OKC Thunder in tight race in the NBA’s toughest division
The OKC Thunder are currently second in the Northwest Division. That’s right, the NBA still has divisions.
The Portland Trailblazers have a two-game lead over Oklahoma City in the tightly contested Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz are right behind the OKC Thunder, both only 1.5 games back. The title is tightly contested, but coveted? Sure, #whynot
The title of Division Champion is only nominal at this point. The NBA started seeding by overall record in 2016 after the Spurs (best record in the West) had to face division rival Mavs (second best in the West) in only the second round.
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The OKC Thunder‘s Northwest Division has the highest win total of any in the NBA at 208. The East’s Atlantic Division is second with 191, bolstered by the East’s top teams – the Raptors and Celtics as well as the Sixers.
The fifth team in the Northwest Division is currently on the outside-looking-in in terms of playoffs. The Denver Nuggets still have a winning record and are only two games behind the Jazz. That makes for five very solid teams packed into one conference with an overall record of 208-152.
Division standings are more neat than important
Of course the true story lies in playoff seeding rather than division at this point. These division rivals are conference rivals first and foremost right now as the season begins to wind down. Hopefully Oklahoma City can hold on.
If we do not take time to stop and examine the division a few times a season though… then what is the point? That can be a rhetorical question. It technically is not important at all unless you are a big NBA nerd or take a lot of stock in lesser banners in the rafters. That is actually quite a few of us though.
Keep clicking around Thunderous Intentions for more OKC Thunder news and analysis as well as our game day preview for tonight’s match with the Miami Heat.