OKC Thunder plummet in week 5 power rankings lists

The OKC Thunder had a tough week five of action losing all three games and looking more like a lottery-bound club.

Although that destination was inevitable, and the goal for this season whether stated publicly or not. Yet, through most of the first quarter of the season, the Thunder gained respect for their competitive nature and ever-reliable defense. As such the Thunder find themselves in the bottom tier but predominantly placed ahead of a handful of clubs.

League-wide the buzz centered on the revamped Brooklyn Nets with the addition of former Thunder star James Harden and the return of the enigmatic Kyrie Irving.

As for the revamped Big 3 Nets – was it just me or did the first games emulate their season start? That segment featured two big wins by margins of 25+ points versus the Warriors and Celtics. However, in the follow-up games, their flaws and defensive shortcomings were exposed.

Similarly, the new Big 3 had pundits emoting on how this crew would challenge some of the best offensive teams in league history. They won scoring 122 and 125 points in wins versus the Magic and Bucks.

But, then the Cavaliers won consecutive games. scoring 147 points in double overtime and followed up with a 125 point effort.  This was the same Cavs squad who ranked 30th offensively (100.8 points) and briefly moved ahead of the Thunder after those two scoring outbursts (104.2).

Proving this was more of an outlier and the Nets porous defense, the Cavs quickly fell back to 30th after losses to the Celtics and Lakers.

OKC Thunder news finds the team plummeting down national power rankings

With the Western road trip and a losing streak, the team did what they were supposed to be doing — lose.

In spite of those losses, however, the pundits gained respect for OKC given the fact they are still competitive, never give up and their new system is fun to watch. Some wondered if the Thunder would join the groups vying to nab a play-in seed but this past week showcased a more likely scenario where the team will compile multiple losses.

As such the national sites OKC Thunder power rankings in week five range from a low of 26th to a high of 23rd.

The following represents a compilation of the national sites’ excerpts about the Thunder and links to their power rankings list for week five of NBA action.

NBA.com – John Schuhmann:

While it was inevitable the OKC Thunder would drop down the boards after losing three in a row. Some of the national writers surprised with their placements. For example, John Schuhmann only dropped them four spots to 24th.

The following is a portion of his excerpt on OKC:

"While the starting lineup hasn’t been good, the Thunder offense is on another (not good) level when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steps of the floor. OKC ranks last offensively overall and has scored 18.5 more points per 100 possessions with Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor (108.2) than it has with him off the floor (an anemic 89.7). Aleksej Pokusevski is still getting minutes and is now shooting 22.5% from the field, 5-for-9 in the restricted area and 11-for-62 (18%) outside it. He’s not slowing down, though. After taking eight shots in 17 minutes on Sunday, Pokusevski is averaging more field goal attempts per 36 minutes than George Hill, who led the league in 3-point percentage last season."

For the rest of Schuhmann’s Thunder comments and the rest of his power rankings click here.

ESPN Poll:

The ESPN panel hits the Thunder hard dropping them nine spots this week from 16th to 25th. In fairness, they did credit the Thunder for a great Eastern road trip although it took them two weeks to do so.

This positioning was expected as the panel began the year believing the Thunder were the worst team in the West (news flash – they aren’t). Kudos to the panel for recognizing the team competes every night and rewarding them for that effort.

The full listing can be found here.

"A combination of the schedule, Al Horford missing time because of a personal issue (a newborn baby) and the team just not being as good as its early record suggested has the Thunder returning to reality. They’ve dropped five of their past six, the lone win being a 22-point comeback against the Bulls. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort continue to be bright spots for OKC, whose season focus is on development. — Young"

Bleacher Report:

Mo Dakhil of Bleacher Report drops the Thunder from 21st to 23rd in week five. Dakhil notes the “fun Thunder run might be coming to an end.”

I guess that’s a matter of perspective because a good portion of Thunder Nation wants the team to tank for the picks yet appreciates them being competitive (just as long as they lose more than they win).

A portion of Dakhil’s excerpt can be found below.

"Oklahoma City ended the week on a three-game losing streak. It still holds the worst offense in the NBA. The Thunder do not force a lot of turnovers, so they cannot get out in transition to get easy baskets. They get just 10.7 fast-break points per game.The good news for the Thunder is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is evolving as a playmaker. In his first season with the keys completely handed to him, he is giving out 6.4 assists on a nightly basis, up from 3.3 per game last year. Luguentz Dort is also continuing to shoot it well from three at 40.5 percent."

The full article is available via this link

CBS Sports:

Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports ranks every club on their overall talent but puts the most emphasis on the past week’s games. As such he has the Utah Jazz ranked first (longest active win streak) and dropped the Thunder nine spots from 15th to 24th.

It’s a matter of opinion on what style you prefer but the narrator falls somewhere in the middle of analyzing the past week plus crediting overall performance.

There is no debate the Thunder lost three games so fans expected them to drop. yet Ward-Henniger marks them fairly keeping them ahead of other flailing teams who haven’t shown the same competitive spirit.

For CWH’s full power rankings placement click this link.

"OKC dropped all three games this week, losing once to the Nuggets and twice to the Clippers. Al Horford was out for all three games, and 22.3 points and 7.3 assists per game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t enough to get the Thunder a win. Not surprisingly, generating offense was particularly difficult, but George Hill shot the lights out, making 7-of-12 3-pointers in the three losses."

Sports Illustrated:

Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated – The Crossover drops the Thunder from 24th to 26th this week. Shapiro like Intentions believes the Harden trade could benefit the Thunder and all those draft picks in Presti’s closet.

With Victor Oladipo joining Christian Wood, John Wall, Eric Gordon, and the other Rockets the club should be good enough to avoid the bottom four seeds and that would mean the Thunder retain their pick.

The following is his excerpt on the Thunder while his full rankings can be viewed here.

"The Thunder are one major beneficiary of the blockbuster James Harden trade. Oklahoma City has the right to swap draft picks with the Rockets in 2021, and while the pick is top-four protected, it could very well convey for Sam Presti & Co. this spring. Houston is likely among the pool of play-in contenders in the Western Conference, almost certainly outside the top six but also unlikely to slide to the bottom of the conference. If things break right, Oklahoma City could potentially receive a top-10 pick in the 2021 draft."

Hoops Habit:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 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

Intentions affiliate site Hoops Habit serves up writer Corey Rausch’s power rankings. Rausch enjoys the entertaining brand of ball the OKC Thunder bring to the court on a nightly basis but points out without Al Horford on hand the team is very young and tackling the Clippers and Nuggets was too far of a reach.

Last week Rausch held the team steady at 23rd but drops them to 25th this week after the three losses.

The following is a portion of his excerpt on the Thunder while the full ranking list can be found here.

"With Al Horford out of the lineup for the birth of his fourth child, the team is even younger than usual. The starting lineup in both games featured George Hill and then the young quartet of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Isaiah Roby and Darius Bazley. That is fun to watch if you want a peak at the future but going up against the likes of the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers will lead to lumps over highlights.This completes the power ranking offerings for the fourth week of NBA games."

That sums up week five of the power rankings from the national pundits. What do you think of where the OKC Thunder landed this week? Let us know in the comments section.