We're Number One!!

When I say we, I mean Oklahoma City.  And no I don't know mean our fair city has the highest obesity rate in the nation (I think we're number three now).  I mean that the Oklahoma City Thunder are the number one seed in the Western Conference Playoffs this post season in the NBA!  Let's take a look at how quickly the Thunder program has turned around in recent years:

2012-13 Season 60-22  (.732)  ???
2011-12 Season 47-19   (.712)  Lost in the NBA Finals
2010-11 Season 55-27   (.671)  Lost in the Western Conference Finals
2009-10 Season 50-32  (.610)   Lost in the Western Conference 1st Round
2008-09 Season 23-59  (.280)   Did Not Qualify

See a trend here?  It's amazing the team has come so far and is still one of the youngest teams in all of the NBA.

I really hoped we would open the first round this year with the Lakers.  It's always satisfying to send a big market team that spends more money each season packing in the first round.  It wasn't meant to be though.  I'm sure we'll have no trouble, however, dispatching James Harden and the Houston Rockets.  That will get one monkey off our back, as many analysts predicted doom earlier in the season when we traded Harden to the Rockets.

I fully expect the Thunder to make another run to the NBA Finals and face yet again the Miami Heat.  I was sure we would beat them in last year's finals when in fact we ended up making a poor showing.  I'll save a finals prediction for another time, if we even get to the finals, but we're playing very well right now and the team seems to be gelling  with the best offense in the league and one of the best defenses.

Game 1 will be Sunday at 8:30 CT in Oklahoma City.

Thunder up!!