There are plenty of numbers to show just how good the Thunder
offense has been this season, but maybe the best one is this: 2.103.
That’s the number of points per shot attempt the Thunder have gotten out
of backup center Hasheem Thabeet, who was on his way to becoming one of
the great draft busts in league history before latching on with
Oklahoma City. If Thabeet can become an acceptable offensive player with
the Thunder, that’s saying something.
Oklahoma City might still be weak in one area—the pick-and-roll—and that is where they miss James Harden. But beyond that, they have been so good in other areas that being without Harden might not matter.
The Thunder are tops in the league in efficiency, joining the Heat as the only teams averaging more than a point per possession (according to Synergy Sports, Miami averages 1.010 points, Oklahoma City averages 1.018). They’re also by far the best transition team in the NBA, scoring 1.312 points per possession, well ahead of No. 2 Milwaukee, which scores 1.268.
What’s intimidating for the rest of the league is that the Thunder have won 11 of their last 12 games, scoring triple digits each time out and averaging 111.4 points in that span—including putting up 104 points on 48.7 percent shooting against the league’s toughest D, Indiana’s.
For those reasons, the poll starts this week with OKC on top.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder. Sitting on eight straight wins with an easy week (New Orleans and Sacramento at home) on tap. Could be the first team to log a double-digit win streak.
2. San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs set the franchise record for 3-pointers (19) against Charlotte, beating the old record (17), also set against Charlotte. That puts the Spurs in a large pool: teams that like playing the Bobcats.
3. New York Knicks. Lost to the Nets last time out but will look for some vengeance Tuesday in Brooklyn, and again on December 19 at Madison Square Garden.
4. Memphis Grizzlies. Given their performance and injury situation in the West, it's easy to imagine the trio of Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol all appearing in the All-Star Game.
5. Los Angeles Clippers. Whoever said Vinny Del Negro is not an offensive-minded coach? The Clips are fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and are averaging 108.8 points on their six-game winning streak.
6. Miami Heat. With the re-emergence of Joel Anthony and the starting spot going to Udonis Haslem, it’s fair to wonder whether the Heat will be giving up their dalliance with small-ball.
7. Golden State Warriors. David Lee has never been to the playoffs and has never played for a team that has had better than a .439 winning percentage. Those might both be ready to change.
8. Atlanta Hawks. Trade away an All-Star, cut some salary, free up cap space for next summer. That was part of the plan. But in the meantime, the Hawks have been pretty good, too.
9. Brooklyn Nets. Team owner Mikhail Prokhorov was at the Barclays Center on Sunday. He couldn’t have liked what he saw—the Nets trailing by 24 in the second half, going on to lose their fourth straight.
10. Chicago Bulls. Marco Belinelli’s last three games, all as a starter: 20.3 points, 48.8 percent shooting, 40.0 percent on 3-pointers. And the Bulls are 3-0 in those games.
11. Milwaukee Bucks. Coach Scott Skiles has been tinkering with the Bucks’ lineups all year. Now that Luc Mbah a Moute is back, don’t be surprised to see him back in the starting five eventually.
12. Boston Celtics. It might be good timing for the Celtics to get the Mavericks—Jason Terry needs something to kick him out of his two-game slump, which saw him go 4-for-21 from the field.
13. Philadelphia 76ers. Celtics coach Doc Rivers labeled Jrue Holiday an All-Star, and there’s no question he is close. The one problem is those 3.8 turnovers per game.
14. Utah Jazz. Point guard is a problem—the Jazz rank 27th in efficiency when it comes to defending the ballhandler in a pick-and-roll, and 28th in offensive efficiency when their ballhandler attacks out of a pick-and-roll.
15. Dallas Mavericks. In Mavs wins, O.J. Mayo is shooting 54.1 percent and scoring 25.7 points per game. In losses, that drops to 40.7 percent and 16.0 points.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves. They should get Ricky Rubio back this week, but he won’t be 100 percent. Just ask Kevin Love, who is shooting 38.5 percent from the field since returning from a hand injury.
