OKC Thunder in Prime Position for Late-Season Push Before Playoffs
The All-Star Weekend could prove significant for the Oklahoma City Thunder. This time last season, the Thunder had begun to show its potential as a young fun team. So far this season, they've proven every bit of that potential they showed to open up 2023.
With a 37-17 record heading into the All-Star break, the Thunder has a chance to build on an incredible start to the season. As things stand, the team has the second-best net rating in the league, trailing only the Boston Celtics, the NBA's best current team.
Last season, despite the Thunder showing its incredible potential as the calendar year rolled over, they finished just 12-13 after the All-Star break. It didn't help that they had a five-game losing streak as soon as they resumed to action. Remove that, and they finished the season 12-8.
Evidently, the current iteration of the Thunder is a much better team, and the additions of Gordon Hayward and Bismack Biyombo are coming at the ideal time. The two are providing veteran depth that adds talents that suit what the Thunder need.
As the team resumes back to regular season action after a week-long break, the team should be energized and fresh, which should benefit a team that's been incredibly lucky when it comes to remaining healthy. Doing this while bringing in two players who have the potential to be playoff contributors should allow the Thunder to remain in good form coming out of the break.
As the current No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the LA Clippers and one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, a strong finish to the season could be crucial to the team's playoff positioning, which will matter if the Thunder wants to win a playoff series and continue building experience as they find out what their ceiling is on the season.
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