Of course, even if the Thunder beat the Lakers tonight, that would by no means make us the best. Rather, tonight's game should be a good indicator of OKC's progression out of the bottom rung of NBA teams.
For sake of argument, we'll consider the NBA teams to fall in one of the following categories: top five, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, and bottom five. Looking at the season as a whole, it's hard to argue that the Thunder wouldn't belong in the bottom five. Up until a few weeks ago, we still had the worst record. Looking at just the here and now or even 2009 (pretty much the same yes, but still), the argument is there that OKC is in the 21-25 and has the potential to move into the 16-20. Getting into that grouping by the end of the year is where the team should strive to be as it will make us playoff hopefuls for next season.
And now I've rambled on without really saying much about tonight's game. Kobe is probable for tonight's game after battling the flu for the past few games. Regardless, the Thunder are most likely going to lose. Our hope here, really, is to not get blown out. Losing by single digits would be a very respectable outcome.
As a side note, gforce has informed me that Kevin Durant will be part of the H.O.R.S.E. event at All Star weekend. For you poker fans out there, this is not same thing as the H.O.R.S.E. event in the World Series of Poker. Durant will be taking on O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson and is the favorite to win in my humble opinion.
Give me a break -- now it can't even be called HORSE. Let the annoying car insurance commercials begin :(
No kidding. If that stack of money with the eyeballs sits on the court for the competition, it's going to be pretty lame.