After a nearly two-week hiatus, the Oklahoma City Thunder are set to play in front of their home crowd again at Paycom Center on Tuesday.
Plenty of benefits came from the Thunder’s Round 1 sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans. It allowed the youthful Thunder to enjoy another extended break and rest their legs.
One small downside though is the time between home contests. The Thunder haven’t played in front of their playoff crowd since their Game 2 win over the Pelicans on April 24.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — who recently became a father — is excited to play in front of the OKC faithful for the first time in nearly two weeks. The 25-year-old is usually showered with ‘MVP’ chants when he dominates and gets to the free-throw line.
“I can’t wait. It’s been too long,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Our home crowd is amazing… It’s a real homecourt advantage. We love it.”
The Thunder are notorious for having one of the best homecourt advantages in the postseason because of their active home crowds.
There were concerns of being rusty after not hosting a playoff game for five years, but those were quickly dispelled after Game 1 against the Pelicans. It was a near-deafening environment that shook the grounds of downtown OKC.
After just four games in the last three weeks, the Thunder return to a regular schedule of playing every other day against the Dallas Mavericks. OKC’s playoff atmosphere is a nontangible boost for the Thunder in their hopes to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
