With teams now entering the final third of the season the OKC Thunder seem to finally have figured out how to lose.
This past week witnessed two of the most lopsided losses in franchise history. Former Thunder captain Chris Paul and his new squad the Phoenix Suns toasted OKC 103-140. Next, the club lost to Damian Lillard and his Blazers in arguably worse fashion dropping an 85-133 match.
With Al Horford shut down for the season the team in entering new territory when it comes to how franchises handle veterans as some pundits note in this week’s Thunder excerpt.
National writers drop OKC Thunder in week 15 of power rankings
The following provides a brief glance of how National sites view the team along with their associated ranking in comparison to their peers.
Not surprisingly the majority of writers dropped the Thunder this week in their power rankings while one site held them steady Overall the Thunder are positioned on one of three rungs with a high of 23rd and a low of 25th.
With that let’s take a look at the National writers’ comments on the Thunder and the spe
cific ranking of the team.
NBA.com – John Schuhmann:
It was a given John Schuhmann would have to penalize the OKC Thunder after the past week of blowout losses. However, his statistical insights served up some gems along the way. The statsmaster serves up some tasty tidbits on how the Thunder are one of eight teams who hasn’t lost more than three games in a row this season. Or course that neglects to mention they’ve lost three games in a row six times.
Regardless, that does speak to the scrappy nature of this young squad, and given quality teams at the top of the ladder can’t boast the same resiliency. Given the ever-shifting roster personnel due to injuries, trades, and buyouts, perhaps that speaks to the quality of Mark Daigneault’s game preparation
Schuhmann drops the OKC Thunder two spot from 23rd to 25th. To view his full Thunder excerpt and the rest of his power rankings click this link.
"The Thunder, who ranked 30th in this space at the start of the season and are now playing without all five of their opening-night starters, are one of eight teams that have yet to lose more than three straight games this season. Their latest streak-ending win came Wednesday when they outscored the Raptors, 26-14, in the fourth quarter. With their mobile bigs, they were able to switch comfortably, keep the Toronto ball-handlers in front of them, and force tough shots."
ESPN Poll:
As per typical Royce Young serves up the OKC Thunder excerpt noting the blowout losses of week 15. He coyly suggests the team is finally meeting their objectives now (which is to land that coveted top draft pick).
The panel drops the Thunder a single spot from 23rd to 24th this week Young’s excerpt and the full power rankings are available by clicking here.
"In their past two games, they lost by 37 to the Suns and by 48 to the Blazers. They had been winning in spite of their available roster, with injuries and other considerations reducing them down to a glorified G League roster. And as they position for a high lottery pick in the stretch run of the schedule, they might be hitting their stride. — Young"
Bleacher Report:
Mo Dakhil echoes the common sentiment of how this Thunder squad isn’t the typical tanking team. He notes opponents can’t afford to take the Thunder lightly and if they do they risk losing games.
Dakhil is one of the few who holds the OKC Thunder steady (in 23rd). A portion of his excerpt is below. To view the full excerpt and his full listing click here.
"If anyone is doing a case studying on teams in the NBA trying to tank, they should leave out the 2020-21 Thunder. They are winning games despite shutting down Al Horford for the season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing games with plantar fasciitis and Luguentz Dort in concussion protocols."
CBS Sports:
In week 15 of the power rankings Colin Ward-Henninger points to the shift in the Thunder roster and the lineups being younger than some college teams. CWH cites how this move finally seems to be working toward the goal of accumulating losses
In a slight oddity CW-H does something none of his peers do raising the Thunder up a rung from 25th to 24th. For his full rankings click this link.
"The Thunder are trotting out a younger lineup than some college teams and the losses are following accordingly, but they did manage to beat the Raptors this week before losing by 37 and 48 points, respectively, to the Suns and Blazers. As long as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort are out of the lineup, it will be a struggle on both ends for OKC, but the goal for this team is clearly to secure as many lottery balls as possible while developing young players like Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon, who each averaged 16.3 points per game this week."
Hoops Habit:
Corey Rausch of Hoops Habit touches on the situation with Al Horford being shut down for the season. He raises an interesting point that while this has been a practice of teams in past season the Horford scenario (occuring with a third of the season remaining) should raise some red flags with the CBA.
Rausch drops the Thunder two rungs in his seedings this week from last week’s 23rd position to 25th.
Beneath is the section of his Thunder segment on Horford. For his full excerpt and the remainder of his power rankings click here.
"Al Horford has been shut down for the season, with the promise of a trade during the offseason. This is the longest-range example of the recurring trend of sending veterans home to preserve their trade value. Starting months in advance is the progression of an untenable situation but that is for the CBA to handle."
That puts a bow on the week 15 National Power Rankings for the league and where the OKC Thunder land. Let us know in the comments section which scribe you agree with or if you’d rank the team differently.