I saw on The Blitz tonight that OKC was currently ranked 5th in odds for winning the championship for next season. That's ahead of the Celtics.

Amazing.

John Hollinger of espn.com currently has the Thunder franchise, which includes the Seattle era obviously, ranked as the 13th best of all time. That looks to be going up.

If they are including the Sonics era, well the Sonics were at least one of the Top Ten NBA teams in history, so he must have downgraded the Thunder for the move, which is understandable (top franchises don't move cities..). Although I tend to side with the view that it is a completely, brand-new franchise. The history was left in Seattle, along with Ray Allen and anyone else that was good towards the end of the Sonics.

As for The Blitz..those guys are morons. My prediction must be the opposite of whatever Deano's was..

If they are including the Sonics era, well the Sonics were at least one of the Top Ten NBA teams in history, so he must have downgraded the Thunder for the move, which is understandable (top franchises don't move cities..). Although I tend to side with the view that it is a completely, brand-new franchise. The history was left in Seattle, along with Ray Allen and anyone else that was good towards the end of the Sonics.

As for The Blitz..those guys are morons. My prediction must be the opposite of whatever Deano's was..

Spartan, what in the hell does this rant have to do with the topic of the Thread (Odds for winning the championship next season) ?

I laugh at all these predictions and polls because in the long haul what these predictions/polls can't figure into their equation is emotion, injury and chance.

OU football is a classic example!

Remember this time last season when the Thunder were predicted to finish 4th/5th in the Northwest Division with a 33-35 win season at best?

I'm not one to say "I told you so..." but I mentioned that we had the caliber of players to make the playoffs and I got gang-banged for saying that.

Anyway, the preseason predictions are for those media mongols who love to add to their prediction portfolio; take it for what it is worth!

Uhh..it was in his post.



John Hollinger of espn.com currently has the Thunder franchise, which includes the Seattle era obviously, ranked as the 13th best of all time. That looks to be going up.

Uhh..it was in his post.

This thread is about the chances of winning the NBA Championship next season, not where they rank all time!!!!!!!!!

Sorry my baaaaaaaaaaaad.

I dont think this was a poll or rankings and I dont think it was done by the Blitz guys. I didnt see it but I imagine they were showing Vegas' odds of winning next years title. One list on ESPN had us at 14/1. The heat was 8/5

Yup your right onthestrip... Dean and the Blitz guys DID NOT make up the odds.. This isn't one of there crazy odd/percentage games, even though I DO love those games! These are the odds from Vegas. The Thunder have the 6th best odds to win the NBA Finals and the 2nd best odds in the Western Conference. These odds are live as of Monday 9:50pm Heat 7/4 Lakers 11/4 Magic 11/1 Celtics 12/1 Bulls 15/1 Thunder 18/1

Yup your right onthestrip... Dean and the Blitz guys DID NOT make up the odds.. This isn't one of there crazy odd/percentage games, even though I DO love those games! These are the odds from Vegas. The Thunder have the 6th best odds to win the NBA Finals and the 2nd best odds in the Western Conference. These odds are live as of Monday 9:50pm Heat 7/4 Lakers 11/4 Magic 11/1 Celtics 12/1 Bulls 15/1 Thunder 18/1

Exactly. I didn't mean to imply that the locals had given the odds. It was definitely Vegas odds they were giving.

As for The Blitz..those guys are morons. My prediction must be the opposite of whatever Deano's was..

Spartan, you have to realize that besides being in sports reporting these guys are in the entertainment business and trying to draw ratings. Controversial comments are probably encouraged by their producers for that reason. It certainly seems to be that way on ESPN.

Exactly. I didn't mean to imply that the locals had given the odds. It was definitely Vegas odds they were giving.

No, I know that's not what you were implying... I was just clearing it up for those who may have thought that.

If everything keeps going as it has I think we are just going to keep getting better and better. I already love the Thunder but I can't wait to see where our playing level is at in about 2-3 more years.

Ah, don't wait 2 or 3 more years.. just enjoy it now. Teams can become disfunctional in 2-3 years (i.e. Hornets and Pistons). Yes, we SHOULD be better but nothing is guaranteed. We're good now.

Ah, don't wait 2 or 3 more years.. just enjoy it now. Teams can become disfunctional in 2-3 years (i.e. Hornets and Pistons). Yes, we SHOULD be better but nothing is guaranteed. We're good now.

Exactly. With the small number of players involved, the dynamics of a specific team can change quickly. Even though we're heading in the right direction don't assume that we're only going up. Many factors could change that.