Thunder have been worse than 4 teams outside the top-5 in the West over the last 20 games

The Thunder started this season at a rate that was so historic, there were discussions that they could finish the season with the best record in NBA history.

In the last month or so, that conversation has quickly stopped, as OKC has started to make mistakes, and they have been losing games at the rate we expect a standard team with peaks and troughs to have.

During this stretch, they've still been one of the top teams in the league, but there are four Western Conference teams outside of the top-5 in the standings that have been better than them in the last 20 games.

Which teams have been better than the Thunder in the West recently?

The four better teams are...

• Clippers: #10 seed, 15-5 record in last 20 games
• Warriors: #8 seed, 13-7 record in last 20 games
• Suns: #6 seed, 13-7 record in last 20 games
• Trail Blazers: #9 seed,13-7 record in last 20 games 

The Spurs have also been at the Thunder's level, with a 12-8 record in their last 20 games, which equals the Thunder's record.

We expect a team like San Antonio to be around OKC, but the other four teams have surprised quite a few people.

MORE: 76ers exploring trade options for 6-foot-11 player

The West has been very competitive this year, and it's only going to get crazier as the season nears an end.

We will probably get teams in the play-in tournament that have a chance at giving the #1 or #2 seed a run for their money.

The Thunder, despite their recent drop in production, still are the favorites to finish at the top of the conference.

As long as they're healthy come playoff time, they won't care too much about what happened during the regular season.

MORE: Knicks interested in 6-foot-8, former top-10 pick

However, the energy has certainly shifted, as the Thunder don't seem to be a clear runaway favorite anymore, as the gap between the Thunder and everyone else has shrunk.

The Thunder have the second-hardest schedule to finish the season, behind only the Nuggets.

They will be battle-tested during this stretch, and the next couple of months will show us if they can bounceback from this drought, or if they are going to have more issues come playoff time than we originally anticipated.

More NBA news:

• Trail Blazers could be in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, but for a different player
• Steph Curry is approaching an unbreakable three-point career milestone that you can't even fathom
• Warriors targeting 6-foot-8 forward averaging 22 PPG this season
• Bucks should trade for former No. 1 pick instead of Ja Morant, analyst suggests
• NBA insider reveals 7 trade candidates 'who could absolutely be moved' before the deadline
• Why one stat says the Trail Blazers are in a position to make a huge playoff push