Week two power rank lists find the OKC Thunder dropping down pundits ladders.
For fans of the OKC Thunder they may be a little dismayed by the power ranking placements this week. And while it’s understandable to question positioning there are a few things worthy of noting.
First of all each lists addresses their ranking with a specific strategy. Some rank based on where they expect teams to finish whereas others will reward solid weekly performers. Where the water gets murky is pundits who combine those strategies.
An example of the long range expectations method is SI’s The Crossover Kevin Ducey. John Schuhmann rewards top performers but also gives credence to teams he expects to be there at the end. ESPN’s panel fit the murky water category since some teams were rewarded for solid week’s while inexplicably the Rockets, Warriors remained top two and Cleveland remained in the top seven.
Another thing to note this early in the schedule is small samples tend to produce false positives.
With that, let’s take a look at some of those small sample size trends and where the pundits rank the OKC Thunder in week two.