Gaining Momentum Heading Into Break is Crucial For OKC Thunder

After enduring a brutal schedule to close the month of January, Oklahoma City has been able to weather the storm within the Western conference’s intense playoff push. The Thunder have gone 3-2 over the first two weeks of February, with a game against the Pelicans on Monday night.

With wins over both the Trailblazers and Lakers in that same time frame, the playoff push seems to be more feasible now than ever. The Thunder was able to leap frog Portland in the standings and distance itself even further from Los Angeles. With two games left before the All Star break, Oklahoma City is 27-28 and slotted in at the last play-in spot. The two games left before the break in action? The struggling Pelicans, just a game ahead of the Thunder in the standings, and the Rockets who own the worst record in the NBA.

Oklahoma City’s matchup against New Orleans on Monday night is certainly critical for playoff purposes. But in reality, the last two games before All Star Weekend seem like massive games for the Thunder’s direction the rest of the season. At just one game under .500, the team could make a push for the play-in, or even more.

At this point a season ago, Oklahoma City sputtered into the All Star break losing five of the last six games and in possession of an 18-40 record. Things seem to have changed drastically, though.

After Saturday night’s 44-point effort in Portland, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is up to 31.0 points per game, shooting 51.1% from the floor. He’s certainly been one of the NBA’s best players this season and has taken the superstar leap.

Mark Daigneault has started to pickup low key Coach of the Year steam as the wins continue to pile up. Oklahoma City has the No. 13 ranked defense in the NBA, paired with an offense averaging the third most points per game over the last 15 contests.

Stan Van Gundy on Mark Daigneault: "He really should be in consideration for Coach of the Year."
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) February 8, 2023

Gilgeous-Alexander and Daigneault will certainly generate more postseason award chatter if the Thunder find a groove down the last stretch of the season.

If it wasn't clear before the trade deadline, OKC is more than fine with letting the season play itself out. With a streak of bad losses, a shift towards development could still be on the horizon. If Oklahoma City can take care of business twice this week however, the positive momentum would likely be too much to cause the Thunder to change course. Snatching two wins heading into the All Star break, having a winning record and being firmly locked into a play-in spot would be the perfect way to end the Thunder's surprising first half of the season.

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