Best of the Worst: Thunder on Brink of Top-3 Odds

Wednesday's matchup with the Orlando Magic could have lasting effects.

You’ve probably read a lot about the reverse standings in recent weeks. From Twitter to articles, from radio shows to your uncle who’s obsessed with Tankathon, they’re everywhere — and they aren’t going away any time soon.

The Thunder hold the NBA’s fourth-worst record (20-52), riding the third-worst losing streak in franchise history (10 games), and are just a half-game behind the Orlando Magic in those pesky reverse standings.

For a team with just 20 wins in late March, the reverse standings are everything, at least for its fanbase. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault insists that the locker room isn’t concerned with where his team finishes the season in those standings, but for those fans, it’s the only thing that matters anymore.

The Magic are in Oklahoma City Wednesday for a game that we could look back on as one of the most important of their respective seasons.

The Magic got the better of OKC Sunday in a sloppy 90-85 dogfight. Add in a Thunder loss to the Boston Celtics and a shocking Magic win against Golden State Warriors, and the teams as separated by less than a game with less than three weeks to go.

The Thunder’s post-All-Star break injury wave has seen the team free fall in the league standings, virtually cementing the bottom four teams for this season. OKC sits a half-game back of the Magic, who are a half-game back of the Detroit Pistons, who are a game back of the Houston Rockets — separating the Thunder just two games from the Rockets.

The Thunder have a matchup with the Pistons in the pipeline for April 1, but Wednesday’s matchup takes that cake as the team’s most important matchup left.

For those uninitiated, here are the odds as they stand for the top four teams:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Rockets	14%	13.45	12.7%	12%	47.9%
Pistons	14%	13.4%	12.7%	12%	27.8%	20%
Magic	14%	13.4%	12.7%	12%	14.8%	265	7%
Thunder	12.5%	12.2%	11.9%	11.5%	7.2%	25.7%	16.8%	2.2%

As you can see the difference between the third and fourth spots in the lottery order is stark.

If the Magic defeat OKC for the second time in four days, the Thunder will hold an imaginary half-game lead should a tie-breaker come into play come the end of the season. But the lottery is when the imaginary becomes reality, and your uncle can stop talking about those darn reverse standings and ping-pong balls.

Whatever happens on June 22 at the lottery we will likely look back at the result of Wednesday’s matchup as a major ripple effect on the proceedings. 

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