Thunder Set to Enter All-Star Break Just Below .500 on the Season

To the surprise of many, the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to be a competitive team as the NBA All-Star Game approaches this weekend. Despite being projected to win just under 25 games on the season, the Thunder currently sit at 27-29 with one game remaining until the break in action.

With that in mind, getting to .500 on the season continues to be a massive hurdle. Over the course of the past month, Oklahoma City has had several opportunities to break even on the season. Most recently, the Thunder had a chance to do so against the New Orleans Pelicans, but fell late in what was a sloppy performance all around.

The last time OKC has been .500 this season was back in early November, when the team was 4-4. Since then, the Thunder haven't been able to reach this threshold. The way the Western Conference is shaking out, it appears any team that can get to .500 or better when it's all said and done will likely at least be in the play-in tournament.

Oklahoma City will have one more contest before the break, as the Houston Rockets come to town. With a win in that game, the Thunder will have yet another chance to get to .500 just after NBA All-Star Weekend with a matchup against the Utah Jazz.

The Thunder should be favorites against both the Rockets and Jazz, meaning if they take care of business they should be at .500 right on the other side of the break. If that happens, they'll look to continue being competitive over the final 24 games and be a surprise postseason team.

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