OKC Thunder: Tank wars 2.0, assessing week 18

Houston Rockets (15-44)

Although the Rockets finished week 17 with a victory over fellow tankers the Orlando Magic they’ve lost both matches this week to reclaim the bottom rung.

This weekend they won’t need to try too hard to lose given their opponents are the Clippers and Nuggets. With 13 games remaining it’s unlikely the Thunder will fall beneath Houston given OKC has 20 wins or five more than the Rockets.

Minnesota Timberwolves: (16-44)

Of the bottom five teams, the Wolves are the club performing the best through the last 10 games with four wins.  Most recently they’ve alternated wins and losses in their last four contests.

The wins aren’t just against lower seeds either as Minnesota defeated the Heat as well as the Bulls who are actively trying to get into the play-in tournament. They’ll play a single match this weekend against the Jazz (and open week 19 also versus Utah).

Like the Rockets, it’s highly unlikely the Thunder will catch the Wolves on the ladder as they have four fewer wins this season and only 12 games remaining.