They will catch Phoenix, barring injury. What's tough is 7th and 6th are teams that will probably be working their way up, not down, if the other teams give them the opportunity.

fivethirtyeight.com has their odds at 88%, and that is probably as good of estimate as any.

Dion Waiters is like a less talented Westbrook. He doesn't give a crap how well he is or isn't shooting, he's gonna keep jacking them.

Westbrook finished the Cleveland game going 7 of 26 and Waiters went 5 of 15 (combined, 12 of 41 and 29.26%).

OKC's stagnant, pass-challenged offense did not need another emotionally volatile ball-hog with delusions of grandeur.

Yeah Westbrook is totally worthless.

We really missed Steven Adams today. I love Nick Collison as a player with a high basketball IQ but he was out athleted today numerous times today on rebounds that I am fairly certain Adams could have pulled down.

Waiters I am not going to argue on. Russell though, a lot of his shots missed today were no bad shots. He is in a bit of a shooting slump. Missed some easy buckets at the rim after he had blown by his guy (a common occurrence) and missed some open mid range jumpers. Open being the key word. If he was taking and missing a ton of bad contested shots your point would be a bit more valid.

Asking Westbrook to do something that negates his otherworldly ability is not smart. We have to live and die by it. Does it fit into everyone's "Basketball for Dummies" PG mold? No.

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Waiters I am not going to argue on. Russell though, a lot of his shots missed today were no bad shots. He is in a bit of a shooting slump. Missed some easy buckets at the rim after he had blown by his guy (a common occurrence) and missed some open mid range jumpers. Open being the key word. If he was taking and missing a ton of bad contested shots your point would be a bit more valid.

Asking Westbrook to do something that negates his otherworldly ability is not smart. We have to live and die by it. Does it fit into everyone's "Basketball for Dummies" PG mold? No.

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I don't think anyone is arguing that Westbrook should change his game drastically. He's a unique player. However, you'd think OKC would have been smart enough to not team him with Waiters. I can't think of anyone who thought that was a good idea. Waiters couldn't even gel with Labron.

Yea I agree, Westbrook is definitely a net positive. His decision making is still questionable from time to time, but he does more than enough great things to make up for it. Plus, as a team, OKC can cover for his shortcomings. But Waiters has major weaknesses in the same areas that Westbrook is weak, and when they get rolling together, they can sink the team by themselves. I mean 12/41 shooting... that is so many freaking shots for two guys that were both ice cold.

Westbrook shoots 30 shots and takes 12FT to get 40 and the Thunder still lose to the Knicks.

OKC does not worry me at all this year. Westbrook is not good. Even if they make it in, they're not beating anyone, especially anyone in the top 3 spots.

I can't see OKC making it in this year. Any other year that a team like that is 3 wins back at this point I would say they have a good chance. The NBA as a whole is just too good now. Phoenix is a legit team who won't faulter down the stretch. I just don't see how they make up the ground, especially with the injuries they continue to deal with on a seemingly weekly basis.

Phoenix beat Washington.

I still think OKC makes though I would LOL if they didn't.

If Durant can't stay healthy they won't make it, period.

i keep shurgging off the notion of OKC missing the playoffs, but what i said months ago is coming true.

even with both durant and westbrook back, they missed so much time that this team still hasn't figured out how to get in a rhythm together.

they just flat out aren't a good team. they have some of the best players in the NBA, but the individual pieces aren't enough. the difference between OKC and the Cavs is that OKC has westbrook controlling the ball, taking 30 shots a game, and only shooting 40% from the field. the Cavs have LeBron who distributes better than almost anyone, and when he does decide it's time to score, he's insanely efficient.

it's starting to feel like the NBA has figured out that no one can compete with both westbrook and durants athleticism, so they aren't even bothering trying. the talent around the rest of the NBA is catching up, so OKC can't simply run circles around people and beat them like that anymore.

don't get me wrong, i still don't want to face OKC if they do make the playoffs, but they just aren't that scary anymore. Golden State has just as much athleticism, and they actually run an offense and a defense to maximize their skill. OKC appears to just tell Westbrook "go run around really fast and jump passing lanes and if you don't get the steal, we will figure it out from there".

Piling on, but this video is too great not to share:
Hawks versus Thunder: A Tale of Two Offenses

OKC is at Memphis tonight. They really need that game.

Another loss for OKC. Brooks has got to go this offseason he is just an awful coach.

You are just now figuring this out?

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You are just now figuring this out?

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No. I've thought brooks was an idiot for years.

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You are just now figuring this out?

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No. I've thought brooks was an idiot for years.

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Just thought?

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You are just now figuring this out?

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No. I've thought brooks was an idiot for years.

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Just thought?

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Shut up.

He's smart enough to cash dem checks.

Looking like I may have to check out of here soon.

Hard to believe how little room for error there is right now for OKC. That Suns/Pelicans/Thunder battle will continue till the last day of the season.

Man, when KD first came back I figured they'd steadily creep into 7 or 8. They won't even leapfrog NO, let alone the Suns.

For the conspiracy fans, especially those who root for the Suns: I could see the call for conspiracy that the NBA doesn't want the Suns, but would rather have the Thunder or young Pelican after the Suns were on the bad end of a questionable call that went the Grizzlies way last night to win the game.

Bledsoe called for the foul on Green.

Watching it live, I thought Green was fouled, but in seeing that Vine, I'm not so sure.

Of course, had the Suns won, I'm sure some of the best posters on this board would be complaining about a conspiracy to keep the Grizzlies out of the #1 spot.

NOLA vs. OKC tonight. Big one for both teams.

Man talk about a badly needed win tonight. I'm with a few of you guys in that the look of this team with just Westbrook and Waiters as your top two scorers is frightening (not in the sense that KD and Russ are).

Russell was just not going to lose tonight. One of his best efforts I've ever seen.

Last year, the last playoff spot race was really 3 teams fighting for two spots (Dallas, Memphis made it, Suns did not).

With a 4 game difference between 7th and 8th, I think it is safe to say this is now a 3 team race for 1 spot, with the Suns having 1 & 2 games on the Pelicans and Thunder, respectively.


What the Suns have left (according to various sources):
Games remaining: 31 (16 Home, 15 Away), 22 of those vs West, and 19 against teams over .500. Highest SOS remaining.

What the Pelicans have left:
Games remaining: 33 (17 Home, 16 Away) 21 of those vs West, and 17 against teams over .500. Lowest SOS remaining.

What OKC has left:
Games remaining: 33 (20 Home, 13 Away) 23 of those vs West, and 19 against teams over .500.SOS not much different than Pelicans.

Suns vs. Pelicans: 2 games remain (Pelicans own 1-0 lead)
Pelicans vs. Thunder: Friday's game is a big one to end series (Pelicans own 2-1 lead)
Suns vs. Thunder: 2 games remain (Thunder own 2-0 lead)



For Karma purposes, I hope Suns get a top 3 lottery pick, because they ain't making it.

OKC lose to Pelicans by 3.

Davis played like he took the home loss kind of hard. The game-winning cock slap 3 was the the final touch.

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Davis played like he took the home loss kind of hard. The game-winning cock slap 3 was the the final touch.

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Karma for westbrook drawing the 3 point foul to tie the game

Link of the shot.
http://streamable.com/04a

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Link of the shot.
http://streamable.com/04a

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Damn... Do want in the playoffs