NBA Playoffs 2015 Standings: OKC Likely Out?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been struggling this season and reports says that there is a likely chance that the team is going to end up down for the count and will miss the playoffs completely, SB Nation reported.

It's the midway point of the season and by January, most fans are already well aware of which teams iare going to make it to the playoffs. Expectations were riding high on the Thunder, which had two of the league's top 10 players in their roster. However, a closer look at the NBA standings showed that if the Thunder wants to get to the playoffs, they have to make a lot of changes to catch up.

At this point in time, the Thunder was expected to get the eighth seed, but their performance has been underwhelming, putting them behind the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns.

Not only that, but it seemed like the team was offering nothing but excuses, and are already running out of time, according to Bleacher Report.

Russell Westbrook stated last month, "The record is going to take care of itself as long as we continue to play together and try to get some wins. We're in a good spot. We're confident as a team."

Despite his words, their "record" isn't improving as analysts are pointing out problems with the team's offense and performance. Throughout 48 games, their offensive rating is well below the top 20.

They also don't even have the excuse of injury to pardon their performance, because while player Kevin Durant was out for a few games with a toe injury, Westbrook and the others should have been able to pick up the slack.

According to Rant Sports, a big part of the blame falls on the shoulders of the Thunder's management and their questionable decisions regarding the team, namely trading MVP candidate James Harden to the Houston Rockets in 2012 in exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin and multiple draft picks.

Last year, general manager Sam Prenti also gave away former No. 5 overall pick Jeff Green to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Kendrick Perkins, instead of helping Green stabilize his position as the team's center.

They also announced Tuesday morning that they were extending their contract for two more years with their longest-tenured player Nick Collison for $7.5 million, even if the 34-year-old player has been unable to bring the same energy or impact on court as he had previously done.

Thunder remains to be one of the premier teams in the NBA, but if management doesn't shape up to help the players make the right decisions, they might be saying goodbye to the playoffs sooner than everyone expected.