Closing February Stretch Crucial for Thunder

Oklahoma City has rested and rejuvenated over the All-Star Break, but on Thursday they are back in action to begin the finishing stretch of the season.

OKC will begin the second portion of the season with a four game stretch to close out the month of February. The four games all hold major importance for the Thunder as they can help build momentum toward the end of the season and will help the team in the highly contested Western Conference.

The Thunder open up the stretch with the Utah Jazz on Thursday in Utah. The Jazz are just a half game behind the Thunder for the 10th seed. OKC enters at 28-29, both looking to continue to hold a play-in spot and to get over the .500 hump. The meeting between the Thunder and Jazz will be the first of three meetings between the two teams in the next seven games for OKC.

The Thunder will also face the Suns and the Kings, twice, to close out the month. The four games are split between home and away, with the Suns and Jazz games being on the road, before Oklahoma City closes out the month with a home back-to-back with Sacramento.

All four teams are vying for layoff seeding, with the Kings and Suns likely comfortably in the postseason, while OKC and Utah will be battling for a play-in spot most of the second half of the season.

In the standings though, the Thunder are theoretically within striking distance of both the Kings and the Suns. Oklahoma City is just three games back of Phoenix, though their new trade deadline acquisitions will hope to see them separate themselves from the middle of the conference. The Kings are four games ahead of the Thunder.

The Thunder have faced the Jazz, Suns and Kings just a combined one time this season, falling to Sacramento 118-113 on Jan. 20 in Sacramento.

The stretch will show where OKC sits in terms of their playoff chances and where the team sits overall. While they theoretically could still climb in the standings with just four games separating the 10th seed from the third seed in the west, viewing anything above a play-in spot is a lot to ask from the youngest team in the NBA.

The Thunder have a February record of 4-3 so far, the upcoming stretch to close the month could be the difference in a higher draft pick or a playoff game. No matter the outcome of the four games their importance to the Western Conference standings remain with all four teams involved having a lot to lose, but even more to gain from wins.

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