NBA Power Rankings week 7 – OKC Thunder ascend the ladder

Offense: (103.6)  27th
Defense: (113.4)  25th
Net: (minus -9.8 )  28th

Games Week 7: (1-2) Won vs. Bulls, lost to Hawks, Hornets
Games Week 8 (4 games): Mon vs. Grizzlies | Weds. vs. Knicks | Fri. at Jazz | Sun. vs. Kings

Losing to a team that ranked 27th to 30th in the three major categories was bad enough. But consider this fact – the Hawks lost the game prior to the Warriors match by 47 points and then beat Golden State by a differential of 25 points while holding them under 80 points.

The prior team was the Rockets – the team the Warriors have owned the past few seasons which serves to punctuate just how far the Dubs have slipped.

There are silver linings. One is the play of rookie Eric Paschall who has scored in double-digits in 13 consecutive games. The last Warrior to reach benchmarks in this realm was Klay Thompson who completed the feat 14 consecutive times. Paschall will get the opportunity to tie and surpass Klay’s record this week facing the Grizzlies and the Knicks.

The other potential positive is the scheduled segment the Warriors are entering which features only three teams with winning records. Couple that with the return of Kevon Looney and D’Angelo Russell this past week and there may be an olive branch in place for the Warriors to improve their positioning.

The irrational thought process is for the Warriors to stay close to the chase pack until February when Stephen Curry returns and then Klay Thompson shocks everyone by returning in time for the postseason. The rational thought is it’s already too late — but with the eighth seed possessing only five additional wins and that 14 game stretch on tap is it really that irrational?