OKC Thunder embroiled in the calm before the storm

The tough get going

This all leads us to ask ourselves how far the Thunder are able to move up the standings. The first and second seeds are firmly gripped by the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets. Seeds 3-5 are realistically out of reach and in relatively safe possession by the Trail Blazers, Rockets, and Jazz.

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This leaves a race to the bottom in seeds 6-8 alongside the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers have four games remaining, three of which will be particularly tough challenges with the Rockets, Warriors, and Jazz. The Spurs have a much easier route to the sixth seed with only the Nuggets, Wizards, Cavaliers, and Mavericks left on their schedule.

Now is the time for OKC to visualize and capitalize. See the result – be the result. The Thunder can play the jester as well as any team if they commit to excellence and stay true to their team identity. Oklahoma City won’t shy away from the Warriors or Nuggets in a first round series (#WhyNot?), but they would, of course, prefer to take on one the two juggernauts in the Western Conference finals.

As I mentioned in a previous article, the playoffs are a new season. The win-loss column from the regular season no longer matters. The only thing that does matter is the one and only playoff series the Thunder are guaranteed. That one-series season can be 4-7 games, and it’s up to the Thunder to choose what they want it to be.

OKC lost its first four games of the season. The Thunder can soften that early blow with five wins at the end to surpass that number. All this to say: it’s now how you start, it’s how you finish.