The OKC Thunder face the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time this season. T.I. preview the match with keys to winning and game specifics.
If there is a team who have owned the OKC Thunder in recent history it is the Portland Trail Blazers who swept the season series in 2017-18. Moreover, the Thunder haven’t won at the Moda Center in their last eight visits.
OKC arrive as the third seed in the West with a two and a half game margin over the fifth place Blazers. The Thunder have lucked out with their early strength of schedule but things are heating up as the New Year begins.
The good news is the quality of defense the team is playing; the bad news is the lack of offense OKC is bringing to the hardcourt. There are standout performances like the win over Dallas, but the team must deliver more consistent efforts of that nature especially with the teams in queue.
Entering the match both teams have won seven of their last 10 games. OKC’s three losses came against the Wolves, Rockets, and Mavericks. Portland’s three losses came versus the Warriors and twice to the Jazz. Of the seven wins in this stretch the Blazers have beaten some quality teams but in fairness, OKC can only play who the schedule dictates.
On tap over the next 15 matches, the Thunder will face the Blazers and Spurs twice and Lakers again. In addition, OKC plays four Eastern seeded squads (76ers, Bucks, Heat, Celtics) and Western clubs attempting to move up (Wolves, Pelicans). Five contests feature top 10 offenses and four top 10 defenses.
The point is this is the juncture when teams are looking ahead to the break and it’s a critical time to navigate. For the Thunder, it begins in Portland where they need to capture a victory to build momentum for this schedule stretch.
With that, let’s examine the keys for the OKC Thunder to break the Moda Center jinx.