Losing to Indiana last night was tough. If they had one last night, they would be tied for the 5th seed with Phoenix and 2 games ahead of 7th in front of San Antonio. But, that didn't happen. All is not lost, it just makes this week more difficult. Tonight they are at home against the Spurs. They have a one game lead over them. A loss tonight would put the Thunder in 7th. A win would keep them in 6th and put 2 games between them and San Antonio and more breathing room going into the last 14 games.
The Thunder play the Spurs, the Lakers, Houston, and Portland. Going 2-2 would be fine. That would keep them in the playoffs and still have a shot at a good seed. Anything above that would be great. Anything below that would put them in danger of falling to the 8th seed. It all starts tonight with San Antonio.
Houston may be the biggest game of the week. Right now, they are the first team not in the playoffs. They can win 50 games if they run the table. That makes the Thunder's magic number 9, since they have 42 wins. So, winning that game would reduce the magic number by 2.
Portland is a game and a half behind OKC. Sweeping the Spurs and the Trailblazers would distance OKC from the bottom to seeds and keep them in the hunt for the 5th seed. With the 5th seed, they would likely face Utah, the team they have had the most success with of those in the top 4.
As a sidenote, Russell Westbrook played limited minutes with a stomach virus last night. Eric Maynor did good, as usual, in his absence. But, they are going to need everyone at full throttle this week.
GO THUNDHER
Keywords: basketball, durant, houston, lakers, los angelos, nba, okc, oklahoma city, portland, san antonio, spurs, thunder, westbrook
