OKC Thunder's Matchup With Raptors Snaps Streak of West Battles

Oklahoma City’s schedule has been tough thus far, but it will get a bit easier in December.

The Thunder have established themself as the top team in the West again this season, winning 16 of their first 21 contests. However, their schedule has been somewhat unusual.

On Thursday, the Thunder will be in Toronto to face the Raptors for the first time this season. It will also be the first time they have faced an Eastern Conference opponent in over a month. Since the Thunder’s Nov. 4 win against the Orlando Magic, they have played exclusively Western Conference teams. Over the past month, the Thunder have boasted a 9-5 record in that stretch despite Chet Holmgren’s injury and playing a handful of games without a big.

The Thunder’s overall 13-5 mark against the West is the best in the conference, with no other teams having more than 10 wins and a few other teams tying the Thunder with only five losses. The 31-day stretch between games against teams from the East is by far the Thunder’s longest this season, with the next longest being a 15-day span in late January into February.

Along with finally playing a team from the East again, the Thunder’s schedule begins to fill with Eastern Conference opponents in December. Thursday’s game in Toronto is the first of six against teams from the East, with a five-game stretch of only Eastern Conference opponents from Dec. 19-28.

While they went a month without matching up with the East, the Thunder still played three interconference matchups near the beginning of the season, winning all of them. While the Raptors are 7-15, they have won six of their 10 home games, making this a matchup Oklahoma City can’t overlook.

Although this is the lone trip across the border and homecoming for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, the Thunder will soon get familiar with the East Coast, playing another four road games against the East later this month.

Oklahoma City has navigated a gauntlet of Western Conference opponents throughout the past few weeks, but with a game in Toronto and more matchups against the East on the horizon, the Thunder could gain some significant separation as the No. 1 seed.

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