The Oklahoma City Thunder have served the rest of the NBA notice with eight wins in their last 10 games, climbing back in to the Western Conference playoff picture. With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both healthy there is little reason to expect they won’t make the playoffs. However, the top seven seeds in the West showing little signs of slowing down, which means the Thunder will have a tough time catching any of them – including the seventh seed. It’s still very early but it’s more than likely that the Thunder end up with the No. 8 seed but that might not be so bad after all. Right now, the top seed is the Golden State Warriors and after watching the two engage in a classic this past Thursday on TNT, we saw some potential foreshadowing of what might happen when these two teams meet. If it in fact does come to fruition, here’s three reasons why the Warriors are likely to be sent home packing.
Durant…He’s The Real MVP
Stephen Curry has put together an MVP caliber start to this year but it’s important not to forget who the real reigning MVP is. Durant missed the first month of the season because of injury and then sprained his ankle in 114-109 loss to Golden State on Thursday, but he isn’t expected to miss any more time at this point. When healthy he is simply dominant. The fact that Durant left Thursday’s game against the Warriors and didn’t return left him as the first team since the ABA-NBA merger to score at least 30 points in fewer than 20 minutes and if he can put up those numbers in a regular season game on the road at Golden State, there is no telling of how dominant he could be in a playoff series. Curry deserves credit for the outstanding numbers he has put up early on this season – including a game-high 34 points against Oklahoma City – but going up against the reigning MVP in the first round isn’t exactly something to look forward to come playoff time.
Westbrook Continues To Improve
For as long as they have played together, Westbrook has been labeled the No. 2 to Durant’s No. 1 but perhaps that perception will change by the time the postseason arrives if people realize just how good Westbrook is. The Thunder have given him more opportunities to be aggressive offensively early on in games and to this point, he has been Oklahoma City’s leading scorer with a team-leading 27.2 points, 7.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. On Friday night, he went bananas with 31 points, 10 assists, five rebounds while going 13-of-13 from the charity stripe. Those are MVP-caliber numbers and the more he is able to assert himself, the more difficult the Thunder will be to defend. Klay Thompson has been very good for Golden State but Durant and Westbrook is better than Curry and Thompson in a playoff series.
Thunder Have The Better Defense
Durant and Westbrook’s dominance has been well documented but it’s also worth noting how good Oklahoma City has been defensively. That would be one area where the Thunder would have a huge edge on the Warriors. They match up very well against the Warriors and while Golden State has improved defensively, the Thunder rank No. 1 in points per game allowed. Durant and Westbrook pose height mismatches for whoever they are asked to guard while Serge Ibaka will be able to handle Andrew Bogut down low. The Warriors have had their way with a number of teams this season but Oklahoma City would provide one of the tougher matchups they could draw.
Golden State is the top seed in the Western Conference right now but that might not be as favorable of a position as in past years if they are forced to go up against Durant, Westbrook, and a Thunder team that is on a mission to win a championship.
