NBA Playoffs: Everything you need to know about Rockets vs Thunder

Key Question No. 3: Will Oklahoma City continue to show up in the clutch?

A key reason behind the Thunder’s success this season has been there performance in crunch time. The lineup that the Thunder use to close out games, which consists of Paul, Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schröder, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams, has been excellent both offensively and defensively.

As a result, Oklahoma City is the NBA’s number one team in the clutch with a 27.9 net rating, nearly eight points higher than the second-ranked team. The Thunder also boasts a 30-14 record in close games.

Not only are the Thunder the NBA’s most clutch team, but they also have the league’s No. 1 ranked clutch player in Chris Paul. Paul averages 3.5 points on 52.2 percent shooting in crunch time and always seems to come up with a big-time bucket when Oklahoma City needs one.

Seeing how playoff games often come down to the final minute, the Thunder’s performance down the stretch could very well be the difference in the series. If OKC can show up as they have all season in crunch time, they will likely come out on top in the series. If they fail to perform in the clutch, the Thunder will suffer their fourth straight first-round exit.