There's no denying that the OKC Thunder were absolutely decimated during Thursday night's Game 6.
With a prime opportunity to win their first championship since relocating from Seattle back in 2008, and to do so while rubbing it in the face of all Indiana fans in attendance out at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, no less, Oklahoma City was absolutely walloped by the hosting Pacers, as they were bested in literally all areas of play and, ultimately, downed by a final score of 108-91.
Though it goes without saying that no Thunder fan should be pleased with the idea of this series now being stretched to a Game 7, if there's one saving grace from this unfortunate turn of events, it's that the ball club is now currently projected to win big in this winner-takes-all showdown -- and the reason why is painfully obvious.
OKC Thunder have been absolutely ferocious at home all season
According to the folks at FanDuel Sportsbook, Oklahoma City is viewed as -350 favorites to win Sunday night's finale, and for good reason.
Including both the regular season and playoffs, the Thunder have been far and away the most successful team when playing in front of their home crowd, as they sport a league-leading record of 45-8 in such contests while boasting the best net rating along the way.
On top of this, they are 2-0 in series-clinching games played out at Paycom Center this postseason (won by +32 and +30 against the Nuggets and Timberwolves, respectively) and, perhaps the most optimism-inducing trend of all, they haven't lost two games in a row since early April.
NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander specifically finds himself raising his level of play when at home this season, as he is averaging a ridiculous 33.1 points, 6.7 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks on 52.7 percent shooting from the floor and 38.3 percent shooting from deep in such contests throughout both the regular season and playoff combined.
Most importantly, he seems to cut down on his turnover frequency out in the Sooner State (averages 1.9 at home compared to 2.8 when on the road), which, considering he coughed up a whopping eight possessions during Thursday's drubbing, is certainly a nice change of pace.
Of course, even with this favoritism from the odds-makers, the Thunder can't afford to look at Game 7 as a sure-thing -- after all, they came into the series with overwhelming odds to win the whole thing and even had some believing they wouldn't lose a single game.
Still, with how they've fared in front of their hometown fanbase throughout the year, it's easy to see why confidence is high in this OKC team.