Is it Time to Give Up on The OKC Thunder?

The hoop is a symbol of the current state of the Thunder

I know that in my NBA mid season review and my NBA preseason preview I had the OKC Thunder as a dark horse championship contender. Yes, they're my favorite team, but I legitimately thought, at full strength, they could compete with the Warriors, Spurs and Cavs. They have two of the five best players in the game on their team. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are lights out. They are superior scorers and a threat to anyone that the opposition puts on the floor. After those two guys, with Serge Ibaka being the lone exception, they're pretty thin. Sure, Steven Adams is a good defender and rebounder and Anthony Morrow is a good shooter, but guys like Dion Waiters, Kyke Singler and Enes Kanter do not make a title contending team.

The Thunder do have the third best record in the West, and in the league I believe, but last nights game, that they absolutely blew to the Clippers, shut down any hopes of winning a title that I had. The hopes were pretty fleeting to begin with, the Warriors are historically good and the Spurs are the Spurs, but I still had hope because of Durant and Westbrook. They both played good last night, except for the dumb three that Westbrook took with 10 seconds left, but they always perform. It's the rest of the team that concerns me. In the first half of last nights game, they couldn't miss. Same couldn't be said in the second half, they were ice cold. Not only were they missing shots, but they were playing no defense and looked undisciplined. It was frustrating. They are so Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. The Thunder will look unbeatable during one half, but then they turn a switch and they look like a mid level Eastern Conference team the next half.

Last nights game wasn't the only time this has happened. They've looked very mediocre since the all star break ended. They can't close teams out, i.e. The Warriors game last week. They had that game won multiple times, but they couldn't close it out. Sure, Curry hit a miraculous shot to win, but the Thunder should've never been in that position. They had that game won, but they found a way to blow it. They also have trouble putting away, or even beating teams they should beat. Take the recent Pelicans game. The Pelicans have no one besides Anthony Davis, but the Thunder decided they didn't have to play hard and decided to not play defense and they lost to a very mediocre team. They've looked downright bad since the break. I don't know if it's coaching or they don't have what it takes or the talent drops off way too much after Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka, but something is wrong.

Yes, the Thunder will make the playoff and even win a round or two, but when they have to play the Spurs or Warriors, they will get scorched. I want to believe in them, but they've done nothing lately that lets me believe in them. They're in a bad funk and they need to get out of it before they get trounced in the playoffs to an inferior team.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He wants to believe in the Thunder, but reality keeps getting in the way. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.