Golden State Warriors
The likelihood of Oklahoma City playing against Golden State in the first round shrinks every day. The Warriors currently sit in the ten seed, just a single game in front of Houston for the last play-in slot.
The Thunder would be closely monitoring a potential series against the Warriors, as it would most likely be their dream scenario.
Mark Daigneault's club has had no problem dealing with Golden State this season, winning the season series 3-1, and the one loss was on a game-winner by Stephen Curry with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the lineup.
Similarly to Sacramento, Golden State lacks a true shot-blocking and rim-protecting presence. Steve Kerr has backed his lengthy and quick-footed players, as they don't force many turnovers or block many shots, but they rebound very well.
They rank sixth in the NBA in defensive rebounds per game, and 11th in defensive rebound percentage.
The Warriors have major issues in transition, which is where the Thunder would have to really take advantage.
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— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
The Thunder are the league's seventh-fastest team and number one in generating turnovers. On the inverse, Golden State is not very good at taking care of the basketball as they give away the eighth most turnovers in the league.
When these turnovers are live-ball, it's even worse for them as they allow the ninth most fast-break points. Turning these turnovers into easy buckets is something the Thunder did in their matchups against the Dubs, and that stat would be absolutely game-changing in a playoff series.
With that being said, the Warriors still have Stephen Curry, who time and time again wills his team to victory with ridiculous performances.
The Thunder would have to keep him contained as much as possible, as Golden State's offense is super reliant on Curry at points. His ability to get hot and swing momentum is infectious and a lot of this team has championship experience, so Oklahoma City should never underestimate the Dubs.