Alex Caruso of the Oklahoma City Thunder recently gave his thoughts on how the team will fair in the absence of Isaiah Hartenstein.

Despite being one of the most injured teams in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been able to maintain an elite level of success.

Hartenstein totaled four points (2-10 FG, 0-1 3Pt), 18 rebounds, six assists and one block in 31 minutes during Wednesday's 116-109 loss to the Warriors. Hartenstein may have struggled with his shooting,

Meanwhile, Hartenstein and Caruso have been sidelined for nearly ... Dort’s absence means players like Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso are expected to play more minutes.

More than half of the Thunder’s losses this season have come against two teams OKC fans are none too fond of: Dallas and Golden State.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 52 points for Oklahoma City Wednesday, but Golden State's balanced scoring attack was too much for the Thunder in a 116-109 victory. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 for the Warriors.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the midst of a battle on the road against the Golden State Warriors-- a tough environment for any team to play in. The Draymond Green-less Warriors scored just 20 points in the first quarter,

The NBA trade deadline is, for most teams, an exercise in resource-management. Take the Phoenix Suns. They are so desperate for the flexibility to make moves that they just traded one great first-round pick for three bad ones.

The narratives around the Oklahoma City Thunder this season has predominantly fallen back on the play of MVP candidate, and the league's leading scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Needless to say, that's fair in many respects.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are not facing a championship or bust season despite the expectation level. The Thunder are still one of the youngest rosters in the NBA and deserve to be treated as such.

What Oklahoma City calls a "0-0 mentality" is drilled into its members. That process has resulted in the team owning the NBA's best record.

The Thunder might be tempted to add another star to their core before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, but they'd be better off building around their current Big Three.