Thunder Facing Longest Road Trip Of Season

DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 29: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks protects the ball from Shai … [+] Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half of the game at American Airlines Center on October 29, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

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The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently 9-13 on the season and entering their longest road trip of the season. Over the next 11 days, the Thunder will play in five games away from Oklahoma City, all of which are against projected playoff teams.

Dec. 3: Minnesota Timberwolves
Dec. 5: Atlanta Hawks
Dec. 7: Memphis Grizzlies
Dec. 10: Cleveland Cavaliers
Dec. 12: Dallas Mavericks

To put the difficulty of this slate into perspective, these five teams have a combined home record of 41-16 on the season. That’s a winning percentage that would be second in the entire NBA when comparing to the teams around the league.

This is a pivotal moment in the Thunder’s season, as the outcome of this trip could really dictate the trajectory of their season.

As of now, there’s only two teams with a record worse than Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. If this road trip goes poorly, there’s a real chance the Thunder could be four or five games out of the play-in race.

Considering teams in that range generally have a winning record, OKC would have to have a significant run over the final 50 games to get to that point. For example, if the Thunder were to only win one game on this road trip, they’d have to go 32-23 the rest of the way to finish with a winning record.

On the flip side, a successful five-game stint here would could pull Oklahoma City to .500 or better. Furthermore, upon the Thunder’s road trip coming to a close, they will have seven-straight games at Paycom Center including 11 of their next 13 contests at home.

What’s promising for Oklahoma City is that its previous road trip was fairly successful.

Early in November, the Thunder faced a four-game road trip, against some of the best teams in the NBA, going 2-2 in the tough slate. This was incredibly impressive for the second youngest roster in NBA history, as Oklahoma City showcased a ton of growth.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the helm, this team has the ability to beat anyone. Although inexperienced, this team has a ton of talent and plays extremely hard. This is why the Thunder lead the NBA with 12 comebacks of 15 or more points dating back to the start of last season, including four this season.

Regardless of who they match up against, the Thunder find ways to keep games close. While often inconsistent, Oklahoma City has shown flashes of being a solid offensive and defensive team.

Coming out of this tough road trip, will the Oklahoma City Thunder be trending towards being a bottom five team in the NBA, or will they be roughly .500 and ready to keep pushing for the play-in?

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholascrain/2022/12/03/pivotal-milestone-thunder-facing-longest-road-trip-of-season/