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The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and pre-Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors share a lot of similarities.
- The celebrity level guard who received his first MVP, and first title, two years after his first All-Star choice.
- The shooting-guard wingman who grew to become the second All-Star (Klay Thompson and Jalen Williams).
- The dominant protection constructed on like-sized switchers and the strain they supply.
- The hidden gem in Draymond Inexperienced (drafted in second spherical) and Lu Dort (undrafted).
- The defensive-ace acquisition (Andre Iguodala and Alex Caruso).
- The primary-time head coach.
These Warriors felt the cynicism surrounding their first championship. They heard the critics pointing to the opponent damage luck they’d loved alongside their postseason path. No person known as it outright luck. However to say that staff was universally accepted as the perfect within the league could be a lie.
Folks pointed to the 2-1 gap through which these Warriors discovered themselves towards Memphis within the second spherical, and the truth that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love mixed to play one sport within the Finals, as proof that they weren’t really as dominant as they’d been made out to be. The Warriors heard all of it, and used it as gas to bombard the league the next season to the tune of a 24-1 begin en path to an NBA-record 73 wins within the 2015-16 season.
It is the identical deal for these Thunder, who had their dominance questioned after needing seven video games to squeak previous the Nuggets within the second spherical earlier than being on the best aspect of Tyrese Haliburton’s blown Achilles in Recreation 7 of the Finals. Had been the Thunder really the perfect staff?
Sure, they have been. And like these Warriors, they’ve used the stage of this season to drive that time house. No championship hangover. No mercy. Their most sufferer was the Suns, who took a 49-point thrashing (Phoenix’s most-lopsided loss in staff historical past) within the NBA Cup quarterfinals Wednesday night time, which ran OKC’s document to …24-1.
These Thunder have just about mirrored these Warriors at each flip, and it begs the query: Is Golden State’s 73-win document in jeopardy? Sure, it’s.
Personally, I might go as far as to say I will be shocked if the Thunder do not break the document. The percentages do not agree. Caesars at the moment has the over 73.5 wins mark for these Thunder at +325, and the underneath at -500, which is smart as we’re speaking a couple of win complete that has by no means been reached. Issues occur. Gamers get damage. Schedule losses present up.
I get all that, and I am nonetheless saying I will be shocked if Oklahoma Metropolis would not win 74 video games. This can be a staff that entered Wednesday demolishing its opponents by 15.9 factors per 100 possessions, which might shatter the present NBA document. And that was earlier than they beat Phoenix by 49.
Accidents are the plain X-factor, however ask your self who’s going to get damage that is going to upend Oklahoma Metropolis’s assault? Jalen Williams is the second-best participant on the staff, and so they began the season 18-1 with him in avenue garments. Even the one loss by no means ought to’ve occurred because it required the Thunder blowing a 22-point result in the Blazers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP of the league for crying out loud, and on paper the Thunder do not even want him to bury you alive. Critically, the Thunder are carving opponents up by 16.2 factors per 100 possessions when SGA’s not on the ground, per CTG, which is a quantity no logical thoughts can wrap itself round.
Talking of insane numbers, the Thunder have now outscored their opponents by 439 factors this season. That is the very best level differential in historical past by means of 25 video games by an nearly laughable margin.
Final season the Thunder outscored opponents by 12.9 factors per 100 possessions, which was the perfect internet ranking in historical past. This season they’re annihilating their very own document with an totally absurd +17.5 by means of 25 video games.
As famous in Michael Pina’s current piece for The Ringer, Oklahoma Metropolis entered play on Wednesday having performed 18% of its minutes this season with no less than a 20-point lead. On Wednesday the Thunder had their first 20-point lead lower than a minute into the second quarter and so they performed all the second half main by no less than 26.
So typically are the Thunder blowing the doorways off their opponents that Gilgeous-Alexander has solely needed to play the fourth quarter in 12 of his 24 video games to this point, and but he nonetheless leads the league in complete clutch factors.
There isn’t any gap to probably exploit right here. No single participant, not even SGA, dominates the ball, so OKC is not prone to its celebrity having an off night time, if he ever plans on really having a kind of. He is scored no less than 30 factors in 19 of his 24 video games this yr, and courting again to final common season SGA has scored no less than 20 factors in 97 straight video games.
The man is averaging practically some extent per minute. That is Wilt territory (and Giannis, who’s really averaging 0.99 factors per minute this season, per NBA.com).
To have arguably the perfect offensive participant on the planet paired with the perfect protection in historical past is like placing prime Aaron Rodgers on the 2000 Ravens. That is what we’re speaking about with the Thunder, who’ve so many “subsequent guys up” than it actually would not matter who goes down.
On the very least, even when everybody goes chilly on the identical night time, the protection — which is at the moment working at a ranking some 12 factors above the league common, by far the most important hole in league historical past, per PBP Stats — is on each night time. To name this protection a machine, even a monster, is an understatement. Phrases do not exist for this type of strain.
And by the way in which, that concept I floated about the entire offense going chilly on the identical night time is mainly only a principle posited for the sake of argument. It is not going to occur. OKC ranks third in field-goal proportion. Fifth in 3-point proportion. They create extra turnovers than any protection within the league however mainly by no means cough it up themselves (solely the Celtics have a decrease offensive turnover price).
Look again at these early Warriors groups. You possibly can no less than have the hope of catching them on a sloppy turnover night time, or maybe you would beat them with dimension. It nearly by no means occurred as a result of they might shoot their manner out of each mistake. however this Thunder staff? They hardly make errors within the first place.
Take into consideration what number of issues should go incorrect for them to lose even one sport. For starters, the opponent has to play brilliantly. Then, on prime of that, the Thunder should shoot poorly, which they nearly by no means do, or have SGA put up a mean night time, which he by no means does and which additionally would not even matter as a result of they homicide you even when he is not enjoying in any respect, or have the protection play poorly (hilarious), or have about 5 gamers damage on the similar time as a result of two or three would not even dent their depth.
And that is simply to lose one sport. The Thunder can lose eight in complete, seven extra, and nonetheless break Golden State’s 73-win document. Now ask your self, how probably is it that every one these items occurs seven extra occasions?
No, you may’t account for the unforeseeable. A ball bouncing the incorrect manner. A back-to-back letdown. A giant blown lead. It will occur. It already did as soon as towards the Blazers. However that was like lightning putting, and lightning would not strike seven occasions. I feel this document goes down.
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