The OKC Thunder will grow from season series sweep by Warriors
By Joshua Lea
The OKC Thunder have completed their four-game series with Golden State for the regular season. Now, it’s time to move on from the Warriors.
The OKC Thunder are battling for playoff positioning. Following the loss to Golden State, the Thunder find themselves tied with Memphis for the sixth spot. Also noteworthy, the Thunder trail the Los Angeles Clippers by 1.5 games for the fifth spot.
The series against the Warriors was indeed ugly, some would say downright atrocious. However, it’s important to focus on the rest of the season. There are three important games on the Thunder’s remaining schedule. This Sunday, the Thunder will play in Houston, they’ll play San Antonio at home on March 31st, and they are in Memphis on April 5th.
The OKC Thunder have too much emotion when it comes to Golden State. As they should, However, now it’s time to let go of all that emotion. They have to view the Warriors as just another team versus the evil empire of the NBA.
If you recall the early 1990’s, it took Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen three seasons before they took down the “bad boys” of Detroit. Overcoming Golden State is likely to be a similar hurdle for the OKC Thunder. However, at some point, players will need to let go of all the emotional attachment that goes along with the rivalry.
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We can all agree that everyone in the NBA dislikes Golden State, they’re smug, they’re whiny, and they’re a well-oiled basketball machine. Golden State is that team that people love to hate. Which is why most NBA teams play their best basketball against them. You want to beat the Warriors. We all wanted OKC to beat the Warriors just once. However, that didn’t happen.
This post isn’t about numbers, stats, or the odds. This is more of an inspirational speech to the die-hards that are bleeding after the Golden State loss.
It’s not the end of the world, in fact, Billy Donovan could use this as a great teaching moment. What Donovan should preach is the separation of good and bad emotion. Having negative emotion attached to a team like Golden State can hinder any chance of beating them.
The Thunder can overcome Golden State. These losses are not the end of the world. I would still expect for the Thunder to have a decent playoff run and they’ll be much improved next season. Remember, these losses will only make the Thunder stronger.