Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he and his team aren't focused on making sure they earn the top seed in the Western Conference.
However, Brooks also admitted he studies the stats, the box scores and, of course, the standings.
And now with eight regular season games to go, and that top spot still a possibility, you can figure Brooks is paying really close attention.
So is Kevin Durant.
"You just have to play basketball," Durant said. "Yeah, you look to see who you would play if the season ended today, but we've played all these teams before. You just have to be prepared. It's just going out there and playing our game and seeing where that takes us."
Here's a peek at the possibilities and probabilities for where the Thunder could land and who they could match up with in the first round.
Thunder as the No. 1 seed
Probability: 45 percent
The Thunder head into Friday tied in the loss column with San Antonio, but the Spurs own the tiebreaker, thanks to winning the season series.
While Oklahoma City has given up its hold on the top spot, the Thunder can take a bit of solace in the fact they have a good number of winnable games coming up, including a Friday night game at home against the Kings.
After tonight, OKC still has two more games with the Kings as well as a road game against a depleted Minnesota team. They'll also be at the Clippers, Suns and Lakers before finishing up with two at home against Sacramento and Denver.
The Spurs have a more-favorable schedule. They have only two games remaining against playoff-bound teams. However, you have to consider the Spurs often rest starters and have empirically discounted the importance of seeding.
Memphis, Dallas, Houston and Denver are all within two games of each other and either of them could end up anywhere from No. 5 to No. 8 in the conference. The Clippers are 1.5 games ahead of the group for the No. 4 seed. Not to mention, both Utah and Phoenix are within two games of the No. 8 seed.
Here's a look at how the Thunder might fare against their most-likely first-round playoff opponents and the Thunder's chances of advancing.
Thunder vs. Denver
Chance of Thunder winning series: 90 percent
Denver hasn't been good against the Thunder either of the last two years. OKC had little problem with the Nuggets last season and have gone 2-0 with a game to go against them this year. The chances of faltering here would seem to be slight.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are going to have a hard time just making the playoffs. They have a hard schedule the rest of the way with games against the Lakers, two with Houston, vs. the Clippers, at Oklahoma City and against Orlando.
Denver forward Danilo Gallinari is healthy, but he's going to need a lot of help against the Thunder. One thing the Nuggets can do is score, as they rank No. 1 in the league, but they are 29th in the league in points allowed.
Thunder vs. Utah
Chance of Thunder winning series: 85 percent
The Thunder are 2-1 this season with two blowout wins against Utah, including one in Salt Lake City. Utah beat the Thunder once at home.
Utah could make up the difference on Denver and make the playoffs as the Jazz still have to face the Nuggets once and Portland twice. And the Blazers will not have LaMarcus Aldridge for the rest of the season due to injury.
If the Jazz are able to slide into the playoffs and face the Thunder, they'll have a hard time in a seven-game series, as forward Paul Millsap could be out with an injury, too.
Millsap is day-to-day with a sprain of his right wrist. No chance the Thunder lose to the Jazz if he's not 100 percent.
Thunder vs. Dallas
Chance of Thunder winning series: 80 percent
Seems like Dallas has underachieved all season, but don't be surprised if the Mavericks have been saving it all for the playoffs.
But the best thing the Thunder have going for them in a potential matchup with Dallas is revenge. OKC has played well against Dallas this season, winning three of four games. It was just a season ago Dallas beat the Thunder in the Western Conference finals. Undoubtedly, the Thunder won't have a hard time getting motivated in a rematch.
Dallas has the ageless guard duo of Jason Kidd and Jason Terry as well as the always reliable Dirk Nowitzki, but the Mavs are missing some pieces from last year, including guard J.J. Barea. The Mavericks don't have Tyson Chandler anymore, either. Chandler, who could very well be the Defensive Player of the Year, makes the Mavericks vulnerable inside. With Serge Ibaka's improvement, that could be a deciding factor.
Thunder vs. Houston
Chance of Thunder winning series: 70 percent
The Rockets head into the weekend 32-26 overall and tied for the No. 8 spot. Amazing, really, considering they have had a number of injuries this year.
What the Rockets do best is play hard, and they've done that well against the Thunder, beating OKC in one of the more surprising wins of the season when they rallied from 11 down in the final three minutes for a victory in Oklahoma City. The Rockets went 2-2 against the Thunder this season, including that March 13 win when neither of their starting guards played.
Houston has won four of its past five games, including wins at Chicago and at the Lakers. They should make the playoffs, as they have two games left against New Orleans and one against Golden State. If they don't completely fall apart in the other five, expect Houston to sneak in as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed.
If guard Kevin Martin is healthy, he and point guard Courtney Lee make up a great scoring combo, nevertheless one the Thunder should be able to handle.
Thunder vs. Memphis
Chance of Thunder winning series: 55 percent
Of all the teams the Thunder could see in the first round, Memphis has to be the one they'd most like to avoid.
Memphis took Oklahoma City to seven games before falling in the playoffs last year and have shown the ability to slow down both Westbrook and Durant this season.
Despite the fact the Thunder won the season series 3-1, Memphis is a tough matchup because of its ability to play great defense. Guard Tony Allen is a lockdown defender, who has had success against Kevin Durant. Meanwhile, Allen guarded Russell Westbrook when the team met on April 2 and limited Westbrook to 5 of 16 shooting while Gilbert Arenas spent time guarding Durant, helping harass him into an 8 of 20 night.
Memphis is healthy with the return of point guard Mike Conley. Rudy Gay missed the playoffs last year and now forward Zach Randolph is back, too.
The Grizzlies are playing their best basketball of the season, having gone 9-3 in their past 12 games.
