The Oklahoma City Thunder are entering the second game of a difficult back-to-back stretch over the last few days against the upstart Detroit Pistons. Although the Thunder have largely struggled register wins, their dominant victory over the juggernaut Golden State Warriors showed they are still one of the most talented teams in the league.

Among those to be impressed by Oklahoma City's recent play is Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy. According to Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, Van Gundy thinks the Thunder can make a serious run in this year's playoffs:

“I’d be shocked if this team wasn’t a contender at the end of the year. I think they can play with Houston, play with Golden State, play with anybody.”

Despite Van Gundy's praise, the Thunder will have their hands full tonight against a Pistons team trying to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Oklahoma City has acknowledged their inability to close out games so far this year, however, they have also been patient with the meshing process of their newly-acquired ‘Big 3.'

It is no secret they certainly have the star power to keep up with the aforementioned teams, but it remains to be seen whether they can put it together before the playoffs. Given the current state of the powerhouse Western Conference, seeding is almost irrelevant as nearly every team in the playoff hunt is shaping up to be quite formidable.