OKC Thunder: Tank wars 2.0, assessing week 18

Cleveland Cavaliers (21-37)

Of the bottom 10 teams, the one with the best shot of falling under the Thunder is the Cavaliers. They possess one additional win and two fewer losses. In week 18 the Cavs helped out OKC by losing to the Pistons but beat the Cavaliers.

Of the three teams that are seeded the closest to OKC on the ladder, the Cavaliers are the only team playing two contests this weekend.  Like the Thunder, the Cavs will play the Wizards and also the Hornets this weekend.

While the Rockets, Pistons, and Magic and demonstratively resting players to assist in their tanking efforts Cleveland is one of the few clubs making an effort to win.

The others:

The teams positioned seventh through 14th on the tank ladder all have four to nine additional victories than the Thunder and four to 10 fewer losses.

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

Theoretically, the teams ranked seventh through 11th on the ladder could lose enough to fall downward matching OKC. However, that’s also assuming the Thunder who’ve lost 12 in a row would suddenly win four or more games in their final 13 games which is highly unlikely.

Of the bottom 10 teams, the Wizards (8-2) and Raptors (6-4) are both on hot streaks with Washington winners of six in a row while Toronto has won four in a row. Although Washington has the longest winning streak, the Raptors have the more impressive victories and finally have their core back and healthy.

Ultimately, what Thunder Nation should be cheering for this weekend is wins by the Pistons and Magic paired with an OKC loss. t keep losing to conference rivals. News flash — they WILL.

Closing:

The OKC Thunder will play the Wizards this evening and seeking to hit that unlucky 13 on the losing scale.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his 17th game this evening and the team’s record reflects his absence as they’ve won a single game in the previous 16 matches. Luguentz Dort has been in and out of the lineup removing the club’s best defender and primary scoring threat with SGA out. Darius Bazley returned seven games ago after missing 16 matches. That trio formulates the future core so their outright absence or entry in and out of the rotation has helped with the Thunder tanking effort.

Intentions will be back with tank wars 3.0 next week to update on where the teams rank, how they’ve performed during the week and how each team’s progress affects the OKC Thunder.