Following a 108-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night, the Thunder have now dropped four out of their last five games, and three straight overall.
But, the team is showing no signs of concern.
Point guard Dennis Schroder was asked after the loss to the Sixers if he was worried about the recent skid.
“Hell no,” Schroder said.
Tobias Harris led the Sixers to its first-ever win in Oklahoma City with 32 points while Jimmy Butler added 20 as Philadelphia snapped a 19-game losing streak to the Thunder.
Russell Westbrook and Jerami Grant paced the Thunder with 23 points as the team played without Paul George due to a sore right shoulder. The loss of George was evident throughout the night as the Thunder struggled to gain offensive consistency, falling behind by as many as 16 points in the process.
While the Thunder trailed early, the team managed to cut the deficit down to one possession with 28.5 seconds left in the game. Schroder was happy with the team’s effort without George and still believes they are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
We’re in the third spot. We didn’t have P, who is the MVP, in my opinion, this season. People stepped up from the bench. When we play the right way, nobody can beat us. That’s how we come in every day. It’s no cockiness. It’s just how we believe in ourselves. I think we just gotta go out and compete and play together.
The Thunder have struggled in the first half in three out of the four games since the All-Star break. The team has often faced double-digit deficits by halftime and that was once again the case Thursday night.
Westbrook recently said the team just needs to come out with better energy to start games but the group has yet to do that. Playing without George certainly presented issues for the Thunder but the players inside of the locker won’t use that as an excuse.
The Thunder have picked up impressive wins this season so there is plenty to be optimistic about. The team will need to get back on track before the playoffs begin, though, and they have just over 20 games to do so.
