percent than the Thunder. Conversely, 15 teams have better road records than the OKC Thunder.  To put this in perspective, the Thunder have a home winning percent of 74.2% versus a road win percent of 37.5%.

Related: 5 Reasons Thunder Fans Shouldn’t Panic

To put this in perspective, the Thunder have a home winning percent of 74.2% versus a road win percent of 37.5%

While the Thunder has been bad on the road all season they’ve been spiraling of late. To wit, they’ve lost 7-in-a-row on the road, including recent consecutive losses to lottery teams (Blazers, Suns, and Mavericks). In fact, the last time OKC won a road game it was January 25th versus the Pelicans.

Further, there are specific areas that can be pinpointed where the Thunder struggle on the road versus home:

Post All-Star Break:

Although a small sample size, the stats are even more stark post All-Star Break and trades.

Given the roster changes (and loss of Oladipo) seeing an upswing at home is encouraging. But, the OKC Thunder road numbers have regressed in this same time frame. The most concerning part of this regression are that the three losses were all to lottery teams.

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