The Oklahoma City Thunder are overachievers this season, according to ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry.
On Thursday, Goldsberry tweeted out a chart that shows how NBA teams are doing this late in the season when compared to their preseason odds by Caesar’s Sportsbook were. The Thunder, who are currently 20-46, is barely above the “above expected winning percentage” threshold.
Despite having the 28th worst net rating in the league at -7.8 points per 100 possessions, the Thunder have just the fourth-worst record and are 2.5 games ahead of the bottom three. The three teams with worse records than the Thunder in the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets are all below their expected winning percentage. That is the same case with the teams trailing the Thunder in the reverse standings in the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers
Current Win% vs. Preseason Expectations. What Jumps Out? pic.twitter.com/oevQHfH1zd
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) March 10, 2022
This is both good and bad news. It’s good news in the sense that the coaching staff and top talent of the team are things that the franchise really don’t have to be concerned about in the long term, but bad news in the sense that the team might be too competent to really bottom out and get top three lottery odds. The Thunder might just need to rely on a little bit of luck to get a top pick for a second consecutive lottery this summer.
