Isaiah Hartenstein Says OKC Thunder Focused on ‘Staying Hungry’

Oklahoma City solidified a historic regular season by putting together a dominant first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies. Sometimes it’s hard to learn too much from a 4-0 sweep, but the Thunder walked out of Memphis with some valuable experiences.

The Thunder won every outing in completely different fashion. Over the course of the series, they played up by 50 points, they completed a 29-point comeback, and they had to grind out every game with aggressive  defense. Oklahoma City’s shot wasn’t falling at all, and they had to find other ways to win — and that’s exactly what they did.

With Saturday’s win, Oklahoma City officially becomes to first playoff team to advance to the second round. While it's obviously a big advantage, Oklahoma City has to make the most of its break. The second round matchups will be extremely difficult, and the Thunder will have to be at its best.

Luckily, this team has been here before. Last season, Oklahoma City swept the Pelicans 4-0 in the first round, and the second round against Dallas was a challenge. They'll have time to find out what worked a season ago, and what didn't, and adjust accordingly for preparation purposes. One of the newest members of the team, Isaiah Hartenstein, has the right mindset.