Pundits Preseason Predictions for OKC Thunder and Russell Westbrook

With six games remaining the sixth seeded OKC Thunder are poised for post season play and Russell Westbrook is on the precipice of creating history.

With the departure of Kevin Durant expectations for the OKC Thunder were all over the map. So, when pundits prepared their 2016-17 preseason team and award predictions few selected the squad (let alone Westbrook) to be in the upper echelon.

As you’ll see at the bottom, I was far more enthusiastic about the OKC Thunder’s potential and equally ebullient regarding Westbrook.

With that, let’s take a look at the National Scribes predictions for the OKC Thunder and Russell Westbrook’s MVP chances.

ESPN Panel:

A panel at ESPN provided their preseason predictions for where the Thunder would finish and who would win MVP.

The panel earmarked OKC to finish sixth with a 44-38 record. Details on the selection were:

"Despite OKC’s losing Kevin Durant and trading away Serge Ibaka for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis, our panel still likes the Thunder’s chances of making the playoffs. Over the past two seasons, Russell Westbrook played 48 games without Durant; he averaged 30.5 points, 9.2 assists and 7.6 rebounds, and he registered 11 triple-doubles. Oklahoma City went 25-23 in those 48 games, which would equate to 43 wins, just barely south of where our forecast places the Thunder in 2016-17."

To predict Most Valuable Player the panel each selected three players who were assigned a point total (5 points for first, 3 for second and 1 for third). A tally of all votes was then made with the following results:

LeBron James took the top spot grabbing 18 first place votes with a grand total of 145 points. Westbrook garnered second place among the panel with 15 first place votes and total of 112 points. Especially interesting was Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Curry rounded out the top 5. James Harden didn’t even make their top five list.

David Aldridge NBA Writer and Analyst:

Made 24 predictions including the following:

Aldridge predicted Oklahoma City would make the playoffs

"Last I checked, good teams — at every level — start with a good point guard and center. The Thunder still have a great point guard/center combo in Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams. That will be enough to get 44 wins and a postseason berth. It would be too much to ask for OKC to finish eighth in the West and play Golden State in the first round, right?"

Further, Aldridge had LeBron James winning his fifth MVP title.

Adam Fromal of Bleacher Report:

In his preseason predictions Fromal placed the OKC Thunder seventh and predicted a 43-39 record.

"This team is no longer a playoff lock, but it enters the season as a good bet to play more than 82 games—even if it’s not many more."

Timothy Rapp also of Bleacher Report:

Fromal’s counterpart placed the Thunder higher at sixth and projected a win total of 46-36

"Meanwhile, the Thunder are a tough team to project. Losing Durant, Serge Ibaka and Dion Waiters didn’t make them better, but Russell Westbrook is arguably a top-five player in the league, and Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova are nice pieces. Rookie Domantas Sabonis could also make a nice impact immediately.Westbrook alone is probably enough to get the team into the postseason (if he isn’t traded, that is). But the Thunder went from being one game away from the NBA Finals last season to potentially fighting for their playoff lives this year."

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CBS Panel:

Matt Moore pulled together a panel to make their team by team win total predictions, here’s where they ranked the Thunder:

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Sports illustrated:

Andrew Sharp and Ben Golliver served up a preseason article with 71 reasons to watch the NBA. Included in those were these OKC Thunder ponderings with the second and third comments of the 71 listed. Of note check out the entire article for a funny take on Steven Adams (21) and other OKC Thunder selections via points 34, 42 and 61.

"2: #TeamKD vs. #TeamRuss. The NBA’s version of Jay-Z vs. Nas. Please, basketball Gods, give us Warriors–Thunder in May so we can enjoy a postseason dose of Russell Westbrook’s “Ether.” 3: The deep list of kamikaze MVP candidates. Westbrook. James Harden. Damian Lillard. Blake Griffin. Paul George. Anthony Davis. All six stars have a shot at crashing the MVP conversation through a combination of overwhelming will and crazy numbers. Turn them loose!"

SI pick MVP:

In terms of the MVP race not one of the five SI writers saw Westbrook taking the hardware. Though he was cited in some of their selections. Full article can be found here.

Lee Jenkins estimated Curry/Durant and LeBron/Irving would cancel out each other’s votes opening the door for Harden and Westbrook, but ultimately selected Harden. Jenkins estimated the extra ball handling duties would push Harden ahead.

Ben Golliver and Andrew Sharp both picked Kevin Durant. Sharp said Russ wouldn’t have enough wins to be in contention.

Rob Mahoney picked Steph Curry but said:

"James Harden and Russell Westbrook will mount hyper-productive seasons on teams that won’t win enough games to meet the burden of MVP precedent."

Jeremy Woo picked LeBron, but did say Russell Westbrook “may end up with the best statistical case”, but just like Sharp felt the Thunder would fall short of collecting enough wins.

My Preseason Pick:

Earlier this season on a TTOTambz podcast I selected Russell Westbrook as this season’s MVP and further said he would average a triple-double.

I also participated in a round table which asked whether James Harden could win MVP and I said the following:

He’ll definitely have the stats, but he’ll need the Rockets to finish first or second to win. Westbrook will have more leeway because of how much the Thunder lost. Other contenders will obviously be LeBron James and the Warriors Durant/Curry. Personally I’d rather see Harden, Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard or a player on a team not loaded with superstars win. Then again, I’m in the camp who believes the MVP should go to the player who is the difference in their team winning or losing like Harden was 2 seasons ago.

The old adage “the proof is in the pudding” applies here. I still have to find the specific podcast, but this article proves I had Westbrook pegged for MVP preseason and called for the Thunder to finish fourth of fifth. Looking back I didn’t just nail Westbrook I had all 4 MVP candidates ranked….

Prediction:

More from Thunderous Intentions

“Pray Russell Westbrook stays healthy, as this revenge tour is going to be something to behold. Expect Presti to move swiftly if early signs show an absence in any one area.”

“LeBron James will be back in contention for MVP, but Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden stand to be his greatest competition. And, for Westbrook he only needs to get the Thunder close to the 4th or 5th seed because no one expects them to be there. Well, no one except me. Again, barring injury I’m calling for Westbrook to lead his charges to a 4th or 5th seed and also take the MVP title.

Ultimately, does anyone care what happens as long as the Thunder end up facing the Warriors in the post season?

Ultimately most National writers foresaw the OKC Thunder returning to the post season though few saw them performing as well as they have. Given the injury woes OKC suffered the fact they are ahead of pace from most predictions speaks to just how great Westbrook has bee. And, should he win MVP I’ll enjoy the great satisfaction of being one of very few pundits who predicted as much.

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Pundits Preseason Predictions for OKC Thunder and Westbrook

By Tamberlyn Richardson | Apr 3, 2017