"It's difficult to ring any type of alarm for a team that became only the third in history to open the regular season 23-1. The Thunder's league-best 104.1 defensive rating is more than six points per 100 possessions better than the Rockets' (110.7) in the second slot. That gap is equivalent to the canyon between second and 23rd. So there's nothing to complain about on the defensive end."
"Perhaps there's a concern about an offensive overreliance on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's greatness, but he just sat his first game of the season and they beat the Jazz by 30 points. Let's go with 3-point shooting. They made only 33.8% of their 3s in the playoffs. It nearly doomed them. But that's been bumped to 37.4% through 24 games, seventh best in the NBA. -- Anthony Slater"
The Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals determine semifinal matchups in Las Vegas, with the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks already advancing and the Thunder, Suns, Lakers and Spurs competing for remaining spots. Power Rankings evaluate all 30 teams and diagnose defensive, offensive and health-related weaknesses across the league. Team rankings reflect the assessments of an ESPN panel including Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Kevin Pelton, Michael C. Wright, Ohm Youngmisuk, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram. The Thunder opened 23-1 with an elite 104.1 defensive rating, but 3-point shooting remains the most notable concern.
Read at ESPN.com
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