Northwest Division

Oklahoma City Thunder Power Rankings - 2011-12

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 1746-184NBA.com's one-man rankings committee (John Schuhmann) tweeted Sunday night that the Thunder are 0-6 against playoff teams since their April 1 home win over Chicago. There's worse news: OKC might very well have to beat the Mavericks, Lakers and Spurs, in order, just to make it to its maiden NBA Finals.
Week 1644-162Since beating the Bulls on April Fools' Day to reach 40-12 and prompt know-it-alls like me to proclaim that this is indeed the team to beat out West, OKC has been a mortal 4-4 and has to play both L.A. teams on the road this week. Another reminder that you always have to be wary of statements made on April 1.
Week 1541-152Suppose you could us accuse of jinxing OKC with last week's promotion to the highest of perches, except that pretty much everyone on Earth had them at No. 1. In the subsequent three straight L's to the Grizz, Heat and Pacers, with his approval rating at a season high, Westbrook shot 21-for-65 from the floor.
Week 1440-121The Thunder actually lost five games in March -- after just seven Ls in December, January and February combined -- but that doesn't seem to matter much now that they've (A) toppled the Heat, Lakers and Bulls by a combined 39 points in the space of seven days and (B) improved to 6-0 in the Derek Fisher era.
Week 1337-122Worth repeating even if you already know: KD and Russ are the first teammates ever to score 40-plus points in the same game twice in their careers, let alone twice in the same season. The way OKC has played since an increasingly forgivable L in Utah makes you think this team is really starting to put it together.
Week 1234-114Reassuring to see OKC mow through Portland in Sunday night's late ESPN game because its humdrum 6-4 record since the All-Star break leading up to the Blazers' visit -- which included three home L's -- was starting to make me think last week's tongue-in-cheek Curse of Kate Upton line had some actual merit.
Week 1132-93Swimsuit model Kate Upton doesn't exactly fit the Thunder's image ... and her presence in town last week is the only thing that's thrown off the Thunder in 2012. With Upton visiting, OKC needed a furious rally to beat Phoenix at home and then saw its 14-game win streak end with a thudding loss to the Cavs.
Week 1029-83Perhaps we made his All-Star Weekend scoring outburst sound a little too inevitable. Before Durant's MVP-clinching 36 points, then his 38 on Thursday night to power OKC's come-from-behind win over the Magic on TNT, KD averaged just 15.3 ppg on 31.8 percent shooting in four previous games in Orlando.
Week 927-72Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that Durant rumbled for 36 points on the All-Star stage after the MVP-elect averaged 35.8 ppg in the last four games before the break. Yet even with KD rollin' and a share of the league's best record, OKC seems to generate even more when-it-matters skepticism than LeBron.
Week 824-73It obviously helps to have three guys who can put up the sort of video-game numbers uncorked Sunday by Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka, but this doesn't hurt: A whopping 95 percent of the minutes doled out this season by Scott Brooks have gone to Thunder returnees. Continuity indeed wins after a lockout.
Week 721-65OKC responded to what some would call a way-too-steep drop to No. 7 -- especially since it was triggered in part by losses to the smokin' Clips and Spurs -- by going right into Portland and handing the Blazers just their second L at home. To which we say, in our best Kobe System voice: "You're welcome."
Week 618-57Chicago and Indiana have passed the Thunder in the race for most road wins, but OKC has bigger worries. Specifically: Perk has nine techs in 23 games. Which means he's on pace for 26 in this shortened season. Which computes to seven one-game suspensions. Which is far, far worse than getting Mozgoved by Blake.
Week 516-32The committee (of one) gave deep consideration to bumping the team with the best road record (8-2) up to No. 1. The committee, however, ruled that the recent road loss to the Wiz -- which is the only thing separating OKC from a 12-game winning streak -- must factor into our thinking two weeks in a row.
Week 413-34The Thunder are one of just two teams with a better regular-season record than Denver since Melo was dealt to New York on Feb. 22, 2011: Chicago is 39-7 and OKC is 33-11. But a loss in D.C. -- Durant's hometown! -- isn't easily overlooked by the committee (of one).
Week 311-22Anyone out there worried that Durant doesn't have a 30-point game yet in 2012? Please. The overriding concern in OKC, if there is one, is figuring out whether they really can get by for a whole season without the quiet composure they get from Eric Maynor.
Week 28-23Six teams have had a back-to-back-to-back set already, and all six, bizarrely, won the third game after teams went 28-36 in that situation during Lockout 1999. Only OKC, though, went a perfect 3-0 ... despite losing Eric Maynor for the season in the middle of it.
Week 15-03Durant nearly became the first player since Air Jordan in 1986-87 to start a season with five straight 30-point games. And when KD scored only 12 in game No. 5, neither that nor or any Westbrookgate spillover stopped OKC from reaching 5-0.
Preseason55-273Although the roster is essentially the same, there's plenty new to see here. Perkins' slimmed-down physique, for starters. Also: How OKC handles A) Finals-or-bust pressure and B) more scrutiny of the Durant-Westbrook dynamic than ever before.
Training Camp24-70It obviously helps to have three guys who can put up the sort of video-game numbers uncorked Sunday by Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka, but this doesn't hurt: A whopping 95 percent of the minutes doled out this season by Scott Brooks have gone to Thunder returnees. Continuity indeed wins after a lockout.

Oklahoma City Thunder