Russell Westbrook’s season lasted approximately a game and a half before he was sidelined with a fractured bone in his shooting hand. He joined his teammate Kevin Durant in the Oklahoma City infirmary, who had already been sidelined with a broken foot. Westbrook’s prognosis was a return in 4 to 6 weeks. Well, here we are, 29 days later, and Westbrook will be back on the court to begin the greatest salvage operation in NBA history.
Russell Westbrook will play tonight, per Scott Brooks.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) November 28, 2014
Just how much do the Thunder need to overcome in order to make the playoffs? We outlined some scenarios last week, but we’re a few games into this key stretch of winnable games, so let’s revisit that. Right now, the Thunder are 4-12, and would need to go 45-21 to reach the hypothetical 49 wins needed to be in the mix for the eighth seed in the playoffs. That’s a 55-win pace over an 82-game season. Here’s the problem: one month into the season, the current eighth seed (Phoenix) is on a 51-win pace. The Sacramento Kings are right on their heels at a 49-win pace. That means a 50-win eighth seed isn’t out of the question. For 50 wins, the Thunder would need to maintain 57-win pace. And Kevin Durant ain’t walkin’ through that door for another week or two, most likely.
Can the Thunder do it? They’ve won 60 and 59 games the last two seasons, so there’s a glimmer of hope with those numbers. However, while hovering around 60 wins is the norm for them, a loss here and there meant the difference between the #1 or #2 seed. In this scenario, there’s no room for error, as a slip-up is the difference between making the playoffs or watching them at home.
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