Oklahoma City Thunder

Vegas Over/Under: 51.5

Fromal’s Record Projection: 52-30 The Bet: Prevent but lean over
Since Kyle Wagner broke down to FiveThirtyEight, the addition of Paul George immediately vaulted the Oklahoma City Thunder back into contention in the Western Conference:
“The top-5 of Westbrook, George, Enes Kanter, Steven Adams and Andre Roberson are worth 53 wins all on their own. But CARMELO thinks so little of this Thunder seat that the rest of the roster is worth -2 wins. That bench was bad this past season, but young players such as Alex Abrines and Doug McDermott may improve with an additional season with the team, and this year’s first-round draft pick Terrance Ferguson has potential as a spot-up shot on the wing, which the team desperately wanted last year. Still, with Taj Gibson likely leaving in free agency, the Thunder will be thin. But while their projection doesn’t place the team almost at the level of this Golden State Warriors, as well as the newly minted Chris Paul Houston Rockets, obtaining George should have an outsize influence on the Thunder.”
The TL;DR version this is that even without factoring in the upside which stems from potential internal advancement, the Thunder already should have been expected to acquire 51 games. And this was written before OKC inked Patrick Patterson–a power forward who matches perfectly with another anticipated starting pieces–to a deal of a bargain.
Improving much beyond the 51-win benchmark is a difficult job as the Thunder attempt to weave in new players effortlessly. But after watching Russell Westbrook function as a one-man show throughout his MVP-winning campaign, they get to put so much more talent .
Expect big things.

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