Oklahoma City Thunder: The War Has Just Begun
The Oklahoma City Thunder have jumped out to a commanding 2-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors, but the war with the defending NBA champions has only just begun.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are just two wins away from making the NBA Finals. That phrase could also be written as, “The Oklahoma City Thunder are just three conceivable losses away from falling short of the NBA Finals.”
Whether one remains optimistic or pessimistic, the reality remains the same: the war with the Golden State Warriors has only just begun.
Kevin Durant, a surefire Hall of Famer who’s already won an MVP award, four scoring titles, and made an NBA Finals appearance, had one of his career-best performances during Game 3. He scored 33 points on just 15 shots, essentially ending the game in the second quarter.
Russell Westbrook did the rest, protecting the 25-point halftime lead with 30 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, and two steals on 10-of-19 shooting.
The end result, a 133-105 demolition of the defending NBA champions, was a shining example of what many had forgotten: Oklahoma City isn’t just another team in the postseason. It’s a dominant force that’s made four Conference Finals appearances in the past six seasons.
Two more wins may not seem like a lot, but up 2-1 on one of the greatest teams in NBA history, the war has only just begun.
The Current Situation
As previously alluded to, the Oklahoma City Thunder have jumped out to a 2-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors. For most, that would be a reason for optimism.
Taking a 2-1 series lead as the lower seed means stealing, at least, one game on the road, and that’s always a positive start to a series.
That’s exactly what Oklahoma City did, stunning the defending NBA champions with a Game 1 road win. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook stepped up in critical moments, as the Thunder’s defense kept two-time defending MVP Stephen Curry in check during the fourth quarter.
It was a monumental 108-102 victory that included a 14-point comeback and marked Golden State’s third total home loss of the 2015-16 season.
Golden State bounced back in Game 2, Oklahoma City dominated Game 3, and that’s how we arrived at the 2-1 series lead. The harsh reality is, if Oklahoma City loses Game 4, none of this matters.
Losing Game 4 would transfer home court advantage back to Golden State, which is just another way of saying, “OKC will have lost control of this series.”
This Is Golden State
To go back to Oracle Arena for Game 5 at 2-2 would be an—forgive me for this uncreative word—interesting turn of events for the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is a veteran team that’s made many deep postseason runs before, and Billy Donovan has OKC as ready for a challenge as it’s ever been.
The truth of the matter is, this isn’t just another opponent; this is a Golden State Warriors squad that could qualify as the greatest team of all-time.
Golden State, which finished the regular season at 73-9, hasn’t lost consecutive games at any point in 2015-16—not during the regular season nor the playoffs. In other words, if Oklahoma City fails to win Game 4, it could have to do one of the following.
The less daunting task, which is still unimaginably difficult, goes something like this:
- Win Game 5 at Oracle Arena, where Golden State has lost three times all year.
- Win Game 6 at home, thus becoming the first team to defeat Golden State in consecutive games since the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals.
- This would also be the first time Golden State has lost consecutive games under any circumstances since the 2015 NBA Finals.
The more daunting task, which is quite realistic, would be as follows:
- Win or lose Game 5 at Oracle Arena, where Golden State has lost three times all year.
- Win or lose Game 6 at home, depending on the Game 5 result. Remember: Golden State doesn’t lose back-to-back games, and OKC would need to stave off elimination if it drops Game 5.
- Win Game 7 on the road at Oracle Arena.
In other words, if OKC loses Game 4, and it fails to win back-to-back games at any point in this series, it would need to win three road games against the Warriors just to move on to the NBA Finals.
Golden State had lost two road games during the entire 2015-16 season entering this series, and OKC would need to take three on the road just to advance.
It’s not impossible for Oklahoma City to win this series—no matter the circumstances. It simply must be stated that 2-1 isn’t a series victory, and that much is clear given the fact that Golden State trailed both the the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1 in 2015.
The resting point: Game 4 is just as much of a must-win encounter as Game 1 and Game 3 were.
The All-Time Reality
What if the Oklahoma City Thunder manage to get this done? What if the Thunder defeat the Golden State Warriors, break through the glass ceiling, and go on to become the 2016 NBA champions.
If the Thunder were to complete this road to immortality, it’s very possible that we’d objectively be able to call this the greatest championship run in NBA history.
The first round wasn’t terrible, but OKC overcame a Hall of Fame coach and star player in Rick Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki. It was an expected victory, but it was also a strong enough first-round matchup—arguably the strongest in the Western Conference—to not hurt their case.
What followed in Round 2 was a rather lopsided dismantling of the 67-15—the seventh-best record in NBA history—San Antonio Spurs.
One round after defeating a Top 10 all-time regular season team with three Hall of Fame locks—Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker—and two prime-year stars—LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard—OKC has encountered the 73-win Warriors.
Led by MVP Stephen Curry, Golden State set the all-time record for victories in a single season. It also won the 2015 NBA championship—and that all sets the stage for the final accolade.
If Oklahoma City were to defeat Golden State, and then cap the miraculous run by defeating the best player of this generation, LeBron James, to win the NBA championship we could potentially reflect upon this as the greatest title run in NBA history.
And all of this could be hinging on a Game 4 in Oklahoma City. 2-1 is just another way to say, “It’s a long way from over.”