OKC Thunder: National power rankings drop team in week 7

Every team in the NBA is now well past the quarter pole with seven weeks in the books. The past week served up four games for the OKC Thunder who played the Rockets and Wolves twice each winning one game in each set.

Typically at this stage of the season, the power rankings list begins to settle in with the very top and very bottom of the lists tending to be cemented. Although those top and bottom five teams can shuffle within their own groups they seldom drop out of their little group of five.

That may not be the case in a pandemic where some teams have struggled to get out of the gate. Or conversely, a club like the OKC Thunder who are performing above most critics’ expectations may still be headed south on that ladder. Rather, this could be a season where fluxation could be greater than any in comparison.

Several teams in the bottom tier hope that’s the case as they struggled to get on track. And, for a few clubs like the Thunder, they may well be hoping to experience the descent down the ladder.

For now, let’s look at how the national sites ranked the OKC Thunder in week seven of the NBA power rankings.

National writers drop OKC Thunder in week 7 of power rankings

Week seven served up another term where the OKC Thunder defied expectations but pundits collectively elected to shift them into the bottom tier Wins versus the Rockets and Wolves failed to impress many.

Last week there was a variance of 12 positions from the high to the low rating of the club That’s also changed this week with a smaller four rung variance. To wit, the Thunder rank as low as 25th and high of 21st.

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

NBA.com – John Schuhmann:

For most of the season, John Schuhmann has marveled over the OKC Thunder and their ability to be competitive and win games no one expects them to. However, as the association turns the corner past the 30 percent schedule marker the shine may have dimmed slightly for the stat master who drops the Thunder from 20th to 24th.

The following is a portion of his excerpt on OKC:

"The Thunder are the proverbial box of chocolates. They’re 10-12 with the point differential of a team that’s 6-16, having lost six games by more points than their largest margin of victory (17). The most recent of those big losses was Monday against Houston, when they got doubled up (48-24) in the first quarter and lost by 30. Two nights later, playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and Luguentz Dort for the last 39 minutes), they registered that largest margin of victory, leading the same Rockets by as many as 30 in what was the third least efficient game for any team this season."

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

ESPN Poll:

It’s not surprising the ESPN panel drops the OKC Thunder from 24th to 25th in week seven. Although the team split the week with two wins and two losses the panel hasn’t exactly been generous with their seeding of the youngsters in OKC this season.

Royce Young’s excerpt focuses on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s “clutchiness” noting how well he absorbed the lessons taught from mentor Chris Paul last season. That’s something Intentions jumped on early this season and highlighted his placement within the upper echelon leader board in the link below.

The full listing can be found here.

"The Thunder have managed to hover around .500 despite the profile of a team that should be much worse (28th in net rating). The biggest reason is they execute well in close games, going 5-4 in clutch-time contests with a ridiculous offensive rating of 127.1 and a net rating of plus-27.1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently learned a thing or two from Chris Paul on how to close, ranking in the top 15 of most clutch-time categories this season. — Young"

Bleacher Report:

Mo Dakhil of Bleacher Report is clearly impressed by the surprising OKC Thunder. He holds the Thunder steady in 21st but notably ahead of a few teams who should finish well ahead of them.

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

"For a team that is supposed to be rebuilding, the Oklahoma City Thunder do win quite a few games. They’ve even beaten good teams like the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.Luguentz Dort has surprised everyone with how well he is shooting the ball. He has upped his three-point percentage from 29.7 to 36.5 while nearly doubling his attempts per game. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer highlighted how Dort has become more than just a defensive presence."

The full article is available via this link

CBS Sports:

Last week CBS Sports writer Colin Ward-Henninger was so impressed by the OKC Thunder he ranked them 16th. With the team posting a split week he drops OKC back down to 24th.

CWH gets the pass for the big drop because he was the only scribe willing to rank the young club above the 20th ladder rung. He’s also the only national writer who ranks teams with more emphasis placed on how they perform in a given week.

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

"Some of the lineups might have been unrecognizable to casual fans, but the Thunder went 2-2 this week, splitting series with the Rockets and Timberwolves. Al Horford was good in the three games he played, averaging 18.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 54 percent 3-point shooting, while Hamidou Diallo averaged 15.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists as he’s been given extra opportunity with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing two games."

Sports Illustrated: (updated)

More from Thunderous Intentions

When I first posted this week’s list Michael Shapiro hadn’t posted his power rankings list yet. It went up this morning with the SI.com writer ranking the OKC Thunder 25th which is a jump from 28th last week.

Shapiro’s excerpt on the Thunder is below while his full rankings can be found here.

"It’s unlikely we see Oklahoma City really sniff the postseason until at least 2022, but the Thunder are clearly on the right path as they develop a quality crop of young talent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks like a true franchise building block, while Lu Dort, Hamidou Diallo, and Darius Bazley have all taken marked steps forward this season.Dort’s rise is especially notable. Oklahoma City’s ‘James Harden stopper’ in the 2020 playoffs continues to grow his offensive game, entering Wednesday averaging 11.7 points per game on a respectable 36.5% from three. If the Thunder can hit on a lottery pick or two in the coming seasons, we could see the next great era of Oklahoma City basketball arrive sooner than expected."

Hoops Habit:

Corey Rausch of Hoops Habit notes the dilemma Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in as far as making it onto the All-Star squad. He also suggests if one of the Thunder youngsters could be consistently good the team would rise.

Hmmm- perhaps he missed the memo this is a development year or that OKC is hoping to nab the top draft pick who is likely to be Cade Cunningham (a prospect who would feast beside SGA).

Rausch is one of the few on the board who moved the Thunder up a spot this week from 25th to 24th.

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

"Gilgeous-Alexander deserves more spotlight than he is likely to get this season. He missed the loss to the Timberwolves this week but otherwise was dominant. In the win against the Wolves, he posted a line of 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a steal to lead his team to victory.Making it to the All-Star Game as a guard in the Western Conference is a tall task. Simply based on statistics, SGA fits the bill. If any of the young guys around him can begin to mimic the consistency he brings to the court on a daily basis, that is when this team will thrive."

That’s it for week seven. Let us know in the comments section what you think of the placements.

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