Last Week: Lost to Dallas Mavericks 127-106, Beat Toronto Raptors 113-103, Lost to Phoenix Suns 140-103, Lost to Portland Trail Blazers 133-85
This Week: 4/5 vs. Detroit Pistons, 4/7 vs. Charlotte Hornets, 4/8 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 4/10 vs. Philadelphia 76ers
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the most recent trend is that the team has committed even further to the tank since the trade deadline. They are competitive on most nights (ignore the blowouts that happened this week) but it is time to dig in, rest of some of their more injury-prone players and stack up the losses on the path to potentially adding a franchise-changing player.
Al Horford has been shut down for the season, with the promise of a trade during the offseason. This is the longest-range example of the recurring trend of sending veterans home to preserve their trade value. Starting months in advance is the progression of an untenable situation but that is for the CBA to handle.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also out for an extending period of time, dealing with plantar fasciitis. It will be hard to win games with their leader out of the lineup until at least mid-April but seemingly a different member of the Thunder steps up every day. Moses Brown had a 21 point, 23 rebound performance in March. Theo Maledon dropped 33 points in a losing effort on Friday. Aleksej Pokusevski is good for a few highlights per night. Just enjoy the ride on the tank for what it is.