The Oklahoma City Thunder have now advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in as many seasons with their victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
To the Lakers' credit, they put up a fight that the Thunder really haven't seen so far this postseason. They shot 50.7% from the floor and 35.7% from 3-point range, forcing Oklahoma City to do the work on both ends of the floor over the full 48 minutes. But the Thunder prevailed yet again on the shoulders of some clutch shots from their best shooters, sending Los Angeles into what will be a highly uncertain offseason.
Entering the series, the Thunder's goal was clear. Obviously, the mission was to advance and continue their bid for a repeat. But the deeper priority was to wrap up the series quickly, giving extra time for their roster to rest and decreasing any chance that Jalen Williams could be pressured into action before he was ready.
They accomplished that goal in four games, and now they have granted themselves the ultimate advantage heading into the Western Conference Finals. While the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves duke it out, the Thunder will be resting and preparing for their hardest series of the playoffs so far.
Rest is the ultimate advantage the Thunder could have this postseason
When the playoffs begin in the NBA, every detail takes on a higher importance. Teams are more locked in defensively, and finding and exploiting advantageous matchups becomes the bread and butter of schematically adept coaches. The Thunder have done that successfully so far this postseason, and the sheer depth of their offense and connectedness of their defense makes them far and away the most formidable team in the league.
But they've also dealt with a number of significant injuries this year. If anything threatens to prevent them from reaching the summit again, it's their health.
Most notably, Williams has been out since Game 2 of the Phoenix series with a hamstring strain. But Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and Ajay Mitchell all missed extensive time during the regular season as well.
For their part, the Spurs and the Timberwolves are deadlocked at 2-2, with each team showing flashes of being able to prevail in the series. While Minnesota is certainly banged-up, San Antonio is untested in these high-leverage waters. The series will at least go to Game 6, which is scheduled for Friday, but there's a chance the Thunder get more than a full week of rest if the series goes to seven games.
Game 7 between the Spurs and the Timberwolves is currently scheduled for Sunday, May 17.
The NBA playoffs are a gauntlet, especially if you're trying to advance out of the Western Conference. We've seen teams lose their grip on a series with a 3-0 lead only to suffer in the next round because of the extra work the previous series required.
The Thunder avoided that possibility, and now they will enter the Western Conference Finals having maximized their rest through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google