The Thunder have slid into a deep hole, but they believe they're going to be better for this in the end. There's something called the "Stockdale Paradox" which comes from U.S. Navy Admiral Jim Stockdale who was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, held captive and tortured for eight years. The idea is simple: Retain faith you will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulty while also confronting the most brutal facts of your current reality. It's remaining positive without being optimistic, about not losing faith in the end of the story, about turning the experience into a defining event.
The Thunder are faced with some pretty brutal facts. They're 5-12. They're 10 games out of the West's No. 1 seed. They're eight games behind the Trail Blazers in their division. The only team worse than them offensively is the 76ers. And they can't afford any more setbacks or lapses.
This is the Thunder's chance to turn experience into an event. Their month of November is something that may just define their season. A month of disappointment, frustration and plenty of losing, but maybe the best thing to ever happen to them.
