It might be unfair to label Oklahoma City as a younger version of the Spurs, especially since the teams are built in very different ways. But the results can not be ignored any longer. San Antonio welcomed the Thunder looking for revenge and came away with even more questions.
Pulling off another shocker, OKC won on the road and has a chance of upsetting a few more playoff-bound clubs down the stretch. Eight games remain on this season's schedule, and all but two involve squads fighting for either a playoff berth or seeding.
That gives Coach Brooks and his staff the perfect opportunity to pull out all the stops going into the off-season. The front office did its part, signing a player with unlimited upside in a position of need. Shaun Livingston now has the upper hand in securing the back-up point guard role, clearing up the draft for needs inside.
Livingston is healthy again and looking to prove the rest of the NBA wrong. What better place to do that than with possibly the best young core in the league. The Thunder brought him up from Tulsa and moved Kyle Weaver down to the D-League for the first time. Weaver has a future with OKC, but this will allow him to get more playing time.
In securing the second win in two weeks over the Spurs, Oklahoma City announced its intentions to be a competitor as soon as next year. Now they have the chance to keep a few other teams from meeting their goals and ending season one on a very high note.
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