The Oklahoma City Thunder are still 18-5 and in control of a top playoff spot in the Western Conference. But you wouldn’t know that based on the negative chatter surrounding the team that has the Oklahoman questioning their ability to win consistently and ESPN’s latest Power Rankings. The latter shows that the Thunder are now at No. 7 overall in the NBA despite the best record in the West.
Marc Stein writes, “Chicago 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.”
There’s no doubting their ability and the youth on the team should serve them well in a hectic NBA season affected by the lockout. They were No. 2 last week and were passed by some questionable teams (Spurs? Pacers?). Perhaps this gives the team a bit of a wake up call to address any core concerns despite their record. Then again, perhaps it’s just some media overanalysis for a team that’s bound to lose here and there in such a packed schedule.