A quarter of the way through the season and the Thunder are still going strong. At the beginning of the season the playoffs were not something most Thunder fans though a possibility. Now 20 games into the season and some experts are predicting not only will OKC make the playoffs but they will do so as a 5 seed.

First a recap of the Thunder season thus far.

Oct 28th Sacramento

A good start to the season, we saw the beginnings of the defensive stopper Sefolosha would become. Westbrook had a good game and really worked well with Krstic.

Oct 30th @Detroit

At the time Detroit was expected to be a better team, a certain playoff team and one that would challenge for a top 4 seed. Now they are sub .500 but still projected to get a playoff spot because they play in the East.

Nov 1st Portland

Sefolosha shut down Roy, but Batum shut down KD and the Trailblazers proved to be the deeper team. The key thing to take from this game... the defense, hold someone to 83 points and 9 times out of 10 the Thunder win.

Nov 3rd Lakers

Sefolosha comes up big defensively time and time again in this game. The Lakers get the win but the Thunder get the confidence. If they can take the Lakers to overtime and have multiple chances to win they can beat anyone.

Nov 6th @Houston

KD and Westbrook step up for the Thunder but nobody else joins them. Meanwhile the Rockets have 5 players in double digits and 1 more with 9. Not surprisingly the Thunder do better when teams have a go to scorer which the Rockets lack.

Nov 8th Orlando

What a beating, the Thunder beat a shorthanded Magic team soundly. Orlando probably overlooked the Thunder, but a 30 point win is a 30 point win. You don't beat the defending Eastern Conference champs by 30 unless you have some talent.

Nov 10th @Sacramento

This was a disappointing loss to say the least. The Kings have some talent but really the Thunder played more like the Thudner dropping an egg on the road.

Nov 11th @Clippers

An important win on the road, the Clippers were without Eric Gordon but still had Chris Kaman. Kaman went 9-26 due to good defense by Krstic, Collison, and Ibaka. The Thunder escaped despite Westbrook going 1-11 and Green going 5-13.

Nov 14th @San Antonio

This was a big win over a playoff contender. Right now the Spurs are projected on the outside looking in come playoff time but it's the Spurs so I doubt that really happens. OKC is now 2-0 the last two times they have played down in San Antonio.

Nov 15th Clippers

You just beat the Spurs on the road; now you get to come home and face the cellar dweller Clippers what are you going to do. That's right display the maddening inconsistency that most fans can only associate with Oklahoma State football. The OSU fans know what I am talking about.

Nov 17th @Miami

Okay now maybe this team is for real, they just lost at home to the Clippers but even good teams lose a clunker at home every once and a while. The Heat are a strong team with good depth that is expected to be in the top 4 in the east come playoff time.

Nov 18th @Orlando

Orlando gets it revenge for the 30 point beat down they received in OKC. This one wasn't as close as the score indicated; it was every bit the same kind of domination OKC put on Orlando earlier. But the second half of a back to back on the road against the #1 and #3 teams, at the time, in the East you kinda get a pass.

Nov 20th Washington

This one had upset written all over it; the Thunder were back home against the Wizards who were finally all healthy. The Wizards are a better team than their record indicates mainly due to key injuries however they were full strength for this game in OKC.

Nov 22nd @Lakers

The Western conference champs looked dominant this time against the Thunder. Artest in particular did a good job of disrupting KD's rhythm. Ibaka and Harden got extended playing time in this one and showed why they are not ready to start. Harden went 2-15 including 0-10 from three and Ibaka went 4-12. This was an expected loss but most fans would have liked to have seen the Thunder be more competitive.

Nov 24th @Utah

Another nice win over an expected playoff team, this one has the added benefit of being in division. With all the injuries to Portland this game gives the Thunder a leg up on second in the division. Coming up the first game at Denver will be a good indicator of how far the Thunder have to go to get to the top of the Northwest division.

Nov 27th Milwaukee

Russell Westbrook played perhaps his most complete game of the season. I don't know if he took offense to all the experts fawning over Jennings but he beat the rookie in every facet of the game. Milwaukee is another team on the road to respectability and a possible playoff contender but tonight the Thunder showed the Bucks have a long way to go.

Nov 29th Houston

Despite losing Luis Scola in the opening minute of the game the Rockets again dominated the Thunder. The Thunder just don't seem to play good defense against the Rockets.

Dec 2nd Philadelphia

This is another solid win over a middle of the pack eastern conference team. Philadelphia is a good team that is capable of winning a lot of games but the Thunder took care of business which is a step in the right direction. These are the games the Thunder need to win in order to make the playoffs, the games they are expected to win.

Dec 4th Boston

Another huge loss to a top tier team, to be honest this game while painful to watch did not bother me. The Thunder are going to get beat bad sometimes by teams like the Celtics, Lakers, and Magic. Most teams are that's why they are the top teams in the league.

