NBA power rankings roundup: Thunder get mixed reviews after 1-3 week
The Oklahoma City Thunder went 1-3, but they took the Los Angeles Lakers to overtime in two of the losses, suffered a 97-95 defeat to the Denver Nuggets and then beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Nevertheless, not every national power ranking thought their output was enough to boost them on the lists.
Oklahoma City, who has been without star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the last three games, is 11-15 on the season. This record is tied with the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans for second-to-worst in the Western Conference (though in the Eastern Conference, they’d be tied for ninth place).
Here’s a rundown of OKC’s placement in power rankings released by major outlets on Monday:
ESPN: 24th (up 1)
Royce Young focused on the all-star candidacy of Gilgeous-Alexander in his segment, in which the analyst boosted the Thunder up one spot from last week to No. 24 overall. Young wrote:
"Three other third-year players in the past 20 seasons have posted at least 22 points per game on 50% shooting: Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Anthony Davis. And if you're wondering, those three all made the All-Star Game that season."
With that said, the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans made the playoffs that year. The Thunder are looking in on the outside, and with Gilgeous-Alexander having missed the last three games, he hasn't been there to help OKC do the same -- even if the Thunder have somehow managed to play very good basketball without him.
The Athletic: 27th (down 2)
Kind of surprising to see this much of a drop after the week Oklahoma City had. They were close to winning all four games, and it's tough to imagine they're the third-worst team in the league. But Zach Harper is the analyst instead of me for a reason. He explained his rationale comes from net rating.
"Brutal schedule for the Thunder this week, but they’ve been teetering with their net rating all season long. It might just be a hurdle in the schedule they couldn’t clear, or it might be a sign of things to come with their record. Impressive win against Milwaukee, at least."
Harper's theme this week was trade targets. He wrote that it would make sense for Oklahoma City to consider bringing in Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba.
"He was one of the most intriguing prospects heading into the 2018 draft when he was considered a shot-blocking, 3-point shooting big man. He’s only played 120 games in his career and 80 minutes total this season. With Vucevic seemingly ahead of him in Orlando forever, the Thunder could bring him into the program and get him back on track as a prospect."
NBA.com: 23rd (up 1)
NBA.com's John John Schuhmann summarized this past week for the Thunder right off the bat:
"The Thunder just played one of the tougher four-game stretches of schedule you’re going to see, they played it shorthanded (notably missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for each of the last three games), and they almost went 4-0."
That's the way Thunder fans see it, too. Oklahoma City was close to winning out a stretch against three teams who view themselves as contenders. Not bad at all. The Thunder are now No. 23 on Schuhmann's ranking, and it's tough to justify them being any higher. They'll have a little help in the rematch.
"The Thunder are one of two teams (the Spurs are the other) that has yet to play a rest-advantage game. Their first is scheduled for Friday in Milwaukee, with the Bucks hosting the Raptors the night before."
Bleacher Report: 22nd (down 1)
What we said above about No. 23 being a nice placement for the Thunder? We take it back. Bleacher Report has them at No. 22. Oddly enough, this is a decrease of one from last week. Bleacher Report analyst Mo Dakhil mentioned that the Thunder led the Nuggets by 19 before losing, and took injuries into consideration.
"The injuries are slowly adding up. Besides Gilgeous-Alexander being out with a sprained knee, they have not had George Hill who is out due to a thumb injury. This highlights how thin the team is at the guard spot."
Right behind the Thunder in these rankings are the Pelicans and Rockets, the two teams they're tied with in the West.
CBS Sports: 20th (up 2)
CBS Sports analyst Colin Ward-Henninger recognized the week that the Thunder had as a positive.
"This was about as impressive of a 1-3 week that a team can have."
It's true. Two overtime games against the reigning champs, a two-point loss to a conference finalist from last season and a win over one of the favorites to get out of the Eastern Conference. There's nothing for OKC to hang its head about. Even with the injuries, other players are producing.
"OKC has gotten contributions up and down the roster with players coming in and out of the lineup, and Justin Jackson was the latest hero against Milwaukee, scoring 22 points and hitting all four of his 3-pointers, including the one that sealed the game with 15 seconds left."
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