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Could the OKC Thunder wind up as the 8th seed in Western Conference?

By Albert Dadson

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- MARCH 20: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks to pass against Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors on March 20, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- MARCH 20: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks to pass against Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors on March 20, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The OKC Thunder are now the eighth seed in the Western Conference after free-falling from the third seed.

Things were once looking up for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were the third seed in the Western Conference for quite a while and were in position to make a move for the second seed. Now, the OKC Thunder have free-fallen all the way to the eighth seed.

The Thunder knew they would have to play their best because they had the toughest schedule to close out the season, but they have not been able to overcome the adversity.

Now they’re in the worst position possible. If the playoffs started today they would have to face the Golden State Warriors, which is the team that everybody expects to represent the West in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors have a lot of firepower and from positions 1-5 they have the best lineup in the league. OKC just does not have the players to match up with Golden State as early as the first round, so the team needs to win some games fast before they are pitted against one of the best teams ever assembled.

In the Thunder’s last 14 games they are 4-10 including losses to Golden State and the Toronto Raptors. In the Warriors game, they were blown out (which doesn’t bode well for how the standings are looking right now) and though they put up a fight against the Raptors, they eventually lost that game too.

The Thunder are well aware of where they are in the standings and Paul George talked about it after the Raptors game, according to NBA.com:

"“I knew it was close,” Oklahoma City’s Paul George said. “If we win [we know] where we’re at and if we lose we know where we’re at going into the game. We control our destiny.”"

If the Thunder can string together some wins they can move back up relatively fast. They are currently tied with the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs at 42-30, and they are a half game behind the Utah Jazz out of the fifth spot.

This may be temporary, but there is cause for concern with the type of schedule the Thunder have to deal with.

When you look at how OKC is playing and the next couple of games, things do not look good. They have to face the Raptors one more time before taking on the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are still playing tough as they just beat the Houston Rockets. Then comes the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are fighting for positioning in the East and would love to face a struggling OKC team.

The three games after that are more favorable. The Dallas Mavericks are playing for a draft spot, the Los Angeles Lakers have just about cashed it in and the Detroit Pistons should be beatable, even though they are the sixth seed in the East.

The Thunder one of the best defensive teams in the league, ranking fourth in defensive rating. They are a terrible offense though, ranking 28th in offensive rating. The lack of offensive threats and 3-point shooting is finally catching up to the Thunder.

There are a lot of ways to fix this, but first they have to get off to a better start in games. Paul George shed some light on that, per NBA.com:

"“We’ve just got to get off to a better start,” George said. “That’s it. A better start. We close out well. We just put ourselves behind a lot of times. Just a better start.”"

There needs to be more of a sense of urgency for the Thunder going into games. Getting Russell Westbrook going to the hole early and getting the ball in Paul George’s hands early can help that, though PG still needs to shake off the rust that’s come with his shoulder injury.

OKC has to use its strengths as well. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league and first in the league in steals per game (9.6). They have to force turnovers and let their defense create offense for them too.

They are fifth in the league in fast break points with 18.1 per game. They are second in the league in rebounds per game as well (48.2). Creating turnovers and creating fast breaks by rebounding and stealing the ball will help get them off to an early start.

Next. Week 23 NBA Power Rankings. dark

OKC is not in danger of missing the playoffs, sitting seven games ahead of the Sacramento Kings, but this team just needs to hang in there and try to change its first round fortunes.

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