Oklahoma City is currently sitting just one game below .500 on the season. They’ll have the chance to rectify that tonight when they play the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City but there’s more than just an even record on the table. The Thunder sit at 28-29 as the final stretch of the season gets underway. That would qualify them, if the season ended right now, for the Play-In Tournament along with the Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Warriors. OKC is holding on to the 10th seed in the Western Conference by just a half a game. Who’s lurking at #11? You probably already knew this but it’s the Utah Jazz.
Tonight’s game is about holding off the teams below and trying to advance on the teams above. Both of those are attainable with a win but this is a pretty volatile situation because a loss could drop the Thunder to as low as the #12 with the Lakers suddenly breathing down their necks. Portland, who currently possesses the #12 spot and just a half game behind OKC, is on the road at Sacramento and the Warriors, who are in the #9 spot and a half a game ahead of OKC, are playing at the Lakers. This is where we should note that Golden State is just 7-22 away from home on the season. We’ve reached the final week of February and every game from here on out has ramifications on positioning for the playoffs.
OKC has been surging since the start of the year. The Thunder produced a 9-5 record and owned the second-best net rating in January (7.6). Through the first 31 days of the year Oklahoma City had the fourth highest points per game (121.1) on 49.5 percent FG, the tenth highest assist rate (26.1), the third highest offensive rating (119.8), and the ninth best defensive rating (112.1). The Thunder are just 4-3 in February so far but have four games remaining on the schedule this month (two on the road and two at home).
After back-to-back years of tanking a playoff push is finally on the table again in Oklahoma City. The Thunder haven’t produced a winning record since the 2019-20 season and subsequently that was the last time they made an appearance in the postseason. OKC is trending in the right direction as of now and maintaining that trajectory of maintaining their position, or even advancing, is the priority. If they take care of that then getting above .500 becomes a non-issue as one will take care of the other.
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