The Oklahoma City Thunder have had success at home, but their road struggles are holding them back.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came into the 2017-18 season with some huge expectations. After acquiring Paul George and Carmelo Anthony via trades this offseason, the Thunder were a trendy pick to be contenders for the NBA Finals. With those two players alongside Russell Westbrook, the Thunder had put together their own formidable Big Three.
However, things have not yet gone as planned. Bringing together three alpha males will take some time to adjust to. Westbrook, George and Anthony are all used to having the ball in their hands a majority of the time, something that will change now that all three of them are on the same team.
The Thunder currently own a 7-9 record. They are tied for ninth place in the Western Conference with the Memphis Grizzlies and are tied for fourth place in the Northwest Division. That isn’t where Billy Donovan and company expected to be, as Oklahoma City has a lot of work to do.
Taking a look at the team, their weakness is painfully apparent. They just cannot win away from Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder are 5-2 at home, but 2-7 on the road. They have lost five consecutive road games. Granted, they haven’t faced the easiest road schedule, but only one of the teams they have lost to on their current skid is in the top seven of the Western Conference.
Regardless, those are teams the Thunder should be competing with. Oklahoma City has the talent to be in the top half of the Western Conference but things haven’t come together yet. Digging deeper into the stats, there really isn’t anything that sticks out as to why the Thunder struggle so much on the road.
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Their splits are rather similar. At home the Thunder are shooting 45.4 percent from the field and scoring 107.1 points per game. From the 3-point line, they are shooting a respectable 36.1 percent, which would rank them 15th in the NBA. They also average 26.4 free throws per game, making 19.9.
The Thunder are strong defensively at home as well. They’re allowing opponents to average only 97.9 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting. That defensive effort doesn’t slip much on the road, as they are giving up 99 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting on the road.
Oddly enough, Oklahoma City actually averages 100.1 points per game on the road. They have a positive point differential on the road but have a 2-7 record. They make nearly the same amount of shots, 37.6 per game, on the road as they do at home. It takes them nearly three more attempts, 86.2 to be exact, so their efficiency drops some.
Where the biggest difference is at the free throw line. On the road, the Thunder average only 19.8 attempts and make only 14.3.
So, if the Thunder play relatively the same, as a team, at home as they do on the road, why is the outcome on the road so much worse on the road? One big reason is Westbrook.
Westbrook’s home and road splits have been eye-popping thus far. At home, he looks like his normal dominant self. His shooting splits of .463/.485/.788 is strong. His averages of 24.1 points, 10.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game are also good.
A true shooting percentage of 58.7, an offensive rating of 113, a defensive rating of 99 and a Net Rating of +17.1 are all great. However, this numbers plummet on the road.
On the road, Westbrook has a ghastly shooting split of .344/.213/.625. Those numbers get even uglier when taking a closer look. Westbrook has taken 42 more shots in road games but has made just as many on the road as he has at home. He has attempted 14 more 3-pointers but has made six fewer.
On the road, Westbrook is averaging 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game. His true shooting percentage is a brutal 41.3 and his ratings are abysmal as well. His offensive rating is 92 while his defensive rating is 102. His Net Rating is arguably the most incredible stat, as Westbrook is -1.5 on the road compared to the +17.1 at home.
When your star player is performing that poorly, it is difficult to overcome. The Thunder have two other capable players in George and Anthony, but Westbrook’s performance thus far on the road has been horrible.
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There is still a lot of basketball to be played, and Westbrook will more than likely turn things around. However, until he does, the Thunder could continue struggling on the road until their leader gets going away from Oklahoma City.