The OKC Thunder took care of business in their quarterfinals tip-off against Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, coasting to a 35-point beatdown to take a 1-0 series lead.
Following the contest, Suns cornerstone Devin Booker seemingly had his "come to Jesus" moment when discussing how things got so out of hand for his ball club.
The five-time All-Star made it a point to tell reporters during his post-game presser that "Everybody's a threat on their team," specifically breaking down how reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is undeniably "the head of the snake," but that his supporting cast is more than capable of stepping into action at a moment's notice.
Such a truth was on full display during Oklahoma City's opening round rout.
It's no secret that the Thunder boast one of the deepest rosters in the entire league, one that can excel on both ends of the ball regardless of the assortment of talent out on the floor.
In Game 1, all nine of OKC's bench players saw on-court action, with all but one registering two or more points, while the team as a whole forced Phoenix into 17 turnovers and outrebounded them 19 to 14 on the offensive glass.
To Booker (23 points and three turnovers), this is admittedly "a recipe for disaster," particularly when playing against such an incredibly deep Thunder team.
Thunder Big Three effortlessly led the charge to dominant Game 1 win
Though Booker's claim of how everyone on the Thunder is capable of wreaking havoc is certainly accurate, at the end of the day, this team will only go as far as their Big Three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren will bring them.
Right out of the gate, it appears they should be more than capable of guiding the club to a quick round-one win and, hopefully, back-to-back championships this postseason.
With Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren both sitting out the entirety of the fourth quarter, and J-Dub logging just north of four minutes in the final period himself, this star trio still managed to combine for a ludicrous 63 of the team's 119 total points while adding on 13 assists, 18 boards, five blocks, and three steals.
During the 2025 playoffs, these three ballers proved themselves capable of spearheading the charge for a Thunder championship run with both Chet (just returned from a multi-month hip injury) and Williams (dealt with a torn scapholunate ligament in his shooting wrist) playing at far less than full strength.
A year later, with Holmgren amid an All-Star breakout campaign and the established All-NBA wing in Williams recently admitting that his surgically repaired wrist has never felt better, them running alongside Shai is undoubtedly one of the scariest cores the Suns, and presumably any other team in the association, could possibly ask to see in this year's postseason.
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