Thunder Player Power Rankings: Step forward, steps back

(Note: If it’s not obvious, Player Power Rankings are moving to Tuesday.)

Rewind to last week where the Thunder were coming off a win at home against the Kings to get them to 2-5, with three games coming against the Bucks, Celtics and Pistons.

All signs were pointing to things turning toward .500, with three very winnable games on the horizon. Except the Thunder fell flat in Milwaukee, scoring just 14 points in the fourth quarter in a disappointing 85-78 loss. They bounced back with a world-class win in Boston, responding with an offensive explosion to dig out of an 18-3 early deficit.

But with the step forward, there ended up being steps back, with a deflating overtime loss to the Pistons. With the Rockets coming on Sunday, it looked like instead of clawing up toward .500, the Thunder were going to be in a deeper hole than before. I fully expected a 20-point blowout to the Rockets and while the effort was admirable, it’s another loss.

You have to think these close calls will start paying off eventually, especially with more — sigh — winnable games coming up. Durant and Westbrook aren’t that far off anymore, and it’s likely Perry Jones and Andre Roberson are getting close to a return. The whole thing with this is the Thunder can’t be some 10 games under .500 when everybody is back, and they’re running out of time. They need to win some games, starting now.

Rankings:

1. Reggie Jackson (last week: 1)

Jackson has been terrific so far running the Thunder show. His numbers are good — 21.5 points, 7.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 17.87 PER — and he’s had a strong influence on two of the team’s wins. Outside of a few hero moments, Jackson hasn’t overstepped himself too severely, and has stuck to playing his role while at the same time being a primary offensive focus.

And yet, even with the similar numbers, it’s already pretty clear what separates Russell Westbrook from Jackson. It’s impossible to actually know, but we can all assume if it was flipped and Westbrook was playing and Jackson was not, things would be a bit different in the win-loss column right now. That’s really a major difference in the league’s good players and the great wins — they don’t just put up stats; they influence outcomes.

I’m not drawing a conclusion on Jackson’s inability to do that, though. He’s played eight games in this new role. He’s learning, he’s improving. He’s made some critical plays and been an important piece. But in the last three losses, he hasn’t been able to directly make the kind of impact you need. It’s kind of a catch-22 that’s being illustrated right now; everyone wants the Thunder to share the ball more in crunchtime and remove some of the direct focus on the stars to carry the load. Except there’s a reason you want stars, because they’re good at doing that. Crunchtime offense is mostly just confusion right now with Jackson thinking he has to assume the job of closer, while not completely possessing the experience, or possibly ability, to do it.

2. Serge Ibaka (last week: 2)

It’s becoming a common refrain. Serge Ibaka has to step up! He has to do more! This is his chance! I don’t disagree entirely. Six rebounds against the Rockets isn’t good enough when they were pulling in 22 offensive boards. Settling for too many perimeter shots isn’t great if he’s ignoring his bread and butter. He can’t go extended periods without being involved in the offense. He has to be actively involved, if that even means hunting his own looks.

But at the same time, asking Ibaka to evolve into that on the fly really isn’t fair. He’s never been a player asked to thrive in this kind of position. He’s always been someone that needs setups, that needs help. He’s a mechanical player that knows his spots and looks for them and then waits for a pass. He’s not an instinctive offensive player that can process what a defense is giving him and then adjust. And he can’t dribble, which can be a problem.

Asking Ibaka to STEP UP is like asking Harrison Ford to save that last Indiana Jones movie. He’s great at what he does, but he needs material to work with and can’t just adlib the thing.

3. Anthony Morrow (last week: N/A)

That second half in Boston was something else, wasn’t it?

And since then, yikes. It’s not that Morrow surprised the Celtics, because everyone knows he can shoot, but it’s more that other teams have since realized that you don’t leave him right now. With the personnel the Thunder have currently, you just lock on to Morrow and let someone else beat you.

Once Westbrook and Durant return, though? Morrow is going to get some looks.

4. Steven Adams (last week: 6)

He could’ve rebounded better against the Rockets, but Adams was mostly excellent against the Rockets. He defended Dwight Howard really well, and blocked six shots in the first half.

Adams, though, isn’t finishing the way you’d expect him to. He missed that powerful dunk against Houston and keeps going to that weird, lofted flip shot around the basket. He’s got really nice touch, but he’s a bruiser. Go up and finish, big man.

5. Jeremy Lamb (last week: 3)

Who knows which Jeremy Lamb is going to show up night to night, but what’s odd about him, is that even when he plays well, it kind of seems like he played bad. I don’t know how that is, but even with his career-high 24 points against the Pistons, it didn’t feel like he was playing some kind of great game. He’s quietly a fantastic rebounding guard, and his defense is improved — at least some — but still, Lamb doesn’t really appear to grab fans. Maybe it’s the sleepy demeanor, or it’s just that inconsistent players are infuriating and it’s way easier to remember the bad and not think much of the good.

6. Nick Collison (last week: 5)

Collison is being asked to do a lot for the Thunder right now, and he’s doing the job pretty well. But for a 34-year-old coming off offseason knee surgery, Scott Brooks has to be thinking about overworking him in November. Once Mitch McGary returns, he’s going to start getting a few of these minutes from Collison, which is a good thing.

7. Kendrick Perkins (last week: 7)

It’s amazing what moving to the bench can do for the perception about a player. Perk has played better, no question, but in a lot of ways he’s doing a similar things that he’s one the last few seasons. But coming off the bench has started to turn big Perk into a fan favorite again as people probably respect his maturity handling it.

8. Lance Thomas (last week: 8)

He’s tries hard.

9. Sebastian Telfair (last week: 4)

10. Ish Smith (last week: 9)

He’s played more than Smith. Which I suppose by default means he’s produced more. Telfair has hit a few shots, but he also isn’t shy about calling his own number, and his defense is an issue at times. Remember, though: He was only supposed to be the third-string point guard and never play. You can see why.

Inactives: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Mitch McGary, Perry Jones, Andre Roberson, Grant Jerrett