Upcoming Six-Game Slate Will Dictate Direction Of Season

Following a four-game losing streak, the Oklahoma City Thunder have slid in the standings and are now 28-33. Just over a week ago, the team looked primed to reach .500 shortly after the break, but now there’s ground to make up.

Luckily for Oklahoma City, the Western Conference standings have been as close as they’ve ever been at this point in an NBA season. While the top three teams in the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings have pulled away from the pack to a degree, the next ten teams in the standings are extremely close.

In fact, the team in No. 4 team is only 4.5 games ahead of the No. 13 team. While that is quite a bit of ground to cover given how many games are left to be played, it does mean that essentially anything could happen the rest of the way. Nobody in this group is guaranteed a postseason spot at this point.

4. Phoenix Suns (33-29)

5. Golden State Warriors (32-30)

6. LA Clippers (31-33)

7. Dallas Mavericks (32-31)

8. Minnesota Timberwolves (32-32)

9. Utah Jazz (31-32)

10. New Orleans Pelicans (30-32)

11. Portland Trail Blazers (29-32)

12. Los Angeles Lakers (29-33)

13. Oklahoma City Thunder (28-33)

With that in mind, the first six games of the month are absolutely critical for the Thunder. The next two weeks could dictate whether they are trending towards top lottery odds or a postseason push. In each of the team’s next six games, one of the squads in this 10-team Western Conference bubble will be the opponent.

• March 1: Los Angeles Lakers
• March 3: Utah Jazz
• March 5: Utah Jazz
• March 7: Golden State Warriors
• March 8: Phoenix Suns
• March 11: New Orleans Pelicans

This slate starts with the Lakers, giving Oklahoma City a direct path towards jumping them to get to No. 12 in the West. From there, the Thunder will have every opportunity to continue climbing.

With how tight the standings are, tiebreakers are as important as ever this season. That’s another factor in these games, as winning the season serious could essentially become a half-game edge. Especially against Utah twice, those games could prove to be crucial by the end of the season.

The availability of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be something to monitor over the upcoming stretch, as he’s missed three-straight games with injuries. It’s unlikely he’s available for this first contest against the Lakers, but could be available once exiting health and safety protocols later on.

If the Thunder are able to stay in the postseason picture after these six games, it will be an extremely promising sign given they’re the youngest team in NBA history. However, if they continue to fall in the standings, it just means better lottery odds this summer.