It's difficult to take Oklahoma City as a serious contender in the Western Conference because of its 12-20 road mark. But the Thunder are near elite status when playing at home going 23-8 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Thunder return home in stop-the-pain mode after going 0-3 SU and ATS in their three-game road trip that ended Sunday. The Thunder began that trip with a 114-109 loss to Portland this past Thursday. So add short revenge motivation to the list of incentives for Oklahoma City.

Portland is similar to Oklahoma City in being terrible on the road losing 22 of 32. Translating into point spreads, the Trail Blazers are 8-20 ATS during their past 28 away contests. Oklahoma City is 21-8-1 ATS during its past 30 home games. The Thunder have covered 16 of the last 22 times versus opponents with a losing record.

It's a plus for the Thunder that they should have back shooting guard Victor Oladipo, who didn't go on their three-game road trip because of back spasms. He practiced Monday.

Portland was supposed to play last night, but its game at Minnesota was postponed due to condensation on the floor. So the Trail Blazers flew to Minnesota, sat around and then flew to Oklahoma City. They might be fresher physically by not playing, but not necessarily mentally with the rare postponement of a game after the trip already was made.