Nostrodomus, I am not. Back in October, I projected that the Thunder would end the season with 27 wins. At this point, our boys would have to go 23-25 to reach that mark. As much as I'd love to see that happen, even with the addition of Nenad Krstic, I just can't see that happening. With 48 games to go, I definitely can see the Thunder finding a way to win a third of them finishing the year at 20-62 (otherwise known as the same record the club had last year).
With Krstic filling a "gaping" hole at the center position once he officially joins the team (at a date unknown at this point), OKC should be able to turn the tide and start winning a number of the close games that they're currently losing. Winning games this year really isn't the selling point of the Krstic signing but rather the fact that now the Thunder can build around the "core four" rather than the "core three". In addition, some of the veteran players are now more easily expendable in trades aimed at building for the future.
The move to place Russell Westbrook as the starting point guard has paid off for the Thunder, and the rookie has been named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December. Westbrook's play continues to be quite inconsistent, but he's definitely showing signs that he will be one of the team's anchors in years to come.
The Thunder have a good chance (ok, good may be an overstatement) to get their first 2 game win streak this week with back-to-back games against the Knicks and the Timberwolves and maybe even finish the week 3-1 with a game on Saturday against the Bulls (Friday night's game against the Rockets will be the most challenging one of the week).
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