The set-up: The 37-29 Oklahoma City Thunder are 4 1/2 games back of the Jazz in the Northwest Division and currently own the 6th-seed in the West, just a half-game ahead of the Grizzlies. They visit Barkley Center tonight (weather-permitting) to take on the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets (12-53) but the Nets have won three of their last seven games, which matches their best seven-game stretch of the season.

Oklahoma City: The story all season in OKC has been Russell Westbrook's run at history. He passed Wilt Chamberlain for second place on the single-season list with his 32nd triple-double in Saturday's 112-104 win over the Utah Jazz and now trails only Oscar Robertson's 41 in 1961-62, when the Big O averaged a triple-double for the season. Westbrook (31.9-10.5-10.1) is on pace to match Oscar's triple-double season and it's hard to ignore that Oklahoma City is 26-6 when Westbrook notches a triple-double and 11-23 when he doesn't this season. However, the team is sure better off when Victor Oladipo (16.3 PPG) is healthy and Westbrook's backcourt partner is averaging 19.3 points on 55.3 percent shooting in three games since returning from a back injury (OKC is 2-1 SU & ATS)..

Brooklyn: The Nets snapped a 16-game home losing streak that spanned 75 days (going back to Dec. 26) when they beat the Knicks 120-112 on Sunday. As noted above, they are on a 3-4 run, which had been preceded by a 16-game losing streak, overall. Jeremy Lin is finally recovered from that hamstring injury (he's been back the last nine games) and he is averaging 16.6 points in the last five games despite playing 27 or fewer minutes in each of those contests (Nets have covered four in a row).

The pick: Yes, the Nets are playing better but with Oladipo back healthy plus the additions of Gibson and McDermott from Chicago, I don't expect the Thunder to get derailed by the league's worst defensive team (Nets allow 114.1 PPG). OKC is a 10* play.