Thirty minutes after his 21 points and 18 rebounds helped drop the Thunder back below .500, Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph provided an optimistic outlook for the team he just dominated.

“They had some injuries,” he said. “Any time you have injuries to your best players, it affects your team. Like I said earlier, like I told the guys, they’re gonna make the playoffs.”

With that, Randolph echoed a sentiment that hoops heads have long preached. Despite Oklahoma City’s injury-induced slow start, despite the sub-.500 record, despite the stacked conference the team is staring up at, its two superstars would eventually take the reins and smoothly glide this team into the postseason.

But slowly, after dropping four of its last five games, that opinion is becoming a bit less popular, quietly creeping toward the minority.