After having appeared to be the team to beat in the West for nearly the entire season, the Thunder have conceded the best record in the West to the ageless veterans of the San Antonio Spurs.  With no able to challenge OKC for the second seed, these last two games have become meaningless.

Unless you look at momentum.

The Thunder have been having a rough April, going 0-6 against playoff teams after the April 1st win against the Chicago Bulls, and 8-6 over all.  This is not the way a team wants to head into the playoffs. Especially a team as young as this.

There should be no doubt that the Thunder have the talent to win it all, they just need to show that they have the resilience it takes to go the distance.

Sunday’s loss to the Lakers came after the team blew a 17 point fourth quarter lead and found themselves unable to close the game out at the end of regulation.  It took two overtimes for the Lakers to get the win, in a game that they had to have as they fight to secure the 3rd seed in the West.  OKC helped them by losing their focus.  Kevin Durant disappeared when it should be his time to shine, and Russell Westbrook went crazy trying to close out the game, getting two foul calls that rescued him from a series of wild shots.

Against the Kings, Westbrook was the facilitator, setting up the offense and getting his points as they came.  Durant closed out with 32, extending his lead on Kobe Bryant for this years scoring title by the slightest of margins.  Both players were pulled at the end of the 3rd, even though it was still a 4 point game.

OKC’s bench played their hearts out in the 4th quarter and pulled out the win for the team.  This was a huge win for the bench, which is down a man with James Harden still waiting to be cleared to play after suffering a concussion in Sunday’s game.  The concussion came from an elbow thrown by Laker’s forward, Metta World Peace. who was given a 7 game suspension as a result.

The win, while not against a playoff team, is a good start, and with one game left against the Denver Nuggets, the Thunder could regain some of their earlier momentum when they went 31-8 in the first 39 games.  At this time off year it is all about coming together and peaking at the right moment.  Lets hope the Thunder see it the same.

Jeff Everette is the featured columnist for the Miami Dolphins on Rant Sports.  You can follow him on twitter@jeverettesports, or like his facebook page: Jeff Everette- Rant Sports for all of his latest articles.

The incident occurred with just over a minute left in the first half at the Staples Center, when Harden and Metta World Peace bumped into each other after a MWP dunk.  The dunk had been set up by a steal, and a drive from mid-court that resulted in a put down between Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka.  It was quite the play, magnified by the fact that is was MWP that pulled it off and not Kobe Bryant.  But then, World Peace had the hot hand early in the game, leading all scorers with 12 points.  He had been active on the boards and on defense.  It looked like it was going to be a great game for the 12 year pro.

That was before he chose to transform back into his former self, the idiot known as Ron Artest, and fired an elbow that caught Harden squarely behind his ear, knocking the Thunder guard to the ground.

Harden remained on the ground for several minutes before heading to the locker room.  During half time it was reported that he had cleared the preliminary league guidelines for concussion awareness, but he was shut down by the OKC medical staff before he could return to the floor.  After the game it was announced that Harden had suffered a concussion.  There is no suggest timeline for his return due to tricky nature of concussions.  He may be able to return quickly, or could be down for a number of games.

The Thunder went on to take a 17 point lead in the 4th quarter, only to see the Lakers come back and foce the game into two overtimes before taking the lead and sensing OKC home with a loss.

An incident like this is never a good thing, but it comes at a bad time for the Thunder, who have been having a rough April.  Harden provides an intangible energy when he enters the game, and is a serious scoring threat that takes some of the pressure off of team leaders, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The team finishes the season with back to back home games against the Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets, and if tonight’s game is any indication, neither will be easy without Harden coming off of the bench.

Jeff Everette is the featured columnist for the Miami Dolphins on Rant Sports.  You can follow him on twitter@jeverettesports, or like his facebook page: Jeff Everette- Rant Sports for all of his latest articles.

It is hoped that Maynor will return next season at full strength. With only playing nine games, Maynor averaged 4.2 points per game as well as 2.4 assists. The 15 minutes he puts into the game as a reserve player will surely be missed this season.

Against the Spurs Sunday, Jackson played 23 minutes and scored 11 points. Ivey played six minutes and scored two points. The Thunder won the game 108-96.

Last season, KD nearly took home the MVP as he averaged 28 points per game. This year, Durant won’t leave without the Most Valuable Player award in hand. His teammate and wingman is point guard Russell Westbrook. The two fought through some trials and tribulation last year, but they are both competitors and sometimes it gets the best of them. Westbrook is one of the most electric players in the league, with his rare explosive and athletic ability. If Durant isn’t in the MVP running for some odd season, Russell definitely will be.

Serge Ibaka a.k.a. E-Block-Agh is a 21-year-old power forward on the cusp of breaking out. Ibaka was outrageous last year in the paint, rejecting shots with great regularity. Last season he led the league in total blocks (198) as he averaged 2.4 rejections per game while averaging just 27 minutes played per game. If this kid gets a high dose of playing time, expect huge things. By the way, he also has a jump shot that is starting to find consistency. Watch out.

