Oklahoma City Thunder Remain Unbeaten on Their Home Court

It's still pretty early in the season, but home-court advantage throughout the playoffs is beginning to look like a big deal for the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The Thunder have an overall record of 19-4 this season, but are 12-0 on their home court, making them the only undefeated team at home in the NBA. And out of the four losses the Thunder have on the season, three of those losses (Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors) have been avenged in Oklahoma City.

Needless to say, the Thunder are pretty tough to beat in Chesapeake Arena, but why?

Well, it is probably the same reason all teams are better on their home court. The Thunder have loud, energizing fans that can get them going at any moment.

The Thunder have a lot of young players in Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Steven Adams and others who feed off the crowd's energy. Once those players start playing with confidence, watch out, because they can run with any team in the league. 

But on the other end of the spectrum, the Thunder are 7-4 on the road this season and have yet to beat an elite team. 

Is this something to worry about? Probably not. The Thunder haven't been totally blown out of any game with exception to the 100-81 loss to the Timberwolves in the second game of the season. 

After the Thunder started the season 5-3, there was pessimistic talk encompassing the Thunder suggesting they can only beat the teams they should beat but tend to crumble against teams they shouldn't beat. 

That talk was put to rest after the Thunder completed a six-game homestand sweep in which they avenged all three of their losses on the season. 

Darnell Mayberry on NewsOK.com quoted Russell Westbrook in reference to the Thunder's home dominance this season:

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'We never really talked about it, to tell you the truth,' Thunder guard Russell Westbrook said of this year's home dominance. 'But I think as individuals and around the locker room, we do a good job of just coming in here taking care of our fans and coming in and competing each and every night and trying to win the game.'

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Mayberry went on to talk about how this year's hot start at home for the Thunder compares to other years in franchise history:

"Before this season, the Thunder's best start at home was a modest 3-0 mark. For whatever it's worth, the franchise's all-time home winning streak to open a season is 13-0, which the Seattle SuperSonics did in the 1976-77 season."

It is hard to tell how long the Thunder will continue their unbeaten streak at home. Their next two home games are against the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors, both in which they should be able to take care of business. But after that, the Thunder go on to face the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, which will be a tougher test for the Thunder. 

But if there is anything to take from all of this, it is that the Thunder would be feeling pretty good if they stood at the top of the Western Conference standings by the end of the regular season, and had home-court advantage through the Western Conference Finals.

Like I said earlier, it is still early. The playoffs seem light years away, but it is something for the Thunder to keep in mind as they work through the regular season and attempt to reach their goal of claiming an NBA title. 

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