22. Oklahoma City Thunder

Last Week’s Ranking: 24

Oklahoma City has the second-worst offensive rating in the NBA but the 11th-best defensive rating. Clearly the focus is on teaching the young kids to defend. It has resulted in them being 5-4, so why are the Thunder so low in the rankings? 

Their wins have not been against any of the top teams. Their biggest win came against the Nets without Kyrie Irving and in Kevin Durant’s first game back from COVID protocols.

The youngsters played well for the Thunder last week. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 assists and shot 45.0 percent from three. Hamidou Diallo put up 16.5 points. Darius Bazley averaged 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. Aleksej Pokusevski had a productive week as well.

Oklahoma City is at the start of the rebuilding and development stage. Early on, the Thunder have to feel encouraged by how these young kids have been developing.

Source: bleacherreport.com
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