The talent on the Tunder seems endless, as the fourth star of this group is former Arizona State great and current shooting guard James Harden. Last season Harden was a huge contributor to Oklahoma City, especially down the stretch run and in the playoffs. He has a smooth all-around game and plays decent defense. The reason Harden didn’t start all the time was due to the defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha. The lanky guard can handle the league’s best, especially around the perimeter. Look for there to be a nice give and take between the two shooting guards on OKC in 2011.

Kendrick Perkins is the starting center after a mid-season trade with the Celtics last year. Eric Maynor was also a very serviceable back-up point guard to Russell Westbrook last season. If given heavy minutes, both players could contribute in major ways.

I have been on the Thunder bandwagon since day No. 1 and I don’t plan on getting off anytime soon. I am predicting the Thunder to win the NBA Championship this season as they slowly become an annual fixture in the NBA’s elite. Kevin Durant will win the MVP award and Scott Brooks will take home the Coach of the Year award as the Thunder will hoist up their first-ever NBA title in franchise history. This is going to be a scary bunch for a long time. Follow it right here at Rant Sports all season long.

Follow Tony Piraro on Twitter @TonyPiraro

There isn’t much basketball to talk about right now, besides college. Instead, we post videos of celebrities dunking over NBA players during the lockout. Chris Brown certainly wasn’t being thrown under the bus by the media for this disrespectful action to the Thunder’s stud forward, James Harden.

There may be no light at the end of the NBA’s proverbial tunnel, but there sure is a ton of brightness for this NBA rising star…Russell Westbrook may not get all the love he deserves in OKC because he plays with Kevin Durant, but don’t overlook the point guard. He expects people to look past him…That’s his chance to blow past them on a fast break. Westbrook has become one of the best, young guards in the NBA. If and when the league gets back to business, it will be Westbrook who will be stealing the attention of basketball fans.

Kevin Durant has repeatedly expressed his boredom during the current NBA lockout. He may have found a hobby for the time being, playing flag football at Oklahoma State University. With the No. 2 ranked team in the nation already stirring up a great deal of publicity…What’s better than inviting one of the best basketball players in the world to join in playing a flag football game at your university? I can’t think of much better if I was an Oklahoma State football player.

This isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it would be nice to see Perkins conduct himself better.  It’s probably a one off occurrence, but a little common sense could have prevented this incident.  With the NBA and the NBAPA trying to win a public relations battle, players getting arrested doesn’t help the union’s cause.  We will bring you more details as they become available.

In a video I did for Rant Sports, I ranked my top five small forwards in the NBA for next season.  In a bit of a surprise, I ranked Kevin Durant ahead LeBron James.  I’m sure many will find fault with that.  However, I have sound reasoning behind it.  The gap between Durant and James is smaller than you think, and there might not actually be a gap at all.

First off, LBJ is the greatest athlete to ever play in the NBA.  That can’t be argued.  His stats are phenomenal and are on the level of Magic Johnson.  He is the perfect blend of athleticism and skill.  His stats are also better than Durant.  So why did I rank LeBron lower than Durant?

Stats don’t tell the whole story.  They never can.  In this case, the difference in scoring and assists between Durant and James can be explained.  Durant has played most of his career with Russell Westbrook, an All-Star point guard.  This cuts down on his scoring and assists.  Up until this year, LeBron never played with a player that could impact his scoring.  He also has never played with a true point guard.  LeBron tends to bring the ball up court more often than not.  This skews his assists higher than what they should be.  Some will argue that LeBron should always have the ball in his hands, but it’s a logical explanation for the stats difference.

A secondary reasoning for my ranking is the type of players they are.  As I said earlier, LeBron is the best athlete.  He’s not the best pure basketball player.  His field goal percentage is very good, but he also takes a large amount of shots at the rim.  Durant has more of a shooting touch, and get points from anywhere with ease.  This means Durant has a better chance of longevity in the league.  His game will not erode with time.  LeBron’s probably will.  Look at Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.  Both relied on athleticism and had to re-invent their game to remain successful.  LeBron hasn’t shown an interest in improving at all since he came into the league.  That doesn’t bode well for his chances of success for a great period of time.

Durant relies more on skill than athleticism.  You really can’t lose your shooting stroke, barring nerves and injury.  Reggie Miller and Ray Allen are examples of that.  Both played for long periods of time with high levels of success.  Durant can be in the same mold, even if he does lose a bit of speed and athleticism.  His shooting skills should remain at a high level, and there is no reason that he can’t raise his three point percentage to 40 percent or higher.

The athleticism versus skill argument is why I have Durant higher.  If this entire season doesn’t happen.  LeBron gets another year older and another year less athletic.  You can’t win against Father Time.  Durant can maintain his shooting stroke during a lockout better than LeBron can maintain his awesome athleticism.  Although the gap is almost non-existent, my edge goes to KD.

I know this is a controversial topic.  If you feel differently, please feel free to comment on it.  Maybe I’m some nut case that doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Maybe LBJ becomes a great shooter this off-season and adds a post game.  Either way, both of these players are special talents, and NBA fans are lucky to witness their careers (provided they actually start playing games again).