Traveling to Colorado over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was forced to follow last night’s game against Minnesota through the play-by-play on a mobile phone. In spite of not even witnessing the game live, I still woke up with an ache of disappointment and frustration this morning, and felt my entire being had been on an emotional roller coaster that ended with an abrupt, neck-jerking halt.

Losing is always tough, but losing at the buzzer seems to be even tougher.  I asked Michael if he thought it was better to lose by 2 or 20.  His response:  winning by 2.  And he’s right. It’s difficult to watch losing at all much less at this 5-win pace. It takes on a strange feeling of permanence.

However, we have to realize that losing by 2 is progress over losing by 20. Our point differentials in the last 4 games under coach Brooks have shown vast improvement. Yeah, it’s more painful to watch, but think about why that is. The answer is hope. It’s what we’ve lacked for this first month, and I certainly feel a little more alive every time that fleeting feeling appears.

We Thunder fans have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, including the fact that this isn’t permanent. Every day is a new day in the NBA and there’s a lot of season left to play. November’s almost over and we still have the opportunity to end on a high note tonight in Memphis.

Consider the old investment adage:  buy low and sell high. If you’re like me, you’ve bought into this team on the high of the excitement generated by the team’s relocation and rebranding. But you’ve since watched the market value of this investment plummet to near junk status. This can happen, and many of you have seen it happen with more than just emotional invesments. But the sage investment advice applies here as well. Be patient, don’t pull out now.  It’s the short-sighted investor who sells out of fear or shame.  We may think this is a testing time for the team, but it’s also for the fans. You don’t have to skip around whistling and smillng giddily. But you were there for our first last-second loss. Stick around and be there for our first buzzer-beating win.