It is the penultimate week of the regular season for the 2022-23 season, therefore every game is more significant. For the first time in more than two years, this means that the Oklahoma City Thunder will be participating in games of relevance. This might be intimidating for the NBA’s youngest team, but the Thunder are well-positioned to make the play-in round.
The club currently behind the Thunder is the Dallas Mavericks, who opened the day one game behind the Thunder. In addition, the Thunder owns the tiebreaker against the Mavs, which is a major advantage considering that both teams have just three games remaining.
After losing to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, Oklahoma City’s perspective remained unaltered.
Immediately prior to the Thunder’s defeat, Dallas lost in overtime on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. As a result, the standings and remaining possibilities stay unchanged as OKC continues to lead the Mavs by one game on Monday.
With only one or two victories in their remaining three games, the Thunder may clinch the No. 10 seed and a road playoff game, so determining the remainder of their season. Even though Oklahoma City’s next three games are against quality opponents, the roster’s youth should be enough to ensure victory. Even though the Mavericks have lost seven of their previous 10 games and continue to struggle, the outlook remains optimistic.
In the NBA, a lot can happen in a week, but the Thunder still have a strong chance of playing beyond the regular season when they face the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon.