OKC Thunder: national power rankings week 13, The drop off
Week 13 power rankings witnessed the OKC Thunder falling down the ladder after stumbling defensively.
It’s the dog days of winter and with that, it’s not uncommon to hear of players missing games due to illness (read: flu bug). Well, it’s not just the OKC Thunder and opponents who get hit, but all of us ordinary folk too.
So, I spent much of last week drifting in and out of sleep trying as Tivo’d games blasted in the background. I did manage to get all the stats entered for week 13 but was unable to muster the extra effort to complete the TI ranking for all 30 teams. Therefore, with apologies TI’s week, 13 power rankings will only feature the national pundits’ listings.
In week 13 the power rankings are based on the OKC Thunder games played in the home and home series versus the Spurs and against the Timberwolves. The Thunder suffered their worst week with many scribes dropping them down their board. They ranked as high as sixth and as low as 11th.
NBA.com – John Schuhmann:
In week 13 the stats master drops the OKC Thunder yet again from last week’s seventh rank down to eighth. Schuhmann notes the trial of Westbrook’s shooting while also highlighting Terrance Ferguson‘s sudden shooting prowess. For more on TFerg check out the TI article on the sophomore here. And, to see the full commentary by Schuhmann on the OKC Thunder and his full power rankings for week 13 click here.
"But after missing two threes for the win against Minnesota on Tuesday, Westbrook recorded sevenof his career-high 24 assists (including a wicked, cross-court dime for a game-tying Terrance Ferguson 3-pointer) in clutch time of the Thunder’s double-overtime loss in San Antonio on Thursday. With Ferguson shooting 13-for-17 from 3-point range, the Thunder scored 118 points per 100 possessions in their three games last week."
ESPN – Panel
In week 13 the panel raises OKC Thunder one spot from seventh to sixth. 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 and Spurs turned in a 1980s-style, high-scoring home-and-home last week, splitting the games, with the Thunder outscoring the Spurs 269-266 in two classics. There is some concern that the vaunted Thunder defense gave up 154 points to the Spurs in one game, even in double-overtime, but their effort to bounce back and win the sequel by 10 points over the hot Spurs helped settle things back down. — Snellings"
Bleacher Report:
Grant Hughes is particularly tough on the OKC Thunder this week dropping them from a high of third last week all the way down to ninth. As per part of his comments (in the excerpt below) Hughes noes the shooting struggles of Russell Westbrook much like TI’s Noah Schulte covered in his Lightning Report this week.
The other notable is Hughes dings OKC for losing to the Wizards, but the truth is Washington has been playing up to their paper standard since Wall went down to injury so it’s not like they are a typical substandard team anymore. The remainder of the Hughes article and his full power ranking list can be found via this link.
"What’s more, Russell Westbrook’s high-volume inefficiency is approaching legendary levels. He’s in line to post just the fifth season in league history with a usage rate above 31 percent and a true shooting percentage below 49 percent. Think of him as the anti-James Harden (more on that shortly).Of course, when you can put up 24 points, 24 assists and 13 boards like Russ did against the Spurs on Thursday, ugly shooting sort of slips into the background."
Sports Illustrated – The Crossover
Writer Khadrice Rollins hits the OKC Thunder hard in week 13 dropping them four spots from seventh to 11th. Like TI’s Lawrence George noted the play of Abdel Nader is becoming a real thing. For the rest of Rollins rankings list click here.
"The Thunder’s season and postseason seeding will likely come down to just how much they can get from guys like Abdel Nader on the wing. If the 15 points he scored against the Spurs on Saturday are a sign of things to come from him, Oklahoma City might just be the real deal when April and May come around."
Hoops Habit:
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Writer Gerald Bourguet of Hoops Habit follows the lead of his cohorts dropping the OKC Thunder to seventh from his previous fifth ranking. For the rest of his rankings click here.
"It was a bit of a rough week for the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Nerlens Noel suffering a concussion after a scary fall. The team then lost a double-overtime gauntlet against the Spurs in its next game, dropping to 3-4 over its last seven contests.They rebounded nicely with a win over those same Spurs at home, and despite their recent struggles, are still situated at third in the West. For now, that’s an accomplishment in and of itself."
CBS Sports:
CBS Sports writer Reid Forgrave drops the OKC Thunder for the third consecutive time. This week he drops them two spots from eighth to tenth on his list. For his full rankings click here.
"The early-season conclusion: Russell Westbrook looks exposed due to his poor shooting stats. What it looks like now: Russell Westbrook looks exposed due to his poor shooting stats (23.3 percent 3-point shooting and scoring 21.4 points per game, his fewest since his second season in the NBA. The Thunder’s schedule was among the NBA’s easiest over the first half of the season. As they enter the tough part of their schedule, the Thunder have lost three of four, including a couple heartbreakers."
Next week:
The next power rankings in week 14 will be based on three games as the OKC Thunder travel to Atlanta and Philly then host the Lakers in between.
That wraps up the week 13 power rankings from the National pundits. Enjoy your week and make sure to bookmark Thunderous Intentions and visit daily to catch insightful content on your favorite team and players. I’ll be back next week with the full rankings including T.I.’s ranking of all 30 teams.