Thunder vs. 76ers Preview: Three Keys To An OKC Win

The suddenly-hot Thunder head to Philadelphia on Friday for a massive showdown with the 76ers. OK, so massive showdown might be a slight overstatement.

Philly (9-59) is undoubtedly one of the worst teams in NBA history. The Sixers have lost 20 of their past 22 games and both wins have come against the horrid Brooklyn Nets.

It’s hard to say which result would be more surprising on Friday: A 76ers win over the Thunder or a Cal State Bakersfield win over Oklahoma in the NCAA Tourney.

But stranger things have happened, right? So let’s take a look at three keys to a Thunder victory:  

1. Make the bus

Listen, life on the road in the NBA is tough. It’s not like playing at home, where players can run some errands, play Xbox, hit up Chipotle and then casually take their own cars right down to the arena – the travel schedule can get pretty exhausting. That’s why it’s so important for the Thunder to focus hard on making the bus to the game on Friday. It’s hard to win a basketball game unless you show up to the arena, even against the Sixers.

2. Don’t oversleep

We all know that sleep is important. In fact, most doctors recommend about eight hours a night. But as nice as sleep feels, the Thunder players need to make sure they wake up when their alarms go off and hop on out of bed. Hard to win a basketball game lying down, even against the Sixers.

3. Remember the uniforms

The NBA has become more and more strict about uniform violations. Any little slip-up could result in a heavy fine from the league. Just imagine how bad it would be if the Thunder forgot their uniforms altogether? Forget a fine – they wouldn’t even be able to take the court, and that might just result in a loss, even against the Sixers.  

If the Thunder take care of these three critical departments, they should leave town with a hard-earned W. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. CST.