Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

OKC Thunder remaining schedule isn’t as bad as it seems

By Stephen Dolan

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 3: Russell Westbrook
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 3: Russell Westbrook /
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The Thunder have the toughest remaining schedule of any team competing for the playoffs, but it’s not as bad as it looks.

Pop quiz: Did the Thunder just drop a game they probably should have won? Was it the third time in four games that they did so?

Based on Strength of Schedule (SOS), do the OKC Thunder currently have the toughest remaining schedule of any team competing for the playoffs? Do the Thunder have to play again tonight, against the desperate (but with a rest advantage) Nuggets? Did the Thunder, by virtue of this loss, fall both out of home-court advantage and to within a half-game of the sixth-seed?

If your response to all of these questions was “yes,” congratulations! You have aced the quiz, and you must be a Thunder fan! If answering “yes” on all of these questions also caused your eyes to gradually and steadily well up with tears, then congratulations. You must be a Thunder fan.

But you didn’t come here to feel sad, did you? You came here to read positive, hopeful words about a team that somewhere, deep inside your heart, you still believe can be more. Here are some of those words.

OKC Thunder remaining schedule:

Yes, the Thunder are currently in possession of the hardest remaining schedule of any team except the Phoenix Suns, but it’s not quite as bad as the numbers show. OKC has upcoming matchups against both the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors, both of whom are currently locked into their playoff positions, and both of whom skew the Thunder’s SOS drastically.

The Warriors are also dealing with a rash of injuries nearly reminiscent of the 2015 Thunder. See, at this point in the season, SOS isn’t the only thing that matters; it also matters which team cares about the game.

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Here’s that schedule:

3/10 vs Denver
4/01 at New Orleans
4/03 vs Golden State
4/07 at Houston
4/09 at Miami
4/11 vs Memphis

Yes, by SOS, that is an intimidating stretch, but there are really only three teams on that list who will care about the game: the Nuggets, Pelicans, and Heat. In order to capture this discrepancy, let’s use an innovative (but entirely made up and subjective) statistic – Matchups Of Important Strategic Timing (MOIST).

The Thunder have a MOIST score of 3. Having a high MOIST score is very bad, because it means you will play more teams who are interested in beating you. It also increases the odds of your team’s fans crying at the end of the season. You’d much rather have lots of games Against Relaxed or Inept Dudes (ARID).

With no further ado, the MOIST rankings for each of the teams 3-10 in the West

  • Nuggets: 7 (at OKC, MIL, IND, MIN, at LAC, PORT, at MIN)
  • Clippers:  6 (at POR, IND, SAS, at UTA, DEN, NOP)
  • Blazers:   4 (LAC, at SAS, @DEN, UTA)
  • Pelicans: 4 (at CLE, OKC, at LAC, SAS)
  • Spurs:      3 (at LAC, POR, at NOP)
  • Wolves:   3 (UTA, at DEN, DEN)
  • Jazz:         3 (at MIN, LAC, at POR)
  • Thunder: 3 (DEN, at NOP, at MIA)

Dry your eyes, Thunder fans. It’s not quite as bad as it seems.

For a more in-depth look at the Thunder’s remaining schedule and the overall Western Conference standings, read Tamberlyn Richardson’s breakdown here.

Big game for the Thunder tonight, keep your Intentions Thunderous.

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