The OKC Thunder find themselves on the brink of advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. A win on Wednesday night would officially punch their ticket.
However, despite their 3-1 series edge over the Minnesota Timberwolves in this conference championship, pulling out a win in Game 5 is far from a guarantee.
The T-Wolves have made things exorbitantly difficult for Oklahoma City throughout, even handing them their worst loss of the postseason via a 42-point blowout in Game 3.
Though they may still be viewed as favorites to win this series and take home the 2025 Larry O'Brien Trophy, advancing to the title round is by no means a gimme.
To better their odds of downing Minnesota, they'll need to bring their A-game and address any and all weaknesses that may exist within their game, and there's one area of play, in particular, that could single-handedly thrust them to the championship round should they be able to up their efforts.
Thunder must control Timberwolves' second-chance point production
The Thunder may be considered the best team in all of the NBA, but they are far from a flawless unit.
Throughout this year's postseason, the area of play that has highlighted this sentiment is their lackluster defense against an opposing team's second-chance point production.
Two full rounds down and 15 total games logged, Oklahoma City finds itself ranking in as the sixth-worst team when it comes to opposing second-chance scoring looks, allowing 15.7 points per game to come in such a fashion. In total, they've let up the second-most second-chance points with 236.
So far in the conference finals, Minnesota has held a significant edge in this particular statistical category, outscoring the Thunder 74-54.
Their ability to pull down offensive rebounds thanks to the elite board-gobbling skills of Rudy Gobert has played a significant role in the Timberwolves remaining competitive against the two-time top seeds. Such an approach was how they were able to claw their way back and give OKC a run for their money during the fourth period of Game 4.
While the Thunder have managed to stave off the Wolves' enviable success rate on this front thus far, relying on them to overcome such a glaring on-court discrepancy once more against a dangerous and, now on the brink of elimination, desperate Minnesota team in Game 5 is not an ideal strategy.
Strong box-outs, high-end intensity fighting on the defensive glass, and pushing heavily for second-chance points of their own will prove to be the ultimate keys to ending this series on Wednesday and avoiding going back to Minneapolis, where the Timberwolves have lost just twice since late-March.