Tonight's game in Phoenix marks the fourth and final time that the Thunder will take on the Suns this season. The last time OKC was in Phoenix, the Suns put up 140 and cruised to a massive victory. Now, with the Suns in the midst of the 6 game slid, is the perfect opportunity for the Thunder to gain their revenge.
Aiding the Thunder in that quest should be the return of Kevin Durant. Durant has been out the past 7 games over which the Thunder went 5-2. Durant's absence (as well as Green's for some of those games) has forced other members of the team to take on a bigger role. Tonight's game will serve as a good indicator of how much those players will continue to step up.
The Thunder currently sit one game behind Minnesota for 25th best in the NBA. 25th is the highest the Thunder can reasonably reach this season. Although gaining that position will likely result in a draft choice one spot lower, the fact that the team was able to power out from being the NBA's worst to five spots higher at 25th in the 2009 portion of the season will go a long ways in creating a mindset that OKC could be a playoff team next season and at a minimum should be contender for a playoff spot.
Keeping my fingers crossed about KD since no official word has been passed. Even if he does make it back tonight, I hope his minutes are sliced a bit just to make sure everything is good.