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The Oklahoma City Thunder have ripped off 11-straight wins since Thanksgiving, and their 20-4 record is tops in the NBA. Small wonder, then, why they stand atop the majority of NBA power rankings across the web.
The Thunder have been particularly tough to stop in December, with Kevin Durant contributing a terrific 28.6 points per game and Russell Westbrook nearly averaging a double-double. Oklahoma City's 85.5% free throw success rate is also best in the league in December.
SB Nation NBA contributor Seth Rosenthal bumped the Thunder up one spot in his rankings to the top level, citing the terrific offensive firepower of Oklahoma City:
The Thunder were tripped up a bit by New Orleans' snail-paced game, and they had to dust off their starters when Isaiah Thomas nearly turned an OKC blowout into a Sacramento upset, but they survived unbeaten since around Thanksgiving. They have their rough defensive outings -- particularly against those slow-paced teams -- but consistently produce more than enough offense to compensate.
CBS Sports/Eye on Basketball blogger Matt Moore also has the Thunder atop his rankings, jumping over the slumping San Antonio Spurs. NBC Sports/ProBasketballTalk Kurt Helin has Oklahoma City at the top of his list for another week as well.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein also elevates the Thunder to the top spot in his rankings after a second-place award last week. The only major exception? John Hollinger, formerly of ESPN, whose algorithm has the Thunder ranked second... behind the Los Angeles Clippers.