Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder: 1 Wild Stat Proves How Dangerous OKC Really Is

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated 5/8/24

The Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday took their first step toward a return to the Western Conference Finals with a Game 1 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The contest continued a noticeable trend which has persisted through OKC’s first five playoff games.

The Thunder blew out the Mavericks 117-95 in front of a capacity crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. OKC took a 1-0 lead in the series in a familiar fashion from their first-round dismantling of the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Oklahoma City Thunder Have Been Putting On A Defensive Masterclass

The Minnesota Timberwolves turned heads on Monday for their defensive performance in Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets. They held the defending champions to 80 points in the contest and just 35 in the first half. Minnesota made some emphatic defensive plays and had the Nuggets’ offense looking utterly disjointed.

The Thunder haven’t looked like an overwhelming defensive powerhouse based on the eye test like the Timberwolves have so far. But OKC has quietly been extremely effective on the defensive end. The Mavs’ 95 points in Game 1 of the West semis was actually the most the Thunder have allowed in the postseason so far.

During OKC’s sweep of the New Orleans, the Thunder never let the Pelicans score more than 92 points in any of the contests.

The Thunder have allowed 95 or fewer points in all 5 games this postseason.

They are the first team to allow 95 or fewer points in each of their first 5 games of a postseason since the Spurs in 2016.

— Matt Williams (@StatsWilliams) May 8, 2024

Through five playoffs games, the Thunder have had the best defensive rating in the playoffs (94.8) by a wide margin. They’re the lone team with a defensive rating under the century mark with the eliminated Orlando Magic being the closest (100.0) to them. The Timberwolves (105.5) have ranked fourth behind the Thunder, Magic, and Boston Celtics (100.9).

The Thunder have had the benefit of playing against teams dealing with injuries.

The Pelicans were without top scorer Zion Williamson during their first-round series. Mavericks star Luka Doncic was also visibly hobbled during Game 1 of the West Semis. Doncic is reportedly dealing with a knee injury he suffered during the Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Dallas’ premier stretch big man Maxi Kleber is also on the sidelines due to injury.

But regardless of injuries, holding any NBA team under 100 in the modern NBA has proven to be a tall task. The Memphis Grizzlies averaged the lowest points-per-game total during the regular season at 105.8 per contest. The fact that the Thunder have yet to allow more than 95 points in five straight postseason contests points to their defense being pretty sturdy.

The Thunder had the fourth-best defensive rating during the regular season. With defensive stalwarts Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace leading the charge, the team has clearly stepped it up a notch in the playoffs.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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