At the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, everyone probably thought the Oklahoma City Thunder were dead in the water. Kevin Durant was set to miss up to a month with a broken foot, Russell Westbrook (hand) got hurt after just one game and the team was forced to deal with a litany of injuries to role players across their roster.
Despite all of the chaos, the Thunder held ground enough to get Durant and Westbrook healthy and now are zeroing in on the eighth seed out West. The Phoenix Suns could spell trouble in OKC’s bid to get back to the playoffs, but once in, all bets will be off.
While they don’t look it by record at the moment, the Thunder are still the same team that has appeared in the Western Conference Finals in three out of the last four years. That type of consistent success has naturally beefed up the value of Thunder tickets, while a slow start to this season has oddly kept them only around $179.70 on average.
With the Thunder heating up and getting closer to a playoff spot, we can probably expect their ticket prices to rise steadily. Let’s take a closer look at their value by analyzing their two most expensive OKC Thunder home games in the month of February:
2/8/2015 VS. Los Angeles Clippers | Average Ticket Price: $237.04 | Get-in Ticket Price: $54
In a rematch of last year’s Western Semi’s, OKC welcomes the Clippers to town. Oklahoma City topped the Clippers in the playoffs last year, but thanks to their ridiculous amount of injuries, wasn’t up to par in a 93-90 loss in L.A. back in October. Now at full strength, however, OKC should give Chris Paul and co. an even tougher fight.
This matchup has grown into a bitter rivalry, one that the Thunder seem to have the upper hand in, but also can’t totally shake. L.A.’s effective inside/outside punch of Paul and Blake Griffin makes things hard on the Thunder, who don’t always get consistency from players not named Durant and Westbrook. If the Thunder can get timely scoring from Dion Waiters and Steve Adams can hold his own down low, however, OKC should be able to tie up the season series.
The cheapest tickets are currently just $54 for the Thunder – LA Clippers game, so it’s a pretty good value right now for a potential playoff preview.
2/19/2015 VS. Dallas Mavericks | Average Ticket Price: $171.45 | Get-in Ticket Price: $34
Thunder tickets drop $66, according to ScoreBig, in this killer value buy against the Mavericks. Dallas has the better record but have been slipping of late and aren’t quite as formidable on the road. Dallas does have the weapons on hand to match anything the Thunder have to offer, and even took the first meeting of the year, 112-107, in a shootout. Fans can expect much more of the same, as Dallas operates one of the league’s most potent offenses, while their defense has even seen improvement ever since the team traded for Rajon Rondo.
Of course, Rondo’s presence has had the offensive efficiency dip some, and that temporary stagnancy is what the Thunder will be looking for when Dallas comes to town on the 19th. Topping teams like the Mavs is key for OKC’s push for the playoffs, so they’ll need to bring their best effort to get it done and get this series tied at one game apiece. Regardless, this should be an up tempo, high-scoring affair that is worth every dollar, with this game coming in under OKC’s season average.
