Post season

Just a few games remain in the regular NBA season and for OKC, their two top players have been out for three games. While that definitely has affected their ability to add to the win column, and will undoubtedly figure in to the seeding, this has been a great opportunity for the rest of the players to gain some on court experience, all of which will help the Thunder’s desire to go deep into the playoff picture. The real test lies ahead because in the postseason, it’s no longer one game and then on to the next team on the schedule. It’s one team at a time and the winner of the most games in the series advances. For the loser, their season is over. As a fan, on the outside looking in, it appears to me that beyond the different matchups between teams and how this can favor one or the other, at the end of the game, if we look at the shooting percentages, turnovers and other stats, we usually see how the team that won had a more productive offensive and defensive game. A good team, on a off night, seems to have made more mistakes and had more difficulty scoring than on a night when it seems they could not miss or they were causing more turnovers (and scoring points off those turnovers). Teams build winning streaks that ultimately are broken. As the season progresses, the standings keep changing. As this season has shown, some teams that have championships under their belt are now fighting just to make the play-in tournament. The sports channel talking heads have their favorites and reasons why teams like the OKC Thunder are not ready to rise to the top. But, it’s one game at a time and I suspect that when the dust settles, a new and darkhorse champion will be the big surprise of the NBA nation. Thunder Up.