T.I.’s power ranking for the seeding games finds the OKC Thunder ranking in the upper middle of the pack.
Over the course of the past few weeks, every team played eight seeding games that determined where teams would complete the season and which squads would move on. The OKC Thunder registered a 4-4 record and finished in the fifth seed. They’ll face the Houston Rockets in round one which begins on Tuesday, August 18th.
Some of the elite squads like the Lakers and Bucks who already knew their seeds weren’t as invested and their performances through the seeding games demonstrated that fact.
Yet, how much of their failure to succeed was based on a lack of interest, and how much can be narrowed down to issues with the team ramping back up? That question isn’t as straight forward.
Other teams rose to the occasion taking advantage of easy schedules and helping their individual causes. The Pacers and Jazz were both teams who entered the bubble minus core players and were expected to drop in the standings because of it. One did, the other powered through and kept their ladder spot.
Likewise, with so many of the Nets out it was thought the Magic could overtake them but it was Brooklyn who was among top teams in the seeding games. Brooklyn took nothing for granted and forced Damian Lillard and his Blazers to bring it in their final game. The Blazers came one made field goal away from being eliminated that’s how well the Nets played.
As always, injuries played a factor for teams, and with COVID-19 still raging through the states, there were players who missed the start of the bubble and others who had to leave when family members became ill.
The OKC Thunder played two games without either of their centers and in one match Chris Paul was the only core player available along with Luguentz Dort. The latter was lost late in the seeding games which highlighted how precarious a battle it is to keep all your players healthy while also winning games.
There was also the cat and mouse jockeying going on. No one will convince me the Nuggets didn’t purposely avoid playing the Dallas Mavericks for example. That was why their stars watched from the bench late in a game they could’ve won. Similarly, it seemed the 76ers were more invested in aligning with the Celtics than trying to move up and face Jimmy Butler and his Heat. Can’t say we blame the 76ers who know fully well how Jimmy Buckets can change games or get his team ready for the playoffs.
As the rankings roll out keep in mind these are not the same power rankings for the teams entering the playoffs. Rather, it’s a view of who played the best through eight seeding games. Note, while the Suns went 8-0 they failed to make the playoffs so they won’t get the top seed (though they’ll be close). Consideration is given for teams who improved their lot, battled in spite of copious injuries or missing core members, and who played above their seasonal ranking in key categories.
With that, I give you the power ranking for the 22 teams through the eight seeding games to complete the regular season…