OKC Happy to be Home Ahead of Homestand
Ten games into the NBA season and the Oklahoma City Thunder will finally get an extended stay at home.
Over the next eight days, the Thunder won’t have to leave OKC, hosting four games at the Paycom Center in the meantime.
With such a young roster, Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault has made it a point to say part of the job of the coaching staff this year is to help OKC’s young core develop their routine and acclimate to to life in the NBA.
Daigneault is excited to return home for an extended stay because it will help those young guys continue to grow in that area off the court.
“It’s good to sleep in your own bed for eight days or whatever it is,” Daigneault said after practice on Thursday. “It’s also good from a routine standpoint. All the other things that going into being a professional, from lifting to nutrition… everything that we need is here whereas on the road it’s like piecing that together.”
Mike Muscala said he’s looking forward to the homestead because it gives him a chance to bring in some familiar faces while he’s home for a week.
“I’ve got some family coming in town today,” Muscala said on Thursday. “And it’ll be good to play in front of the home fans and be home for a while.”
The Thunder will host the Kings, the Nets, the Heat and the Rockets before headed out to Milwaukee next week, and it’ll give Oklahoma City fans a chance to once again migrate back to the Paycom Center after a surprising start to the year. Those four teams are a combined 21-26 so far this season, giving OKC the opportunity to snag a game or two to keep their momentum rolling.
Riding a three-game winning streak, the Thunder have started to come together as Derrick Favors has worked himself into game shape and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey continue to mesh in the Oklahoma City backcourt.
It’s always good to be parked in the same spot for an extended period of time, but the team is excited about the opportunity ahead of them over the next week.
“It’s good for routine and it’s good to get guys on a normalized, familiar schedule as well as playing in front of your home fans,” Daigneault said. “So it’s good to be home.”
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