Thunder playoff chances improved by sluggish Western Conference

The Thunder is 11-12 and in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.

That’s quite encouraging. Before the season, we had a chat about the Thunder’s rugged early schedule and figured that if OKC could be 10-15 through 25 games, that would be quite solid for a squad with lots of roster holes and lots of identity issues.

But here we are on December 10, and the Thunder is 11-12, with road games at Sacramento and Denver to finish out that 25-game starting window.

It’s easy to remember some of the sluggish times of the Russell Westbrook era and be excited about the current Thunder situation. Two years ago on this date, the Thunder was 12-13 and in ninth place in the West. But one year ago…