In week eight the pundits rank the OKC Thunder as high as fourth and as low as sixth although I ranked them third given their defensive prowess.
NBA.com – John Schuhmann:
In week 8 Schuhmann drops OKC one spot to sixth and notes concerns over how the Thunder will perform against higher seeded squads which will come fast and furious now. In the excerpt below Schuhmann speaks to how the team barely won some games recently and he follows that up with some Westbrook turnover talk (not shown).
"Before the Thunder schedule started to really get tough, they struggled in games in Brooklyn and Chicago. Paul George saved them on Wednesday, with 47 points, including 25 (and the game-winner) as they came back from 20 points down in the fourth quarter, against the Nets. But George missed another potential game-winner against the Bulls after and Thunder the bench basically lost the game (they were outscored by 12 points in less than 13 minutes with Russell Westbrook off the floor) on Friday."
For the rest of Schuhmann’s OKC Thunder insight and remainder of his week six rankings click this link.
ESPN – Panel
In week 8 the panel moves the OKC Thunder up one spot to fourth. Click this link for the full panel rankings.
ESPN’s panel:
ESPN: Kevin Arnovitz | Tim MacMahon |Andre’ Snellings
The Undefeated: Marc J. Spears | FiveThirtyEight: Chris Herring
"The Thunder have lost only four games total since their 0-4 start, but their most recent defeat — to a Bulls team that would lose by 56 points to the Celtics one night later — was a disappointment. The hiccup in Chicago aside, the Thunder have ridden their stifling defense (NBA-best 102.3 points allowed per 100 possessions) to move to the top of the Northwest Division. — Snellings"
Bleacher Report:
Grant Hughes holds the Thunder steady in fourth. Hughes offers some great insight on the team with just a portion of his thoughts in the excerpt below. For the rest of his thoughts click here.
"Big-picture thought: Oklahoma City has become the team it probably should have been ever since the post-Durant era began. An offense led by Russell Westbrook may always be inconsistent and dependent on transition chances for scoring. That’s not a makeup that screams playoff threat. But when you pair it with an athletic, intelligent, physically overwhelming defense, you’ve got something intriguing."
Sports Illustrated – The Crossover
After four weeks of placing the Thunder sixth Khadrice Rollins moves them up one spot to fifth place. Link to the rest of his ratings is here.
"If Playoff P is supposed to be the same guy who posted 25 in the fourth quarter in Brooklyn to lead cap off a 23-point comeback, the Thunder should expect to play more than six games this postseason. However, they need to show some anger after surrendering a fourth-quarter lead to the Bulls. Oklahoma City shouldn’t think it’s going to win a game where Russell Westbrook has 10 turnovers and Paul George shoots just 6 for 16, but it also shouldn’t be doing that against the Bulls."
CBS Sports:
Week eight finds writer Reid Forgrave of CBS Sports moving OKC up one spot to sixth. For the full list of his rankings click here.
"You could make a pretty solid case that Paul George is the leading contender right now for Defensive Player of the Year as the anchor of the NBA’s top-rated defense. He’s third in the NBA in steals and leading the league in defensive win shares."
Next week:
More from Thunder News
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- 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
Week eight pundits rankings were based on the OKC Thunder games played in their three game mini Eastern Conference road trip against the Pistons, Nets and Bulls where they went 2-1.
The next power rankings in week nine will be based on four games which featured two at home (Jazz, Clippers) and two on the road (Pelicans, Nuggets) including a back to back set to close the week.
This coming week the Thunder will play four games again featuring the Bulls, two games on the road (Kings and Jazz) and finish the week on a back to back with the Timberwolves at home.
That wraps up the week eight power rankings from myself and the National pundits. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. OKC Thunder and