Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 reasons why they’re in the playoff hunt

1. Chris Paul still productive

Coming off his second year with the Houston Rockets, Chris Paul averaged 15.6 points per contest on 41.9 percent shooting from the field. Considering the conversion rate was the lowest of his storied career, the consensus was that Paul was no longer capable of being a productive force on the court.

So far though, Paul has proven the naysayers wrong. His scoring is up nearly two points per outing from last season (17.4). His 48.5 percent conversion rate is the fourth-best mark of his career and he is also converting 36.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Being that Paul is the team’s primary playmaker, it is expected that he would lead OKC in assists (6.7 per game). However, CP3 has also been a disruptive force on the other end of the court as well and leads the Thunder in steals with 1.6 per contest.

These factors, as well as the Thunder being ranked second in the league in opponent fourth-quarter scoring, has contributed to the team being tied for the sixth-best record in the Western Conference.

Even more important, if OKC can duplicate the same level of success during the second half of the season, they will present a formidable challenge to any team they face in the first round of the playoffs.