Mar 20, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward
Kevin Durant(35) is seen on the floor prior to action against the Atlanta Hawks at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
In the latest edition of our NBA power rankings, we examine if the Thunder are the next team to fall out of the playoff picture after the official loss of Kevin Durant
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In an injury-riddled NBA season, in which we’ve already seen the likes Chris Bosh, Paul George and Blake Griffin miss substantial time this season, we lost another star to injury for the rest of the season over the weekend.
Kevin Durant.
While he’s only played in 20-some odd games this season, it’s safe to say that almost everyone believed that Durant would be back at some point before the NBA playoffs for the Oklahoma City Thunder. That… is no longer the case.
Even though the Thunder have, for the most part this season, navigated themselves without Durant to the No. 8 seed in the Western conference playoff picture, I’m not sure if they’re going to be able to eek out enough gutsy wins the rest of the year in order to clinch that seed in the West without Durant.
With Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant out for the foreseeable future, I’m not sure if Russell Westbrook can work enough magic in order to tie down a playoff spot.
The Thunder, yet again, may have been doomed by injuries.
Next: New York Knicks