I think for even the most optimistic, if not deranged crowd, we all knew that the Thunder starting 25-1 on the season PROBABLY wasn't sustainable for a full 82-game slate.

Going into the NBA All-Star break, Oklahoma City's lead has dwindled down to only a pair of games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the Western Conference.

With 26 games remaining, the Thunder, according to Tankathon.com, currently has the second-ranked strength of schedule for the rest of the season. The Spurs don't exactly have a cakewalk either, with the 10th-hardest remaining schedule, but the once-large gap between the two teams has narrowed rapidly over the last couple of months.

You, of course, cannot tell Oklahoma City's story this season without talking about all the major injuries that have kept guys like Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein, and more all sidelined.

But regardless of the health of the roster, it will be important for the Thunder to lock in and lockdown the number one seed, especially after last postseason, when the future NBA champs lost only two games in Oklahoma City on their way to a title.