MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – APRIL 26: Chet Holmgren #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder goes to the basket … More
For the second consecutive year, the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a series sweep in the opening round of the playoffs. This time, the Thunder will hope to carry that momentum into its second-round series — where the team fell short last season — to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in four games, Oklahoma City is still the favorite to win an NBA Championship. Although the Thunder wasn’t flawless in the opening round series, the two-way upside is as clear as ever, and there’s no question that this is a championship-caliber roster.
Series Recap
The first two games of the Thunder’s opening series against the Grizzlies started off with an emphatic haymaker punch. Oklahoma City won Game 1 by 51 and Game 2 by 19. From there, the series pivoted to Memphis, and everything became much more competitive.
In Game 3, the Grizzlies jumped out to a 29-point lead and built tremendous momentum, but allowed OKC to complete the second-largest comeback in NBA playoff history to take a commanding 3-0 lead. To put an end to the series, the Thunder won Game 4 in a thriller, pulling off a two-point victory to end Memphis’ season.
If you remove the series’ first two games, it was much closer than a sweep would suggest. While Ja Morant going down with an injury in Game 3 was a catalyst to the Thunder’s comeback, the Grizzlies still nearly won Game 4 to extend the series.
Oklahoma City’s defense looked dominant at times, but there were certainly moments in which the Grizzlies were able to score with ease — especially from beyond the arc. The Thunder’s offense mostly looked solid, but the 3-point shooting was inconsistent. As such, keep an eye on cleaning up perimeter play being a focal point during the week off that OKC has before its next series.
What’s Next?
From here, the Thunder will take on the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets (No. 4) and LA Clippers (No. 5). That series is currently knotted up at 2-2, though the Clippers have looked like the better team overall.
Regardless, both would be favorable matchups for Oklahoma City, and the Thunder would be a clear favorite in either case. Denver is headlined by Nikola Jokic, who is considered the best player in the world. While LA has a star duo of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, the depth of the Clippers would pose more of a challenge than the Nuggets’ complementary pieces.
Whether it’s the Nuggets or Clippers, the Thunder will be well-rested with plenty of time to scout both teams ahead of that second-round series, while Denver and LA will be much less fresh. On several levels, OKC still has a very favorable path to the Western Conference Finals, which would be a milestone the majority of this roster has never reached.
As the Thunder pursues 16 wins en route to an NBA Championship, four are already out of the way following a sweep of the Grizzlies. Only three more series wins stand between Oklahoma City and a title.
