In a mild surprise, Oklahoma City showed signs of life before falling in Denver. The fourth straight defeat was not a blowout for the Thunder and knocked them down in the standings. But it also put the team in position to possibly gain one of the top three picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Coach Scott Brooks has his OKC future up in the air, but he is doing all he can for the franchise. All three rookies and newcomer Shaun Livingston played key roles in keeping the Nuggets within striking range. The Thunder are built to win 2-3 years down the road, but they are not giving up on this season.
The question still remains -- why not save Kevin Durant and Jeff Green from a possible injury? Both played over 40 minutes in the 122-112 loss, and each has logged a tremendous amount of game action this campaign. I'm not saying shut them down completely, but the club has to be looking at all options with only a handful of games remaining.
Let the starters play 30 minutes and give the spare parts a chance to earn a spot on next season's roster. OKC will be bringing in at least two rookies with both possibly fighting to join the starting rotation very soon.
Currently the Thunder sit at 21 victories and are just 'outside' the bottom three record-wise in the league. Since a lottery will determine the picks, not everything is left in the hands of the players. But that doesn't mean a little more rest could hurt in the Blake Griffin sweepstakes, something every basketball fan in Oklahoma would love to see bounce the Thunder's way.
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