The OKC Thunder like 25 other teams aren’t actively on the hardwood, yet this past week proved to be extremely busy for the NBA in general with the lottery, combine, playoffs and Euroleague action.
What a week of action for the NBA. The conference finals began without the services of former OKC Thunder star Kevin Durant, yet in spite of his absence, the Dubs have taken a 3-0 lead in the West. Moving into Game 4 Golden State may also be without Andre Iguodala who tweaked his calf in the latter stages of Game 3.
And, for the OKC Thunder fans wondering why Dame Lillard isn’t feasting on the Warriors, he confirmed Sunday he has a separated rib. Does anyone want to take bets Draymond Green delivers a few rib shots in Game 4?
In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series but succumbed to the Raptors in double overtime in Game 3. This despite the Raptors playing without Kyle Lowry for over six minutes of the fourth quarter and Norman Powell fouling out with 1:09 remaining in regulation. Personal fouls also ended up hurting the Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled out 36 seconds into the second overtime.
Notably, this match was just the fifth time in Conference Finals history a game has taken two overtimes to decide. And, this was just the second time in the past three decades.
Per @bball_ref, there's only been one multi-OT conference finals game in the last three decades (Cleveland-Detroit in 2007): https://t.co/EXVFKwJS9l
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) May 20, 2019
Moving forward, Golden State can cement their finals berth with one more victory which could occur as soon as tonight. Meanwhile, the Raptors will attempt to even things up on Tuesday and make it a best of three series. The NBA might be hoping that’s the case otherwise there will be a very long lay off since the Finals aren’t slated to start until May 30th.
Draft focus:
Following the wild NBA Draft Lottery which witnessed the New Orleans Pelicans win the Zion Sweepstakes, the league shifted thoughts to the upcoming NBA Draft on June 24th.
The major effect of the lottery results was immediate speculation regarding how the ping pong bounces would affect the offseason. Wild trades are being shopped and team fan bases are actively trying to figure out how they can land Anthony Davis or what big trade could happen on par with the Luka Doncic – Trae Young trade of last season.
I asked teams that question -- almost all said Celtics with a Tatum and Brown package, the problem is Boston feels like Kyrie is leaving, so emptying the cupboard for Davis isn't as appealing. https://t.co/Yr4wl467CA
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) May 18, 2019
The most interesting tidbits on these conversations is how much Brandon Ingram’s late season blood clot in his arm may impact the Lakers shot at landing Anthony Davis.
Best player available at 4... LeBron can play anywhere. Ingram is a question mark until he comes back from the blood clot. https://t.co/sr84jFhliS
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) May 18, 2019
There will be reverberations across the board regardless of what happens. But, as OKC Thunder fans we have to be hoping Davis heads East. I won’t revisit all the trade scenarios popping up (let’s face it some are absolutely absurd) but expect to see a myriad of others prior to June 24th. And, don’t be surprised if a shocking trade happens on draft night with teams no one considered would be the two key players.
Draft Combine shifts board and executes promises:
As is typical during the Draft Combine stocks will rise and fall based on performances and certain prospects will prove to be so engaging in the interview process. Think Donovan Mitchell or Mo Bamba as examples of the latter in recent years.
Rylan Stiles covered the action on the stats of measurements and skills testing and noted the high risers and plummeting stock. More importantly, given the sudden exit and rumored OKC Thunder promise to Matisse Thybulle, Stiles dove into his prospect preview in order to give fans a better perspective on Thybulle.
"That is where Matisse Thybulle comes in. Thybulle is one of the most polarizing prospects in OKC Thunder history, a portion of the fanbase loves the idea of Oklahoma City promising their pick away to a seemingly great defender with more of an offensive game in his bag than Andre Roberson."
Mock Draft 1.0:
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
This season Thunderous Intentions is producing different iterations of the Mock Draft instead of just prior to Draft Night. One reason is because of so much uncertainty and parity in this class. Moreover, with numerous superstars about to enter free agency this summer stands to be one of the craziest offseasons ever.
Consider LeBron James just missed his first playoffs after eight consecutive finals and factor in the whole Anthony Davis – Zion Williamson factor.
Additionally, numerous teams have room to compete for those superstar free agents and we’re quite literally in the era where loyalty is something associated more with shopping than sports. So, that all adds up to expectations for numerous teams to try to load up on assets and picks to enter the equation.
Given all these dynamics T.I.s mock draft 1.0. is up and we’ll have another incorporating performance and rumors post Draft Combine shortly. Obviously, we’ll also have our pre Draft Night mock and depending on how insane the rumors and trade news gets we may complete another prior to our final pre Draft night mock draft of where we assume the players will land.
That’s it for in the news. Enjoy the game tonight and make sure to check T.I. frequently for our draft prospects as they roll out.