Thunder’s first four-game win streak comes at perfect time

33 games into the season and the OKC Thunder may have finally arrived.

Before we get to the meat of this post, let me be clear. The Oklahoma City Thunder have not reached their full potential. They are not prepared to beat the San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets in a seven-game series, let alone compete with the Golden State Warriors. But the last four games shows that’s the direction they’re heading.

The Thunder’s current four-game winning streak has been an enlightening experience. Russell Westbrook suddenly re-discovered his offensive rhythm, but this goes beyond the reigning Most Valuable Player playing like an actual MVP. It has everything to do with a total team effort.

Oklahoma City has won the past four games playing four completely different styles. There was the ugly, grinding Nuggets game that started the win streak. Then Utah visited Oklahoma City only to lose within the first 12 minutes. Atlanta tore apart the Thunder’s vaunted defense, forcing them to score a season-high 120 points and win on the final possession. Tonight’s Utah excursion was a combination of the three.

The point is, the Thunder are winning games however they need too. And that’s the sign of a team learning what’s necessary to win any and every contest they play.

Perfect timing for a win streak

It was only five games ago that I internally pondered whether or not Sam Presti should consider trading Paul George. OKC showed no signs of improving on the offensive end through 28 games. Carmelo Anthony, after a small stretch of basketball evolution, reverted back to his isolation tendencies. Westbrook was shooting like Andre Roberson. The taste of Kyle Singler playing time was still in my mouth. They may have publicly denied it, but at least a little doubt must have crept into the Oklahoma City locker room.

That’s why this four-game win streak, right before the huge Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets, couldn’t have come at a better time.

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Confidence in each other is something the Thunder have lacked all season. In these last four games, and especially tonight against Utah, OKC appears more comfortable playing together. The ball didn’t move for 48 minutes like we wanted to see, but in the third quarter when iso-ball dominated, a Billy Donovan timeout was all they needed to get back into their sets. The ability to change courses quickly was something the Thunder failed to do all season. Albeit against an injured non-Playoff team, tonight proved to me they truly are improving as a team.

Now they have to prove to themselves they can play this well together against a contender. If the Thunder were entering Christmas Day with the same level of turmoil prior to this winning streak it’s likely they’d revert back to their natural playing tendencies. But because they’re entering this game on their hottest stretch of the season, playing different basketball then they have all season, they have to force themselves to continue along this path.

Simply put, these last four games have shown them isolation ball and a lack of off-ball movement doesn’t bring them wins – utilizing each other’s unique skill sets does. A win against Houston isn’t the most important thing on Monday. All that matters is that the Thunder don’t revert back to their old tendencies.

Luckily they have the last four games as a reminder of that exact fact.