OKC Thunder: shorthanded roster drops in week 14 of national power rankings

The trade deadline is the focus of week 14 power rankings by the National sites. Of course, that means there is plenty of humor and banter regarding the continual accumulation of OKC Thunder draft picks.

Also of note, many of the pundits pointed to the shut down of Al Horford, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s injury, and the team essentially moving into a more aggressive decision to tank — although it will be framed as “development”.

That said, if you catch this column weekly there is decided praise for how the Thunder compete which is more than understandable given the Thunder record isn’t far off some teams that expected (or still do) to be involved in the postseason.

While the circumstances will be more trying for Mark Daigneault who’ll be trying to put the youngsters in a position to succeed things got much tougher. SGA and Horford being out is a huge drop-off in talent but factor in Luguentz Dort entering the concussion protocol and Darius Bazley approaching his tenth consecutive game off the hardwood and it’s surprising the Thunder aren’t on a lengthy losing streak.

National writers drop OKC Thunder in week 14 of power rankings

With that, let’s look at how the national sites ranked the OKC Thunder in week 14 of the power rankings.

The overall rank of the Thunder experiences their biggest shift and differential in weeks with a three-rung range with a high of 23rd and low of 25th. The following offers excerpts from the National writers’ comments on the Thunder and the specific ranking of the team.

NBA.com – John Schuhmann:

The statsmaster serves up some tasty tidbits on how the Thunder shift with the absence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Theo Maledon taking over in his place. Schuhmann also notes how the Thunder succeed and stay close in games because of their stellar defense regardless of who is playing.

In week 14 Schuhmann drops the OKC Thunder one spot from 22nd to 23rd.  To view his full Thunder excerpt and the rest of his power rankings click this link.

"They lost both games, because the Thunder themselves scored just 96 points on 106 possessions after halftime. Theo Maledon had one nifty drive against Boston on Saturday, but hasn’t been much of an attacker, averaging only 8.4 drives per game (Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged almost 26) since inheriting the starting point guard job from Hill and shooting just 27-for-65 (42%) in the restricted area for the season. Svi Mykhailiuk (playing for his next contract) has been aggressive, but not very accurate, shooting just 8-for-26 (31%) from 3-point range in his five games with his new team."

ESPN Poll:

Following up on the trade deadline the ESPN panel looks at each team in terms of key additions and/or losses. Royce Young reiterates the common sentiment regarding the decision to sit Horford the rest of the season, and likewise makes the point without the team’s leading scorer it makes sense to get a better feel for the youngsters.

The panel holds the Thunder steady in 23rd. Young’s excerpt is and the panel’s full power rankings are available by clicking here.

"With Al Horford shelved for the rest of the season, the Thunder aren’t being shy about their intentions the rest of the way. But also, consider a few things: They were only 8-8 with Horford this season, and with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out for a month or so because of a foot injury, they weren’t doing much anyway. The Thunder also want to play their young players. One of whom is Horford protégé Moses Brown, who put up 21 points and 23 rebounds on Saturday. — YoungKey additions: NoneKey departures: George Hill, Al Horford (sitting out)"

Bleacher Report:

Mo Dakhil notes the Thunder host of injured players and those who’ll sit (Al Horford) the rest of the season and also points out the obvious – it will help OKC’s tanking efforts.

Dakhil moves the OKC Thunder down one rung from 22nd to 23rd.  The following offers up a portion of his Thunder excerpt and the full segment plus his full ranking is available here.

"They announced that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss a significant amount of time with a foot injury. Although losing him will hurt their chances to stack wins, it will help improve their lottery odds in a talent-stacked draft.The Thunder also announced that Al Horford will no longer be active for games, as they are looking to get more minutes for their developing players…Going 1-2 last week should help the Thunder’s tanking efforts."

CBS Sports:

Colin Ward-Henninger always offers up great insight on the CBS Sports site with regard to a team’s performance in the week prior.  In week 14 he notes the team shut down of Al Horford and SGA injury while giving kudos to Moses Brown who inked a long-term deal with the franchise.

CW-H like his cohorts drops the Thunder in week 14 – down two spots from 23rd to 25th.  For his full rankings click this link.

"As if OKC didn’t have enough draft picks, it added a couple more second-rounders at the deadline by sending George Hill to the 76ers. In an effort to make this year’s picks more valuable, the Thunder announced that Al Horford will not play for the rest of the season, on top of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being out indefinitely with a foot injury. They inked Moses Brown to a long-term deal after he put up 14.7 points and a monster 17.7 rebounds per game this week, and he should get plenty of burn for the remainder of the season."

Hoops Habit:

Corey Rausch of Hoops Habit serves up his week 14 power rankings noting the moves teams made at the trade deadline.

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

Rausch drops the Thunder one rung in his seedings this week from last week’s 22nd berth to 23rd.

The following is a portion of his excerpt on the OKC Thunder. The remainder of his musings and full power rankings list can be viewed by clicking here.

"The trade in question sent George Hill to the Sixers and the Thunder brought back Tony Bradley, Austin Rivers and two second-round picks. There was more involved with this move but for the Thunder this is the scope of things. Given how much the Thunder like their young back-court prospects Hill was always waiting to be moved and bringing back an interesting young center prospect in Bradley, who has looked good of late, and picks is a win. Rivers is likely to be bought out before long, but that is okay too."

That wraps up the power rankings for week 14.  Do you agree with the placement of the OKC Thunder? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.