OKC Thunder: 3 keys to finish road trip strong in Cleveland

The OKC Thunder will finish their three-game road trip in Cleveland today. It’s been a tough seven-game stretch. This segment featured five road games, two overtimes, and six playoff-seeded opponents.

Six losses and a three-game losing streak aren’t ideal but to reiterate this season is about growth and lottery picks. Given that fact, there are copious positives to pull from the losses because the team battled despite often being shorthanded.

Today they’ll play a team who didn’t begin the season with the intention of tanking — the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers roared out of the gate playing over .500 through the first 15 games (8-7). That included impressive victories versus the 76ers and consecutive wins against the Harden version Nets.

Since then they’ve fallen off dramatically winning just twice in their next 15 games and are mired in a nine-game losing streak.

One of the worst losses occurred in their last match Friday, against the Nuggets (103-120). Jamal Murray dropped 50 points on an insanely efficient 21 of 25 from the field. It was the first time in NBA history a player reached that benchmark without taking one free throw.

While the Nuggets are an elite team the Cavaliers had four days to prepare because their game in San Antonio was canceled. Worse — they had the inspiration to play well given Denver beat them by 38 points (133-95) just 10 days prior.

As both teams seek to end losing streaks let’s look at three keys to netting the victory.

3 keys to OKC Thunder defeating the Cavaliers:

Key number 1:  Play to identity

For those who’ve watched the Cavaliers, there are positives to draw as many youngsters have stepped up. The big question is what is the Cavaliers’ identity? I’m not sure they even know.

When they were winning early in the season they possessed the second-ranked defense in the league and 28th offense. It appeared through those 15 matches they were going to hang their hats on defense.

Yet, the next 15 games tell a different story. During this segment, the Cavaliers possessed the 29th rated defense. Entering the game today their seasonal rankings are 24th on defense and  30th offensively.

So if they aren’t committed to defense and struggle to score who are they?