What a week it was for the OKC Thunder as they finished the last full week of the regular season. They went 3-1 on the week and capped it off with some #Hist0ry and a game winning shot for the ages.
The OKC Thunder started the week with a blow out win over Milwaukee, with Russell Westbrook notching his 41st triple-double tying Oscar Robertson record. They followed it up the next night by grinding out a road win in Memphis that would lock them in to at least the six seed in the Western Conference.
The next two games did not go quite as swimmingly for the Thunder, but were indicative of the roller coaster that is the Russell Westbrook experience. After 3 brutal quarter against the Suns Friday, Westbrook reentered the game with a little over 10 minutes left trailing by 20 points. A position that a lot of teams would just punt on and ride their bench unit for the rest of the game barring a big run, but not the Thunder.
Westbrook came in and appeared to have a predetermined plan to set up his teammates. It was ugly and awkward basketball, that on the surface looked like he was hunting for those last two assists to get his triple double. He would after the game seemingly admit to assist hunting saying, “I was 6 for 25, fuck, I mean, what do you want me to do?” Fortunately, the Suns were determined to not let him get it and were successful in doing so.
This set the stage for Westbrook to get the record vs. a desperate Denver team trying to stay alive in the playoff race. Not only did he manage to get the record, he scored the Thunder’s final 15 points including the 36 foot 3 pointer for the win. He may have also swung the MVP race in the process, and maybe the Thunder’s final spot in the power rankings.
NBA.COM – John Schuhmann
In his final rankings, Schuhmann moves the OKC Thunder down a spot to number ten.
"Russell Westbrook sure knows how to close. He’s finishing his MVP campaign strong, registering 12 triple-doubles in his last 16 games (an 11-5 stretch for the Thunder) and leading crazy comebacks in Dallas, Orlando and Denver in the last two weeks. MVP voters probably won’t be able to forget Sunday’s game-winner, especially because it came at the end of triple-double No. 42. Westbrook has been a better shooter in the clutch (effective field goal percentage of 49.7 percent) than he’s been otherwise (47.5 percent), even though every defense knows who’s shooting the ball on late-and-close possessions. The MVP conversation will continue into the first round, because the triple-double leaders will meet in the 3-6 series. Three of the four regular season meetings between the Rockets and Thunder went down to the wire, with Westbrook (4-for-17) and Harden (2-for-8) combining to shoot 6-for-25 on clutch shots."
ESPN – Marc Stein
Marc Stein was astounded by Westbrook’s performance on Sunday (how could you not be?) and moved the OKC Thunder up one spot in his rankings to ninth.
"I have never, ever believed in the concept of an aspiring MVP needing an “MVP moment” on his résumé, which seems to be important to some pundits. But how could you not be swept up in what Russell Westbrook pulled off Sunday afternoon in Denver? It was the third incredibly late comeback from a double-digit deficit that he’s engineered in the past two weeks and was capped with the buzzer-beater of Russ’ life to clinch his record-setting 42nd triple-double of the season and knock the poor the Nuggets out of the playoffs. What some deem to be stat chasing, as well as the Thunder’s apparent teamwide devotion to help Westbrook set all these records, will undoubtedly turn off some voters. Yet the fact remains that Oklahoma City, in its first season post-Kevin Durant, is 33-9 when he triple-doubles, compared to its 13-25 struggles when he falls short. The approach is working."
CBS SPORTS – Matt Moore
Matt Moore, who was in the building for triple double #42 on Sunday, kept the Thunder in the eighth spot in his rankings.
"Russell Westbrook’s season has shifted the standards for production in every phase of the statistical axes. And he may still not win MVP. That’s how good this season has been. His performance Sunday — 50 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists with just two turnovers — was flawless."
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED – Jeremy Woo
Jeremy Woo dropped the OKC Thunder two spots in his rankings to tenth for reasons that remain unclear.
"What Russ has done this season is truly remarkable, and although I’ve been Team Harden for the last couple months of this MVP race, Westbrook just put together one of the more remarkable seasons of all time. I’m swayed. We’ll see if it can translate to any playoff success against the Rockets, which will be fun."
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
It has been a wonderful season for the Thunder and the playoffs are less than a week away! Thank you all for reading the Power Rankings posts this season!