OKC Thunder: 3 keys to end losing streak in Portland

The five-game OKC Thunder Western road trip has served to remind fans of the big picture. While the team jumped out to an impressive start their recent record is more indicative of a team aiming to land a top draft pick this coming offseason.

Through the last six matches, the Thunder have a single victory that occurred versus the Bulls and required overtime.

One carry-over of the winning streak to start the season is this team is fun to watch. In a bit of a catch 22, that’s oddly still the case in ousts. Typically, watching matches where your favorite is getting routed is torture.

Yet, even in those situations, there are long stretches of entertaining basketball from the Thunder. And without the pressure of making the playoffs, it also affords us the opportunity to follow the growth and development of the young core.

Heading into this back-to-back scenario versus the Blazers let’s look at three keys to the match.

Three keys to OKC Thunder match versus the Blazers

While the Thunder bring a three-game losing streak into tonight’s match the Blazers are 6-2 in their last eight games including some wins in clutch time.

But they’ve accomplished this while losing core contributors to significant injuries. Neil Olshey’s offseason additions positioned the Blazers well for a deep playoff run but undoubtedly he wasn’t planning on needing to rely on the new players so soon in the season.

OKC Thunder key no. 1 – Take advantage of shorthanded Blazers

For some reason, the Blazers always seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to injuries. This year is no exception as the trio of CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins are all out for the next month and longer.

Collins missed most of the 2019-20 campaign with a series of injuries but primarily one to his shoulder. It was assumed he’d start this season until news of the hairline fracture of his medial malleolus bone (for those wondering – that’s the rounded ankle bone that sticks out just above your sneaker).

Losing Nurkic added more pressure to the starting frontcourt as these two were expected to make a difference this season particularly defensively.

The most obvious hit is McCollum who alongside Lillard is the most consistently reliable talent. Through 13 games the shooting guard was posting career-highs in several key areas such as points (26.7), assists (5.0), steals (1.3), and 3-point efficiency (44.1 percent).

That puts a ton of pressure on Damian Lillard who’ll need to carry the team in their absence.