OKC Thunder Has to Clean House on Easy Portion of Schedule

OKC Thunder Easiest Road Trip

• March 17 @ Orlando Magic
• March 18 @ Brooklyn Nets
• March 21 @ Washington Wizards
• March 23 @ Philadelphia 76ers
• March 25 @ Boston Celtics

Interestingly, the most extended road trip is also the easiest set of games. What is the biggest challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder will face? Don't get caught in an end-of-season daze looking ahead to more meaningful games as they battle with a pair of tanking teams, two that project to be at best mediocre and just one actual threat out East. Being away from home for nine days can take a toll on a team, especially when the games themselves do not bring much excitement.

On the flip side, what if the 76ers stay healthy and the Celtics are better than expected this season? That quickly turns into a more difficult stint with the Wizards proving a year ago, with their two-game sweep of Denver, they can play their best basketball in Mickey Mouse March. All of which come on the road while facing the projected top four-seeded Magic.

Still, the Thunder can't sell this as a difficult stretch even if all five teams are better than advertised the Thunder remain the more talented and deeper roster than any of those squads have to offer. Depth that will absolutely come into play at this stage of the season. Oklahoma City should be favored in all five matchups despite taking the show on the road.

OKC Thunder Easiest Home Slate

• Jan. 23 vs. Indiana Pacers
• Jan. 25 vs. Toronto Raptors
• Jan. 27 vs. New Orleans Pelicans

Oklahoma City was already a force at the Paycom Center. While rattling off 68 games a year ago, the Thunder went 35-6 at home. This three game home stand is the least threatening of the bunch.

While the Indiana Pacers are interesting as a Finals rematch, without Tyrese Haliburton and the recently departed Myles Turner, they are asking a lot of their role players to take massive steps this season the heights they can not reach to outduel the Thunder.

The Raptors would be lucky to be an in-name-only playoff team if they can capitalize on the weakened Eastern Conference, but the Thunder play in an entirely different stratosphere than their neighbors up North.

New Orleans can never be counted on to stay healthy, especially once the calendar flips to January, as their preseason prognostication leaves the Bourbon Street ballers out of the Western Conference playoff race. These are the kind of games that any team hoping to be in the top four of the competitive Western Conference, as the Thunder aim to stake its claim to its third straight No. 1 seed.