17. Denver Nuggets. Denver’s record is an unimpressive 10-11, but they’ve played 15 road games against only six at home, and have gone 5-8 against teams over .500.
18. Houston Rockets. The Rockets still have a lot to figure out, but they do have Kevin McHale back on the sidelines, which is a good start.
19. Indiana Pacers. Indy had started to play better before getting a couple of tough West foes —Denver and Oklahoma City. They lost both, despite all five starters reaching double-figure scoring in each game
20. Los Angeles Lakers. If Mike D’Antoni’s tenure comes down to defense, then things aren’t looking good. The Lakers have allowed 100-plus points in seven of his 11 games as coach.
21. Orlando Magic. How sweet it would be for the Magic to pass the Lakers and wind up being a better team this year. That’s getting pretty close to happening.
22. Sacramento Kings. Forward Thomas Robinson appeared to be the steal of last year’s draft. But he played a season-low eight minutes in the Kings’ win over Portland on Saturday.
23. Portland Trail Blazers. The 10-day, seven-game road trip didn’t go so well—Portland lost five, and needed overtime to beat the Bobcats and Cavaliers—but the loss to Sacramento upon returning was even more disappointing.
24. Detroit Pistons. It was not a bad weekend for guard Brandon Knight, who followed 21 points and 6-for-11 shooting against the Bulls with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists against the Cavs.
25. Charlotte Bobcats. Defense has been the culprit over the course of the Bobcats’ seven–game losing streak—opponents averaged 110.0 points per game in that stretch.
26. Phoenix Suns. That 40-point loss to the Pistons back on November 28 appears to have been especially demoralizing. The Suns have not won a game since.
27. New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets have struggled, but it is not all because of the absence of Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis. Coach Monty Williams isn’t happy with his point guards or his small forwards.
28. Toronto Raptors. The road has been brutal, which is to say, their season has been brutal. They played 15 of their first 22 games on the road, and there’s another three-game trip coming at the end of the month.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are hoping that Kyrie Irving (finger) and Dion Waiters (ankle) will be able to suit up against the Lakers Tuesday. The sooner the better.
30. Washington Wizards. It’s getting better. Following the Heat win, the Wizards actually held a fourth-quarter lead before falling to the Warriors, and cut an 18-point Hawks lead to two points in the fourth before losing that one, too.
Oklahoma City might still be weak in one area—the pick-and-roll—and that is where they miss James Harden. But beyond that, they have been so good in other areas that being without Harden might not matter.
The Thunder are tops in the league in efficiency, joining the Heat as the only teams averaging more than a point per possession (according to Synergy Sports, Miami averages 1.010 points, Oklahoma City averages 1.018). They’re also by far the best transition team in the NBA, scoring 1.312 points per possession, well ahead of No. 2 Milwaukee, which scores 1.268.
What’s intimidating for the rest of the league is that the Thunder have won 11 of their last 12 games, scoring triple digits each time out and averaging 111.4 points in that span—including putting up 104 points on 48.7 percent shooting against the league’s toughest D, Indiana’s.
For those reasons, the poll starts this week with OKC on top.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder. Sitting on eight straight wins with an easy week (New Orleans and Sacramento at home) on tap. Could be the first team to log a double-digit win streak.
2. San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs set the franchise record for 3-pointers (19) against Charlotte, beating the old record (17), also set against Charlotte. That puts the Spurs in a large pool: teams that like playing the Bobcats.
3. New York Knicks. Lost to the Nets last time out but will look for some vengeance Tuesday in Brooklyn, and again on December 19 at Madison Square Garden.
4. Memphis Grizzlies. Given their performance and injury situation in the West, it's easy to imagine the trio of Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol all appearing in the All-Star Game.
5. Los Angeles Clippers. Whoever said Vinny Del Negro is not an offensive-minded coach? The Clips are fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and are averaging 108.8 points on their six-game winning streak.
6. Miami Heat. With the re-emergence of Joel Anthony and the starting spot going to Udonis Haslem, it’s fair to wonder whether the Heat will be giving up their dalliance with small-ball.
7. Golden State Warriors. David Lee has never been to the playoffs and has never played for a team that has had better than a .439 winning percentage. Those might both be ready to change.
