Though the OKC Thunder remain undefeated in the 2025-2026 playoffs, fans are looking ahead to the next round with healthy levels of apprehension.
The San Antonio Spurs are looking dangerous, and a date with them seems like an unavoidable fate for the Thunder.
On the surface, the Spurs have continued their dominance into the postseason. However, various underlying metrics could rear their ugly head sooner than people think.
Many expected Victor Wembanyama and company to get humbled at some point in their first playoff berth, a usual rite of passage for young teams experiencing their first bit of success.
Down the stretch, though, they were so dominant that various fans and pundits began to question whether they even needed to go through such growing pains.
The Spurs have been making said pundits look good thus far. They finished off the Trail Blazers in five games and just beat the Timberwolves by 38 points in Game 2.
However, despite their early success, fans watching closely might already see a weak spot in their game.
Spurs turnover are a major weakness Thunder can take advantage of
The Spurs have been turning the ball over at a significantly high rate.
So far, they have turned the ball over 1.1 more times in the postseason than during the regular season. They have coughed up the rock at least 15 times in four of their seven games, and they have yet to play a postseason game in which they recorded less than 13.
By contrast, the Thunder already have three games in which they have turned the ball over ten times or fewer.
The two teams were separated by a mere 0.6 turnovers per game during the regular season.
That disparity has increased to an emphatic 3.1 turnovers per game since the beginning of the postseason.
With Thunder fans anxiously awaiting their date with their emerging nemesis, the turnover battle will be something to watch. The giveaways were nearly even in the regular-season series, which saw unmitigated dominance by the Spurs.
The heightened intensity of the postseason tends to magnify factors such as youth, inexperience, and carelessness.
Even OKC had to learn this lesson the hard way, when they were ousted by Luka Doncic and a veteran Mavs squad back in 2024.
Whether the Spurs are next in line to be humbled by a savvy group of seasoned talents remains to be seen, but their recent lack of attention to detail could be the opening the Thunder need if they were to run into the Texas juggernaut in the Western Conference Finals.
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