Thunder’s West Coast Trip Could Jumpstart Another Winning Streak

The Thunder dropped a disappointing matchup to the lowly Spurs on Thursday night and now the team is trying to figure out what went wrong to make sure this doesn’t become a habit. Oklahoma City was on a six game win streak and had a chance to make it even longer with a relatively favorable schedule on deck. The intensity lacked and the Thunder let its guard down against one of the NBA’s worst though, and lost one of its worst games of the season.

Of course, the attention was on Victor Wembanyama’s big night and late game domination of the Thunder — and Chet Holmgren. In reality though, Holmgren was one of the only reasons the Thunder was even in the game, and the focus should’ve been on the team’s porous defense.

Known for being a rock solid defensive squad, Oklahoma City allowed the Spurs to shoot 52.7% from the floor and 48.7% from 3-point range. When your opponent knocks down 19 triples at a near 50% mark, it’s almost impossible to win — it’s as simple as that.

There’s no time for the Thunder to sulk though with the Western Conference race being so tight. Maybe this is the wake up call that the team needs. Although extremely talented, this young Thunder squad can’t sleep walk towards the finish line. Two marquee matchups on deck should provide Oklahoma City all the hype it needs to get back on track. It’s not the 12-win Spurs, it’s the star-studded Phoenix Suns and the red hot Los Angeles Lakers.

Both Western Conference playoff teams, Oklahoma City has to show up — and play its best. It doesn’t seem possible for Phoenix or LA to catch the Thunder in the standings, although the Suns are closer at 6.0 games behind. But it’s impossible for the Thunder to be caught off guard by two solid teams on the road.

If the Thunder can string together two massive victories — and that’s a big if — the schedule lightens up quite a bit and another winning streak could start to build.

After Phoenix and LA, Oklahoma City continues its road trip against the free falling Portland Trailblazers. Then, there’s a four game home stand on deck against the Heat, Grizzlies, Pacers, and a chance to get revenge against Dallas. From there, Oklahoma City has three more game against lottery bound teams in Memphis again, Utah and Toronto.

The loss against San Antonio stings, but the Thunder are still tied for first in the Western Conference. Using it as motivation to begin another win streak could be just what Oklahoma City needed.

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