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NBA Power Rankings week 17: OKC Thunder and peers enter break

By Tamberlyn Richardson

FEBRUARY 11: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the OKC Thunder handles the ball during the game against the San Antonio Spurs (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)
FEBRUARY 11: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the OKC Thunder handles the ball during the game against the San Antonio Spurs (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKC Thunder, NBA Power Ranking W15
OKC Thunder, NBA Power Ranking W15: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors drives to the basket against the San Antonio Spurs (Photos by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images) /

team. 81. . 40-15. Previous: 3rd. Toronto Raptors. 3

Toronto Raptors:

Offense: (111.4) 12th
Defense: (105.1) 2nd
Net: (plus +6.3)  4th

Results Week 17: (1-1) Won vs. Wolves: 137-126, Lost vs Nets: 91-101
Games Week 18: (2 games) Fri vs Suns | Sun vs Pacers

An interesting Twitter war proves a point regarding these under the radar Raptors. Most pundits didn’t think they would be a factor in the preseason.

I wasn’t one of those people — BUT— if I had it all to do over knowing the Raptors would have the fifth most man games lost due to injury (and who those injuries were to) I can’t say I’d have been as confident.

https://twitter.com/BTheScreenNBA/status/1229723075580583937

The craziest part of the 15 game win streak is they only picked up ONE game on the Bucks and still only hold a 1.5 game lead over the Celtics.

For those who appreciate the team from the North and are hearing this was an easy 15 games – here’s a little fodder for your friendly debate:

  • The Celtics 10-game win streak occurred in the early stages of the season (Games 2 through 11). Four games were on the road all to sub .500 teams and they beat a trio of plus .500 teams (Bucks, Raptors, Mavericks) as well as one back-to-back set.
  • The Jazz 10-game win streak featured six road games (only one to top club), one win versus a team above .500 (Clippers) plus two to seeded teams (Nets, Magic) and no back-to-back sets.
  • The Lakers 10-game win streak featured five road games (only one versus a plus .500 team), two wins vs. plus .500 teams (OKC Thunder x 2) and two back-to-back sets. Memphis was among these teams but had a 5-10 record at the time.
  • The 18 game win streak by the Bucks featured seven road games, three back-to-back sets and four wins versus teams plus .500 (Thunder, Pacers, Jazz, Clippers). They also beat the Grizzlies but at that time Memphis was still figuring things out and only had an 8-17 record.
  • The 15 game win steak for Toronto featured eight road games and four wins versus plus .500 teams (at Thunder, 76ers, Pacers home and away) as well as the seeded Nets and three back-to-back sets.

Arguably the run occurred during a more difficult schedule than their counterparts given they had as many back-to-back sets in a shorter frame than the Bucks, beat as many plus .500 teams as the Bucks and had the most road games. Granted, none of these teams did this during their toughest schedule stretch.

What made the Raptors win steak the most impressive was the core players who were out injured.

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