The race for the third-best lottery odds is essentially over as the Oklahoma City Thunder mount a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers once again, 98-94.
Things were looking great entering the fourth quarter for the Thunder’s lottery odds. After 36 minutes, the Trail Blazers had an 82-67 lead and were well on their way to a win that would’ve really benefited the Thunder. If the lead held, then that means the Thunder would be just half a game back from the Detroit Pistons currently for the third-best lottery odds. Now, a 26-4 finish to the game that saw the Trail Blazers score just four points in the final 5:41 of the game has Thunder fans focused on keeping its fourth-best lottery odds as the Indiana Pacers are just half a game back.
This win has deflated the fanbase to say the least, with a real shot at getting top-three lottery odds just a couple of weeks ago, the Thunder going 4-3 in its last seven games as ruined any dreams of that happening. The Thunder threw everything at this game to maximize its odds to lose as it only played six guys essentially with three of them currently on 10-day deals. I mean, Lindy Waters III, a two-way player, was pulled after four minutes as he scored eight quick points for Pete’s sake. There was nothing else that the team could’ve done to lose this game and the Thunder have great synergy throughout the organization has really bit them in the butt hard these last couple of seasons in terms of draft lottery odds.
It’s a failure that the Thunder will not be able to get top-three lottery odds for the second straight season during this rebuild and creating a program that brings the best out of its players has proven to be a hinderance when it comes to losing games. Let’s take look at player grades.