Thunder Riding Lengthy Losing Streak in Late Stretch
As the Thunder head to Orlando for the first of two matchups with the Magic in the next four days, they come in riding an eight-game losing streak. This is just the fifth time since moving to Oklahoma City that the Thunder have lost more than six straight games.
This time around the streak is due, in large part, to a lengthy injury list with a large portion of the team’s main rotation sitting at the end of the bench, watching in street clothes.
Let’s take a look at what led to the three other such streaks.
It may not come as a surprise to someone who has followed the Thunder closely the past few seasons that you don’t have to go too far back to find the franchise’s last streak of eight or more losses. In fact, you don’t even have to go to another season to find the most recent occurrence.
From Nov. 19 to Dec. 2 the Thunder dropped eight games as they dealt with a mix of injuries, offensive struggles and stout competition all capped off by an NBA record 152-79 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder were without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for three of the games during this stretch in which the Thunder managed just 97 points per game to opponents 112.
The next streak came from April 29 to May 14 of last season with the Thunder racking up nine losses along the way. The Thunder averaged 100 points a game while allowing 122.
Before that losing streak, the Thunder racked up 14 straight losses from April 2 to the 26th. This came as Gilgeous-Alexander missed the team’s final 29 games. A 119-115 April 27 win in Boston is what separated the two streaks, and separated the Thunder from being tied for the fourth-longest losing streak in league history.
These two streaks netted the Thunder the No. 6 pick and Josh Giddey.
The next most recent such streak came in the Thunder’s inaugural season in OKC, with the fifth, and final, streak coming just a month before.
From Dec. 3 through the 16th of the 2008-09 season the newly-crowned Thunder dropped eight straight. This streak came just one win following the franchise’s first 14-game losing streak — one that resulted in the firing of the first Thunder coach, P.J. Carlesimo.
Following a 1-2 start the Thunder embarked on a losing streak that saw Calesimo fired just 13 games into the season, and Scott Brooks installed as his successor. A second-year Kevin Durant was keeping the team in games with his 22.5 points per game while a rookie Russell Westbrook had yet to crack the starting lineup, averaging 12.6 points from the bench.
This time around the streaks resulted in the Thunder clinching the third pick and James Harden.
If you want to include the SuperSonic years, the team’s last season in Seattle brought multiple extended losing streaks as they headed toward a 20-62 record for the No. 4 pick. Safe to say that all worked out okay as the soon-to-be Thunder selected Westbrook with the fourth selection. It’s safe to say the Thunder front office is hoping this losing streak will net a similar result to the ones before.
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