The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: 2017-18 Northwest Division Comparison – November

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 30: Rodney Hood #5 and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz talk during a second half time out during their 104-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 30: Rodney Hood #5 and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz talk during a second half time out during their 104-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 31: Carmelo Anthony (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 31: Carmelo Anthony (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Oklahoma City Thunder

Current Record: 4-3

Standings: 3rd in Division, 7th in Conference

Strange as it may sound, the Oklahoma City Thunder are actually undefeated against all other divisions besides their own and are actually winless against the Northwest Division. Surprisingly enough, they were dropped easily by the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, then lost two absolute nail-biters to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Thunder are somewhat of a hard team to figure out for me. On paper, they’re presumably an amazing team with a Big 3 composed of the likes of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, not to mention the very much underrated Steven Adams. However, there are certainly concerns facing this team, principally chemistry and shooting efficiency.

But the sheer talent of OKC should be enough to take them very far. If their last two games are any indication of what they’re bound to become this year, they’re going to be an extremely daunting opponent. They annihilated the Chicago Bulls on Saturday by an outrageous 42 points, then came back on Tuesday with an impressive 19-point victory over a solid Milwaukee Bucks team.

Those impressive wins have helped the Thunder sneak into the top 10 of the NBA in offensive rating and I expect that mark to only increase from here. Meanwhile, OKC also happens to be the second best team in the league in defensive rating, which is a scary thought given that offense was presumed to be their main strength heading into the season.

However, with two elite wing defenders in Paul George and Andre Roberson, a stingy guy in the middle like Steven Adams and a relentless defensive dog in Russell Westbrook, it should come as no surprise that this would be a daunting defensive squad. If the Thunder can iron out their chemistry issues, further improve an offense that should be one of the league’s most prolific and continue to defend as they have, they will be an elite team in the West.

With that being said, while I certainly see a scenario where the Thunder under-perform and fail to meet expectations, I’m relatively confident that they’ll find a way to shake their somewhat mediocre start and will eventually find themselves atop the division once the season reaches its conclusion.

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