Dec 7th Golden State

The Thunder salvage the home stand with a win over the Warriors. Sure it would have been nice to get out 4-1 but the Boston game was not going to be a win and Houston is tough. Getting out 3-2 means the Thunder won the games they were supposed to but didn't pull out any upsets.

So 11-9 not bad considering the Thunder have played one of the most difficult schedules to date. The Thunder have wins over Orlando, Miami, San Antonio, and Utah all playoff probables. In the West there are 9-10 teams competing for 8 playoff spots with 3 sure bets, 4 very likely barring a major injury, and 3 hoping the chips fall the right way. In the East there are 5 teams that are sure bets and about 8 other teams trying to get on a roll.

The Sure things

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers probably could have traded everyone but Kobe and Gasol for D league players and still had a great shot to make the playoffs. Artest, Bynum, Odom, and Fisher just make the playoff inevitable. The only real question with the Lakers is will they get the one seed or can Denver or Phoenix steal it away.

Denver Nuggets

Denver is capable of losing to anyone at anytime, case in point Nov 29 they drop one at home to a Minnesota team missing Kevin Love and starting Damien Wilkins. Think about that for a minute the Nuggets couldn't keep Damien Wilkins from going 6-11 for 15 points and 12 rebounds. During his stay in OKC Wilkins had a total of 70 rebounds against the Nuggets he got 12 in one game, Also that was his first double double in 4 years and only his fourth in his career. However this same Nuggets team beat the Lakers 105-79. Can they steal the one seed from the Lakers? Only if they are more consistent.

Phoenix Suns

They will make the playoffs that much is almost certain, they are 3-5 against playoff teams, all on the road, with wins over Boston, Miami, and Houston. The Suns are a team that is going to greatly benefit from an easier schedule going forward. The Suns have played 15 games on the road so far this season compared to 7 at home. The Suns also will benefit from home court advantage in the remainder of their games against playoff teams.

The Highly Likely

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs have beat the Lakers, Utah, Houstonx2, San Antonio, and Phoenix. The Mavs are really close to being a lock for the playoffs but with losses to Memphis, Golden State, and New Orleans and close wins over Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Milwaukee I am just not sold yet. The Mavs have only played 9 games against playoff teams this year, 4 on the road and 5 at home, but they have gone 6-3 in those games.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets have played 13 games against playoff teams, in those games they are 5-8 with losses to San Antonio, Atlanta, Portlandx2, Lakers, Dallasx2, and Phoenix. Their 5 wins consist of OKCx2, Lakers, Portland, and Utah. Houston has played the most games against teams likely to make the playoffs. Despite losing Tracy McGrady and Yao before the season even started the Rockets are in good position to make a playoff run. If/when McGrady comes back it will be interesting to see how the Rockets work him into the rotation.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder started out 0-3 against playoff teams before beating Orlando at home. They followed that up with wins over San Antonio, Miami, and Utah. The Thunder still struggle against the top tier teams losses to Boston, Orlando, and the Lakers show that but they are beating the middle of the pack playoff teams. I don't think the Thunder are going to get the fifth seed like they are currently projected but they should be a lock for a sixth or seventh, and hopefully avoid the Lakers in the first round.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz have gone 4-6 against playoff teams this season. They have wins over San Antoniox3 and Portland, not exactly murderers row. Going 1-6 against playoff teams not named the Spurs is not a great indicator of future success but they are beating the other teams they play which is key to making the playoffs. As long as the Jazz can pull out a few wins at home against playoff teams they should be able to make the playoffs.

The Struggling

New Orleans Hornets

The team that is struggling the most is the Hornets, the Hornets are struggling through a season of turmoil, they fired Byron Scott and in doing so alienated their star point guard, traded Tyson Chandler for salary cap release and in doing so alienated their star point guard, and have suffered multiple injuries. As it stands now the Hornets are not likely to be contending for a playoff spot late in the year barring a trade or some other drastic improvement. The Hornets are not likely to make a trade to get better as they are already over the cap and have made efforts to get below the cap already.

Portland Trailblazers

Portland started out the season racking up the wins over inferior competition. Against playoff probables the Trailblazers were 3-6. Now coupled with injuries that knocked out Oden for the season, Batum is out with torn cartilage with no return date available at the moment, Fernandez is out 4-6 weeks after back surgery, and Outlaw is still not back after a foot injury sidelined him for most of November. That's a starting center and small forward as well as backup shooting guard and small forward. Couple those injuries with a schedule that is going to get a lot harder in the coming months and the playoff chances are looking bleak.

San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio is the third team that made the playoffs last year that is struggling this season. San Antonio, like Portland, has struggled against playoff probables so far this season. They are 2-8 against teams likely to make the playoffs, so the Spurs have played 18 games 10 of which have been against likely playoff teams. The Spurs beat Houston and Dallas while losing to Portland, Utahx3, Dallas, Boston, OKC, and Denver. The Spurs typically get off to a slow start and with this schedule it's no surprise this year, however their performance against playoff teams is concerning if the Spurs are going to compete for more than a 7 or 8 seed.

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