8. Atlanta Hawks. Trade away an All-Star, cut some salary, free up cap space for next summer. That was part of the plan. But in the meantime, the Hawks have been pretty good, too.
9. Brooklyn Nets. Team owner Mikhail Prokhorov was at the Barclays Center on Sunday. He couldn’t have liked what he saw—the Nets trailing by 24 in the second half, going on to lose their fourth straight.
10. Chicago Bulls. Marco Belinelli’s last three games, all as a starter: 20.3 points, 48.8 percent shooting, 40.0 percent on 3-pointers. And the Bulls are 3-0 in those games.
11. Milwaukee Bucks. Coach Scott Skiles has been tinkering with the Bucks’ lineups all year. Now that Luc Mbah a Moute is back, don’t be surprised to see him back in the starting five eventually.
12. Boston Celtics. It might be good timing for the Celtics to get the Mavericks—Jason Terry needs something to kick him out of his two-game slump, which saw him go 4-for-21 from the field.
13. Philadelphia 76ers. Celtics coach Doc Rivers labeled Jrue Holiday an All-Star, and there’s no question he is close. The one problem is those 3.8 turnovers per game.
14. Utah Jazz. Point guard is a problem—the Jazz rank 27th in efficiency when it comes to defending the ballhandler in a pick-and-roll, and 28th in offensive efficiency when their ballhandler attacks out of a pick-and-roll.
15. Dallas Mavericks. In Mavs wins, O.J. Mayo is shooting 54.1 percent and scoring 25.7 points per game. In losses, that drops to 40.7 percent and 16.0 points.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves. They should get Ricky Rubio back this week, but he won’t be 100 percent. Just ask Kevin Love, who is shooting 38.5 percent from the field since returning from a hand injury.
17. Denver Nuggets. Denver’s record is an unimpressive 10-11, but they’ve played 15 road games against only six at home, and have gone 5-8 against teams over .500.
18. Houston Rockets. The Rockets still have a lot to figure out, but they do have Kevin McHale back on the sidelines, which is a good start.
19. Indiana Pacers. Indy had started to play better before getting a couple of tough West foes —Denver and Oklahoma City. They lost both, despite all five starters reaching double-figure scoring in each game
20. Los Angeles Lakers. If Mike D’Antoni’s tenure comes down to defense, then things aren’t looking good. The Lakers have allowed 100-plus points in seven of his 11 games as coach.
21. Orlando Magic. How sweet it would be for the Magic to pass the Lakers and wind up being a better team this year. That’s getting pretty close to happening.
22. Sacramento Kings. Forward Thomas Robinson appeared to be the steal of last year’s draft. But he played a season-low eight minutes in the Kings’ win over Portland on Saturday.
23. Portland Trail Blazers. The 10-day, seven-game road trip didn’t go so well—Portland lost five, and needed overtime to beat the Bobcats and Cavaliers—but the loss to Sacramento upon returning was even more disappointing.
24. Detroit Pistons. It was not a bad weekend for guard Brandon Knight, who followed 21 points and 6-for-11 shooting against the Bulls with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists against the Cavs.
25. Charlotte Bobcats. Defense has been the culprit over the course of the Bobcats’ seven–game losing streak—opponents averaged 110.0 points per game in that stretch.
26. Phoenix Suns. That 40-point loss to the Pistons back on November 28 appears to have been especially demoralizing. The Suns have not won a game since.
27. New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets have struggled, but it is not all because of the absence of Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis. Coach Monty Williams isn’t happy with his point guards or his small forwards.
28. Toronto Raptors. The road has been brutal, which is to say, their season has been brutal. They played 15 of their first 22 games on the road, and there’s another three-game trip coming at the end of the month.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are hoping that Kyrie Irving (finger) and Dion Waiters (ankle) will be able to suit up against the Lakers Tuesday. The sooner the better.
30. Washington Wizards. It’s getting better. Following the Heat win, the Wizards actually held a fourth-quarter lead before falling to the Warriors, and cut an 18-point Hawks lead to two points in the fourth before losing that one, too.
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