NBA Oklahoma City Thunder

Predicting the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2014-15 Win Total

Fresh Videos

By @nick_villano

Kevin Durant

Getty Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder may have a rough start to 2014-15 season. They learned they would be without reigning MVP Kevin Durant for up to six to eight weeks after a Jones fracture in his right foot. That is going to hurt their overall win total.

In the ultra-competitive Western Conference, every win counts. The separation between the number one seed and out of the playoffs was 14 games. The Thunder need to rely on Russell Westbrook to carry them through the first part of the schedule.

After the first two October games, the November schedule is very favorable. They will start the season 0-2, inciting panic before rolling off eight straight wins. They only have six games against teams that made the playoffs in the month. They get lucky and get out of the month with a 12-5 record.

December is when Durant returns to the team, and they use that as motivation. Despite having a harder schedule, they still only lose five games in the month despite their MVP returning to form. This schedule is highlighted by a Christmas Day matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. They won’t win that one thanks to a rusty Durant and a frustrated Scott Brooks. They end up 2014 with a 23-10 record.

They open up the year with a close win against the Washington Wizards. This starts an amazing month, where the team only loses three games. They start to blow out teams on a nightly basis. They take out the Golden State Warriors, who gave them trouble earlier in the year. At the end of this month, they will be 34-13 going into February.

After a matchup with the Dallas Mavericks on February 19, the Thunder will see themselves at 40-14. The team will sweep the remaining schedule in February, losing only one game all month. The Thunder will be 45-14 to end this month.

They come back to Earth in March, with huge matchups coming up against the Spurs, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers looming. They lose another six games on the month, ending up at 54-20. They are currently the number one team in the league, sitting just ahead of the Clippers.

They end the year winning six of their final eight. Their 60 wins get them yet another number one seed, despite missing Durant for close to two months to start the season. Their schedule did them some serious favors, giving them a favorable start with their best player out. They need to get the top seed so if they do have hard matchups on the way to the Western Conference Finals, they can have home-court advantage along the way.

Final Record: 60-22

Share Tweet
Trending Now on