For the first time this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are over the .500 mark having beaten the Miami Heat 94-86.
The win was OKC’s third straight following a 112-101 loss to the Houston Rockets, in addition to a bumpy stretch which included the two blowouts against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings in California. However, Thunder fans shouldn’t make any plans for the postseason just yet.
As of today, Oklahoma City is still three games behind the eighth-placed Phoenix Suns and there are some tough games coming.
First up on Saturday will be the Atlanta Hawks, the best team in the Eastern Conference, which could easily add to the Thunder’s deficit and help extend the Phoenix Suns’ lead to 3.5 games.
Soon after that, it will be the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Arena to complete the five-game road trip out East.
Some may be inclined to think that since the Cavs have struggled this season and OKC has already beaten them once before, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get another win on the board. However, it is worth noting that LeBron James missed the first meeting due to a knee problem.
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So barring any new developments, he will be healthy and leading a full strength Cleveland squad that has seemingly found their mojo recently, having won four straight games.
Things do get a little easier with matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks – a.k.a. the two worst teams in the NBA. Although, soon after that, they will face the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and the L.A. Clippers.
Memphis has proven to be one of the best teams in the association, with Marc Gasol putting forth a solid case for Most Valuable Player honors; the Clippers – despite being shaky at times – are legitimate title contenders; and the New Orleans Pelicans have already beaten Oklahoma City at full strength.
That makes it five tough matchups for Scott Brooks’ team to endure within the next eight games. Heck, even the three “easy” ones against New York, Orlando and Minnesota are potential banana skin games. As we’ve already witnessed before, OKC has been prone to slip ups – i.e. getting clobbered by Sacramento.
Furthermore, the Suns aren’t the only competition for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. The Pelicans are also in the mix as they are just one game behind the Thunder at this point in the race. And with the likes of Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Tryeke Evans among their ranks, they certainly have the talent to make this an interesting three-way battle.
Nonetheless, there are some positives for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have played two games less than the Suns, meaning they could close the gap to just a single game – or perhaps even leap-frog Jeff Hornaceck’s men.
The Suns have a brutal run of games which coming up. In the next seven games they will face the Houston Rockets, Clippers, Wizards, Chicago Bulls, Warriors, Grizzlies and Portland again. Those are seven of the 10 best teams in the NBA with Chicago holding the “worst” record at 27-16. Yikes!
At least Phoenix can take comfort in knowing that five of those games will be played on their home court. Still, that is a vicious run of games to endure.
As for New Orleans’ schedule, it’s not as harsh as the Suns’ but it is still equally important. They will go against the unpredictable L.A. Lakers; Minnesota; Dallas; Philadelphia; Denver; the Clippers; Atlanta; Oklahoma City twice; and Chicago.
While all the games mentioned are crucial, no doubt, they will be circling the two against the Thunder. In the event in which the teams’ records are the same, the head-to-head series will be used to determine which team advances to the championship period. As things stand, OKC and New Orleans are tied at one apiece so winning those two games could be huge.
Ultimately, whichever team escapes the next 10 games with the best record will surely be in pole position to claim the eighth-seed in the Western Conference.