The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the regular season as the number-one seed in the stacked Western Conference. In an exciting final day of the regular season, the young side dismantled the Dallas Mavericks 135-86 to break a three-way tie for the number one spot.
Having bagged home-court advantage till at least the Western Conference Finals, OKC Thunder have a lot to be happy about. Their star player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the contenders to win the prestigious MVP trophy. Chet Holmgren, who missed out the whole of last season due to injury, is in the Rookie of the Year race. The likes of Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace are all playing great basketball and this will boost their confidence heading into the playoffs.
However, the postseason is all about matchups and that is the one area where the Thunder could be struck down. The young team are waiting to find out who emerges as the 8th seed after the Play-In tournament. The New Orleans Pelicans, LA Lakers, Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors will be battling it out to grab the final two playoff spots in the West. Going up against any of these teams could prove to be difficult for the young Thunder side.
OKC Thunder lack experience in the Playoffs
The OKC Thunder completed the 2023-24 season as the second-youngest team in the Playoffs. They are the youngest team to earn a number-one seed in league history. However, the playoffs are a different ball game and the inexperience of playing in the postseason could haunt them. Thunder last made it to the Playoffs in 2020, where they lost in the first round to the Houston Rockets. Apart from SGA, Mike Muscala and Lu Dort, no one on the current roster was part of that series.
SGA finished the regular season averaging 30.1 PPG on 53.5% shooting from the field. He elevated his game and took the franchise to the number-one spot in the West. However, in the first round, he could be up against the likes of Steph Curry, LeBron James, De’Aaron Fox or Zion Williamson. The Canadian is undoubtedly one of the best players in the league, but it is going to be difficult for him to go up against any of these names.
OKC Thunder will have to knock down some big names
Steph Curry and LeBron James are some of the big names competing in the Play-In tournament this season. Both of them have been in this situation before and it is going to be very difficult to bet against them. If the OKC Thunder are matched up against any one of these two teams in the first round, things could get interesting.
The Lakers have a 3-1 record against the young side and seem to be on some momentum going into the Play-In tournament. Although the Warriors have lost three times to the Thunder in the regular season, they are more than capable of turning things around in the postseason. All things said, the first-round series is going to be a litmus test of how good are the OKC Thunder. Their regular season performance has been splendid, but young teams often find it difficult in the playoffs and it will be interesting to see if the Thunder are an exception to that notion or not.
