Week eight NBA power rankings lists find the OKC Thunder ranked as high as 7th and as low as 15th.
In the week eight power rankings most pundits weren’t buying the 2-1 week the Thunder posted. At this stage it’s safe to say the scribes are antsy to continue the narrative ‘it’s just a matter of time’ for the OK3 to find an offensive rhythm.
This might turn out to be a good thing for the OKC Thunder as fans know how much Russell Westbrook enjoys being underestimated.
Week eight power rankings includes the games OKC played versus the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies.
OKC Thunder power rank by scribe:
NBA.com – John Schuhmann
John Schuhmann moves the OKC Thunder up two spots to number 12 in this weeks power rankings. Schuhmann credits the Thunder’s improvement in winning close games. Like most pundits (those on TI included) the stats man is just waiting for that time he can rejoicefully announce ‘we all saw it coming’. Now if the OKC Thunder would just accommodate us.
"The Thunder still haven’t figured things out offensively, but they’re winning some of the close games they were losing early in the season. Each of their last five games has been within three points in the last three minutes, and they’ve won four of the five, even though Russell Westbrook has shot 5-for-17 on clutch shots over that stretch.Paul George’s absence over the last two games (he has a bruised calf) didn’t really help Carmelo Anthony break out of his shooting slump, but Alex Abrines had a big game as a replacement starter in Memphis on Saturday, scoring 20 points and hitting three clutch threes. That was the Thunder’s first road win since Oct. 31, and this week provides them an opportunity to get back over .500 for the first time since they were 4-3 after that Halloween win in Milwaukee."
ESPN – Panel
Despite the 2-1 week performance of the OKC Thunder the ESPN panel drops the squad a full spot in their power rankings to 15th. Perhaps the panel has buyer’s remorse over OKC not living up to expectations yet.
ESPN’s panel:
ESPN: Kevin Arnovitz | Amin Elhassan |Ramona Shelburne
The Undefeated: Marc J. Spears | FiveThirtyEight: Chris Herring
"In Saturday’s win over Memphis, Russell Westbrook notched his 34th triple-double of 2017, which tied Oscar Robertson for the most in a calendar year in league history. However, we’d be remiss if it came without mentioning the fact that he also shot 7-for-29. Since the start of last season, Westbrook has 14 triple-doubles in which he also missed more than 15 shots. The rest of the NBA has combined for two of them. –– Micah Adams"
Sports Illustrated – The Crossover:
Color me surprised as Kenny Ducey seems to be changing his tone on the OKC Thunder. This week he moves them up four spots to 12th. The reason behind the love? it’s all about the defense!
"Only two teams—the Warriors and Nets—have a better defensive rating this month than the Thunder."
CBS Sports:
Chris Barnewell is buying on the Thunder as well moving them up a full seven places to 12th. Like Ducey he is back on the OKC Thunder bandwagon believing the team is about to turn the corner.
"The Thunder aren’t perfect yet, but they’ve quietly been putting together a string of wins. The loss to Brooklyn was bad, but they had won three straight before that and the managed to survive the Grizzlies. This could be the start of OKC finally turning a corner."
Bleacher Report:
Grant Hughes has consistently ranked the OKC Thunder the highest among the national lists. Given that, it is not surprising Hughes vaults the team all the way up to seventh. The Bleacher Report list is a little behind the other lists so his list reflects wins versus the Timberwolves and Spurs which were on other pundits ranking lists last week.
"Plagued by clutch failures all year, OKC strung together wins that included classic close-and-late situations. That’s a big deal, per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript: “They’ve now won three consecutive games that have come within five points with five-or-fewer minutes to go. They began the season losing nine of 10 in games that entered that situation.”While Carmelo Anthony’s shot profile (just 14 percent of his attempts come at the rim, while 50 percent come from the mid-range area) is cause for serious concern, Steven Adams is picking up the offensive slack. Three of his four highest-scoring games of the year came this week, highlighted by a 27-point outing against the Timberwolves on Friday.OKC course-corrected after a rough 0-3 week, notching quality wins against the Wolves, Jazz and Spurs. If the Thunder ever get their offense unstuck, we’ll have another contender to add to the mix."
Each week this season TI will share where the pundits rank the OKC Thunder and offer our insight on the trends from the previous week. In week nine the team plays four games featuring the Charlotte Hornets at Oracle, a big match with Paul George returning to Indy for the first time as a member of the OKC Thunder, and a back-to-back weekend series at the Sixers and Knicks.