Thunder playoffs preview

Nicholas Borghini

Reporter

The Oklahoma City Thunder scraped past the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday, 94-92, to take a 1-0 series lead. The youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history started their first playoff series since 2020 on a positive note.

With an average age of 23.4, the Thunder finished the regular season with the league’s third-best offensive rating and the fourth-best defensive rating. 

Oklahoma City will start their best-of-seven series against the New Orleans Pelicans as the playoff team with the second-lowest amount of tournament experience. The Thunder’s combined 134 playoff game appearances have sparked skeptics to doubt the Thunder’s postseason ability.

“Too young, right?” said Oklahoma City guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “I’ve heard that all year. It’s not gonna change. We’re still young. We’ll probably be young for another four or five years. We don’t worry about it.” 

Gilgeous-Alexander ended the regular season with an average of 30.1 points per game, the third-highest in the NBA. The 25-year-old has played 13 playoff games, all of them in his first two seasons. 

Known for his lethal mid-range shooting and court vision, Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the fourth-best league rating during possessions in games that have a high impact on win probability. Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander have combined for a total of 62% shooting from the field during clutch time this season.

These performances, as well as Thunder center Chet Holmgren’s 57.4% clutch field goal shooting, have commanded the Thunder to the fifth-best win percentage in the NBA during clutch time.

If Oklahoma City’s dominant performance during moments when the lights shine the brightest continues during the playoffs, opposing teams will need to stop the Thunder’s offensive wide-court spread to have a chance at winning their playoff series. Oklahoma City’s spacing makes up for its lack of rebounding, which ranked third worst in the NBA this season.

By moving the seven-foot-one-inch tall Chet Holmgren to the 3-point arc, opposing team centers are forced to leave their favored rebounding position, giving the Thunder more leeway to attack the rim.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said he is not worried about the Thunder’s rebound gap. “A lot of nights we lose the rebounding battle,” Daigneault told reporters after Oklahoma City beat the Phoenix Suns 118 to 110 on March 3, despite Suns Center Jusuf Nurkić grabbing 31 rebounds. “As long as the benefit continues to outweigh the cost, we’re going to continue to accept the trade-offs. We’re not going to be a perfect team.”

On Wednesday, Oklahoma City will host their second playoff game against New Orleans. The Pelicans’ defense, which ranks top 10 in the NBA, will be short-handed without their 284-pound forward Zion Williamson, who is out with a hamstring injury.

The Thunder have won two out of three games against New Orleans this season, and have not lost against them since the start of the new year. Still, the Pelicans are nothing to sneeze at, winning 28 of their 42 road games, the best away record in the NBA.

With Williamson likely out for the whole series, the odds are on the Thunder’s side. However, the young Oklahoma City squad, who got 41% of their regular season minutes from rookie or second-year players, will have to use their newfound prowess to stay disciplined in the playoffs.“We’ll gain wisdom from this experience. Plain and simple. That doesn’t put a cap on what we are capable of right now,” Daigneault told the media on Thursday. “But we will be more wise at the end of whatever our playoff run is than we are today. And we’re not afraid to admit that. That’s a good thing.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder launched into their first playoff series since 2020 on Sunday, starting the playoffs as the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history.

With an average age of 23.4, the Thunder finished the regular season with the league’s third-best offensive rating and the fourth-best defensive rating. 

Oklahoma City will start their best-of-seven series against the New Orleans Pelicans as the playoff team with the second-lowest amount of tournament experience. The Thunder’s combined 134 playoff game appearances have sparked skeptics to doubt the Thunder’s postseason ability.

“Too young, right?” said Oklahoma City guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “I’ve heard that all year. It’s not gonna change. We’re still young. We’ll probably be young for another four or five years. We don’t worry about it.” 

Gilgeous-Alexander ended the regular season with an average of 30.1 points per game, the third-highest in the NBA. The 25-year-old has played 13 playoff games, all of them in his first two seasons. 

Known for his lethal mid-range shooting and court vision, Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the fourth-best league rating during possessions in games that have a high impact on win probability. Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander have combined for a total of 62% shooting from the field during clutch time this season.

These performances, as well as Thunder center Chet Holmgren’s 57.4% clutch field goal shooting, have commanded the Thunder to the fifth-best win percentage in the NBA during clutch time.

If Oklahoma City’s dominant performance during moments when the lights shine the brightest continues during the playoffs, opposing teams will need to stop the Thunder’s offensive wide-court spread to have a chance at winning their playoff series. Oklahoma City’s spacing makes up for its lack of rebounding, which ranked third worst in the NBA this season.

By moving the seven-foot-one-inch tall Chet Holmgren to the 3-point arc, opposing team centers are forced to leave their favored rebounding position, giving the Thunder more leeway to attack the rim.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said he is not worried about the Thunder’s rebound gap. “A lot of nights we lose the rebounding battle,” Daigneault told reporters after Oklahoma City beat the Phoenix Suns 118 to 110 on March 3, despite Suns Center Jusuf Nurkić grabbing 31 rebounds. “As long as the benefit continues to outweigh the cost, we’re going to continue to accept the trade-offs. We’re not going to be a perfect team.”

On Wednesday, Oklahoma City will host their second playoff game against New Orleans. The Pelicans’ defense, which ranks top 10 in the NBA, will be short-handed without their 284-pound forward Zion Williamson, who is out with a hamstring injury.

The Thunder have won two out of three games against New Orleans this season, and have not lost against them since the start of the new year. Still, the Pelicans are nothing to sneeze at, winning 28 of their 42 road games, the best away record in the NBA.

With Williamson likely out for the whole series, the odds are on the Thunder’s side. However, the young Oklahoma City squad, who got 41% of their regular season minutes from rookie or second-year players, will have to use their newfound prowess to stay disciplined in the playoffs.“We’ll gain wisdom from this experience. Plain and simple. That doesn’t put a cap on what we are capable of right now,” Daigneault told the media on Thursday. “But we will be more wise at the end of whatever our playoff run is than we are today. And we’re not afraid to admit that. That’s a good thing.”