How the OKC Thunder's Upcoming Home Stretch Can Restore Balance
Following Oklahoma City's fumble to the Los Angeles Lakers on the road on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, the Thunder have now lost two of its previous three outings.
Losses have typically been strung in pairs for this team throughout this season, but a loss to the ninth-seeded Lakers and dead-last San Antonio Spurs a few nights prior has set the Thunder back minutely early in the month of March.
After recovering the first seed in its win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday evening, the loss to Los Angeles quickly relinquished that to the Minnesota Timberwolves once again.
On Wednesday, Oklahoma City holds a very manageable matchup versus the Portland Trail Blazers to help steer things back on course. It's certainly not a given of course, as though the Thunder are 3-0 on the season series looking to sweep, the Trail Blazers did give them fits in their previous meeting – with a final two-point difference of 111-109.
This contest will mark the end of Oklahoma City's four-game road trip, which lead into a Thunder home stretch two days later.
Four games spanning just under two weeks, the Thunder's upcoming time at home can help them capitalize in a familiar environment – and can only assist their pursuit to separate as the one seed in the West.
The Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks will all see Oklahoma City in the coming games. Oklahoma City holds a victory over each of these teams other than the Pacers, who they haven't played yet this season.
The Heat will be the opponent to open the Thunder's home stretch, as they're 8-2 in their last 10. In their last meeting, Oklahoma City broke the Heat's six-game chokehold they'd had on them stemming from 2021.
The Grizzlies – who've had a tough go this season following a slew of injuries and sit 13th in the West – are fresh off breaking a five-game losing streak against the Nets, and have both the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks ahead of their meeting with the Thunder on March 10.
Indiana is currently toting the line as a playoff team in the East, but looks like they could get out of being forced into a Play-In Game if they can outdo Miami down the stretch. This will be the first meeting between the Thunder and the Pacers on the season as mentioned, and could be an attainable win for the hometown team inside Paycom Center.
The final matchup to close the string of contests at home, and arguably the toughest, will be the Mavericks on March 14. A nationally televised game on TNT, both teams will be under the spotlight, and especially the two MVP candidates in Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This will be the second to last matchup in the season series as it's currently tied 1-1, with the last meeting coming on April 14.
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