Denver’s Chauncy Billups said after Friday night’s 122-120 win over Oklahoma City that the Thunder were way better than a four-win club.

And he’s right. They’re now a FIVE win club!

This is a fact about the NBA: Despite being 5-30 on the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder — on a night-in, night-out basis are not more than 10 points inferior to any team. In this league, 10 to 15 points is about the maximum average spread between its best and worst.

The good news is that this Thunder team is improving right before central Oklahoma’s li’l eyes. Some notes:

• Have to work to get Durant open more often in the second half.
• Have to value the ball when the legs are tired. We had too many silly turnovers again.
• Have to hit free throws. Missed some clutch points tonight.
• The crowd really underperformed when OKC got up by 21. It was like the crowd was asleep. Seriously, the boys get an A. Crowd gets an F for that performance.
• Earl Watson is growing on me.
• When Al Harrington is hot, you gotta put two bodies on him.

Oklahoma City heads to Minnesota on Wednesday, in a game they *could* win. We’ve got Houston on Friday and Chicago on Saturday, and these guys could get one or two more wins this week.

If you watched the first 30 games and grew tired of the 30-point losses, it’s time to come on back. These guys have no postseason ahead of them, but their brand of ball right now is very competitive.