Coming off a season where the team only won 23 games, experts thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would be better. The question was how much better as many predicted a number of wins that topped in the range of 40. With 17 games to play in the season, the Thunder have now won 41.

Oklahoma City is 41-24 on the season and a season high 17 games over .500 and a playoff spot virtually locked. OKC beat the team one spot ahead of it convincingly Sunday night by taking a convincing lead against the Jazz at the half and never allowing the lead inside two possessions the rest of the way.

Now with 17 games left the Thunder must go 9-8 to reach the 50 win plateau, the same team that had a Western Conference low in wins in 2007-2008 with just 20. In two seasons, the Thunder have built a winning franchise behind what seems to be a perennial all-star in Kevin Durant and a second year point guard in Russell Westbrook whose numbers have improved mightily from year one to year two.

Of the 17 games remaining on the schedule, the Thunder only play eight of those games at home. The next three Thunder contests are on the road, all three against the Eastern Conference which the Thunder have owned this season. Only one of the three games is against a playoff team (Charlotte, Wednesday night on KSBI Thunder TV). Following those three games, the Thunder are back at home for four, but they are San Antonio, Houston, Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. Three of the four teams are most likely in the playoffs and ten of the 17 games are against teams inside the playoffs right now.

The Thunder are 15-13 on the season combined against the opponents they will play in the final 17 games. That means if the trend continues, the number 50 may be the exact number the Thunder land on. What works for the Thunder is the more difficult opponents are inside the Ford Center. The devil's advocate would say that those teams could easily win in the Ford Center and playing lesser opponents on the road make the team more susceptible to a loss.

Either way, the final month of the season will be exciting for the Thunder and a chance to build a foundation for a team to be reckoned with for years to come.