The race in the Western Conference is more fierce than ever with third to eighth place separated by a mere 2.5 games. Among them are the seventh-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder who, despite going 6-4 in their last 10 games, have been bumped down by the streaky teams at the top.

ESPN's Zach Lowe said to colleague Tim MacMahon in The Lowe Post podcast that the Thunder are more likely to slide than climb in the standings, despite sporting an All-Star-caliber lineup.

“A front-office guy from one of these teams asked me, ‘How high do you think Oklahoma City can climb [in the Western Conference standings]?’ And my response was, ‘I would ask the opposite question. As in how much danger are they in of falling to 7, 8, 9 or 10.’ The playoffs odds say none, they have those wins in hand, but there’s something about them that doesn’t feel great to me right now.”

The Thunder have proven inconsistent at best, getting some of their bigger wins based on streaky shooting and some necessary ones off sheer talent — but it's the myriad of head-scratching losses that have made this team a dubious contender.

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The West is riddled with teams peaking at the right time, like the Houston Rockets (15-game win streak), the Golden State Warriors (five-game win streak), the Portland Trail Blazers (seven-game win streak), and the New Orleans Pelicans (eight-game win streak) — all who have taken matters into their own hands and made an early push for the top of the standings.

Even outliers like the Utah Jazz and the L.A. Clippers are making hard pushes for those last playoff spots, going 8-2 and 7-3 in their last 10 games, respectively — and well within striking distance in the playoff bubble.

OKC had a season-best eight-game win streak in January, but it was met with a four-game losing streak to follow — a pattern that has proven ultimately deflating for a team with championship aspirations.