Oklahoma City Thunder
Current Record: 5-4
Standings: 3rd in Division, 7th in Conference
For all the Utah Jazz fans panicking about their team, I say they’d be wise to learn a lesson from the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC started out the year a putrid 0-4, and some were already beginning to sound the alarm bells. However, since then the Thunder have rattled off five straight wins and find themselves in the upper half of the Western Conference.
Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think the Thunder have some issues – they most certainly do, beginning with a painful lack of shooting (they’re dead last in the league in 3-point percentage at 29.9 percent) – however, the point is that at this early part of the season, slow starts and slumps can’t be overreacted to.
What should perhaps be more worrisome to Thunder fans is that Russell Westbrook exited their most recent game with an ankle sprain, and he could very well miss some time as a result of it. The fact of the matter is that until Westbrook and the long-injured Andre Roberson are back in commission, the Thunder won’t be able to reach their full potential.
If and when they get to that point, I think they’ll still be a good team and a force in the West, even better than their current 5-4 mark and certainly better than the somewhat flukey 0-4 they started. That said, even at full strength, I don’t believe this is a championship caliber team. Russ is too erratic, Paul George too streaky, the lack of shooting too devastating and Billy Donovan‘s coaching too hit and miss.
Despite an abysmal start and some question marks, the Thunder are still on track to be a good team. But middle of the pack in the Western Conference playoff mix still feels about accurate for where they’ll wind up barring some major adjustments and improvements.