Views from OKC is a daily diary about the current state of the OKC Thunder. Today we take a look at the mini-road trip this week.
I’ll be honest, I feel weird writing about professional basketball. My basketball mind is 95% concerned with March Madness and only 5%
NBA
OKC Thunder. Sorry to the other 29 teams but you’re going to have to take a step back until March is over. Even yesterday’s Views was dedicated to the Big Dance. From here on out, however, I promise Views will strictly be Thunder talk. And today we’re talking a very important topic: OKC on the road.
After two big wins against a tired San Antonio team and a depleted Jazz team, Thunder fans are high on the squad once again. I’m still a little bullish considering this team has been streaky all season, let alone the fact that neither victory came on the road.
It’s obvious that this young team feeds off the college-like atmosphere produced in Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder score eight more points a game at home; their overall +/- differential is a whopping 12.5 points higher at the Peake. It’s nice knowing the team is comfortable playing in front of their own crowd but the huge discrepancy is disconcerting.
TI NEWS: Join Thunderous Intentions’ March Madness Challenge!
Oklahoma City is 12-20 away from home this season. Against current playoff teams they are 6-12 with the last win coming in Utah on January 23rd. It’s imperative for this team to throw all that information out the door when they go into Brooklyn tonight and Toronto on Thursday.
We’ve detailed the reasons for the road woes as well as how those struggles can be reversed in past posts; I don’t want to rehash that. I want to talk about why this mini-road trip is so important.
The next three days are set up perfectly for the Thunder. Playing Brooklyn tonight gives OKC the opportunity to get over this seven-game road losing streak; at this point the boys just need to prove to themselves they can win away from home. The negligible Nets are the NBA’s perfect solution.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
After that Oklahoma City travels to Toronto for a matchup with the Kyle Lowry-less Raptors. Toronto has played fine in his absence, but they are by no means a championship contender without him. A Thunder win would look and feel more impressive than it truly is, but that’s okay. This team thrives on swagger and confidence and beating former Thunder Buddy Serge Ibaka would surely help in those regards.
There’s one more big reason why these next two games are important; Golden State comes to town in less than a week. I can’t live happily without the Thunder beating the Warriors once this season. I assume the team feels the same way.
A Warriors win would bring the ultimate confidence and swagger to the OKC Thunder as they enter the final stretch of the season. Don’t you trust a four-game win streak Thunder team over the same team coming off a win against the measly Sacramento Kings?
Through all the inconsistencies of this season, that’s the one thing I’m sure we all can agree on.