Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY Sports

No one could blame Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti if he wanted to heave those fancy glasses of his across the room every time his team plays these days. No Kevin Durant and no Russell Westbrook?

It's torture defined for this franchise that has already endured so much frustration the past few years.

But while the Thunder are getting the proverbial kick-'em-while-they're-down treatment from their opponents of late, they're worth watching from here on out to see if they can still manage to salvage their season. The key is that the embattled Thunder are hardly giving up on themselves — even if everyone else seems to have given up on them.

Despite losing eight of their first 11 games and currently sitting in 13th place in the Western Conference, their point differential — which is widely seen as the best way of gauging a team's competitiveness — is the 10th best in the West at minus 4.5. Sunday's home loss to the Houston Rockets (69-65) was as good an example of this as any, as they scrapped, tugged, clawed and even wrestled their way through in the kind of way that teams on life support typically don't.

Don't forget about the quiet subplot beyond the stars. As we've seen before with this team, no one is better when it comes to using injuries to core players as a way to speed up the development of younger players. That's a credit to coach Scott Brooks as much as anyone, as well as his longtime lead assistant Rex Kalamian and their entire staff.

Players like Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams and the rest of their lot are experiencing on a nightly basis what it's like to carry a much heavier load than before. The benefit that comes with that is tough to quantify, but it will be on full display once their heavy hitters return. Homecourt advantage is likely out of the question for the Thunder, but the notion of reaching the playoffs and being as dangerous a bottom-four seed as you'll find remains in reach.

Durant, who had surgery on his fractured right foot on Oct. 16, will be reevaluated later this month and could be back in early December. Westbrook, whose right hand fracture came two games into the season, is also scheduled to be reevaluated later this month.

One team that can sympathize is the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers' season started badly when All-Star forward Paul George broke his right leg during a Team USA scrimmage in the summer. Guard George Hill (bruised left knee) won't return until early December at the earliest. But there is some good news: guard Rodney Stuckey (sore left foot), guard C.J. Watson (bruised foot) and forward David West (sprained right ankle) are close to returning.

Here's a look at some other NBA players who have left their teams with big holes:

MIAMI HEAT SG DWYANE WADE

Wade has missed the past three games with a strained left hamstring, and the Heat have lost twice — a sign they need Wade in the lineup.

In the past four seasons, the Heat were meticulous in the management of Wade's minutes and injuries, and that's not going to change this season. The Heat are not going to play Wade if it means risking a long-term nagging injury.

Of course, there's a fine line to navigate. The Heat can be a playoff team and potentially a top-four team, but for that to happen, they need Wade on the court.

Miami scores 110.6 points per 100 possessions with Wade on the court and 100.2 without him on the floor. The Heat are little better defensively with Wade on the bench through 11 games, but still have a higher net efficiency rating when he plays. His dynamic offense outweighs some defensive flaws.

Wade is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers as are Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts, two of Miami's big free-agent signings. The Heat are the kind of team that can't afford many man-games lost to injury, starting with Wade.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES PG RICKY RUBIO

Everyone knew the Timberwolves would struggle without Kevin Love, but Rubio's sprained left ankle suffered on Nov. 7 only made matters worse. Offensive flow is stymied as a result of one of the game's most creative passers being on the shelf, and now the Timberwolves — who are starting 19-year-old rookie Zach Lavine in Rubio's place — find themselves in the bottom third of the league when it comes to assists (currently 20th at 20.2 per game).

Rubio is sorely missed as the head of the Timberwolves' defense as well, as only the Lakers have been worse on that end than Minnesota (110.9 points allowed per 100 possessions compared to the Lakers' league-worst 114.7). Rubio was second in the league last season in steals at 2.32 per game. While the Timberwolves are not putting a timeline on Rubio's return, USA TODAY Sports reported at the time of the injury that his absence could last up to eight weeks.

Adding to the injury front for the T'wolves is center Nikola Pekovic, who is at least three games for sprained wrist and Thaddeus Young, who will miss three games after the death of his mother.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS SG BRADLEY BEAL

Last year, the Wizards started 2-7. This season, they are 7-2, all without their talented third-year shooting guard, who sustained a non-displaced fracture in his left (non-shooting) wrist during training camp.

The Wizards are deeper and better equipped mentally and physically to deal with Beal's absence but they want him back in the lineup and that's close to happening, perhaps as soon as Friday's big Eastern Conference game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Beal participated in his first full practice on Monday but didn't want to set a return date.

"The biggest thing is for me is just taking contact and how I deal with that," Beal said. "And seeing how my body responds the next day — my wrist anyway. It's just me being able to get back out there, take some bumps and bruises out here and just see how I feel."

Beal will give Washington a boost from the three-point line. The Wizards are shooting 32.8% on threes (22nd in the NBA), and Beal was one of the top three-pointer shooters (40.2%) last season and is expected to increase the number of threes made per game this season.

CHICAGO BULLS PG DERRICK ROSE

The Bulls are one of the few teams that can handle injuries to a star player, a former league MVP no less. The Bulls are talented, deep and well-coached and off to an 8-3 start, including Monday's road victory against the Los Angeles Clippers with Rose and Pau Gasol sitting on the bench in suits.

Already this season, Rose has sustained a sprained right and left ankle and is out right now with a left hamstring injury, and it's wise to play it safe with a hamstring injury.

Rose is listed as questionable for Thursday's against the Sacramento Kings, but the Bulls are in no hurry to get him back on the court.

The overall issue of Rose's injuries will follow him and the Bulls as long as he is in and out of the lineup. And even if Rose plays an extended stretch without an injury, the topic will continue to be a steady background presence for Rose and the Bulls.

But don't let Rose's injuries this season completely overshadow all of his game. He's averaging 18 points and 5.4 rebounds and showing signs that he hasn't lost much speed or explosiveness despite missing most of the past two seasons with knee injuries.

HOUSTON ROCKETS PF TERRENCE JONES

It's not quite as painful as losing out on Chris Bosh in free agency, but the Rockets are hurting without Jones in the lineup. The 22-year-old was coming into his own when he went down with a bruised nerve in his right leg after four games, as he had averaged 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game during that early stretch.

But coach Kevin McHale admitted Tuesday that he hasn't the slightest idea when Jones might be back. Meanwhile, the Rockets showed in the past two games — the 69-65 win vs. the Thunder and a 119-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies — that they could certainly use another reliable scoring option beyond James Harden, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza in the starting lineup. Donatas Motiejunas is filling the role for now, but is averaging just 5.3 points while shooting 35.8% from the field (and 5.3 rebounds per).

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS G MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA

The Cavaliers' backup guard, who has a sprained left knee, received quality minutes in Cleveland's first three games, including crunch time in the fourth quarter and overtime of Cleveland's victory against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 31.

Able to fill in at either guard spot and play smart, Dellavedova is out at least two more weeks. It's clear Cavs coach David Blatt likes what his 24-year-old guard brings so expect Dellavedova to be back in the rotation when he returns.