The second-youngest roster in NBA history has already made enough progress in the 2022-23 season to call it a success, with plenty of room for growth in the future. On Wednesday night, fighting for their season, the kids demonstrated that the wait in Oklahoma City for a Western contender may not be as long as it was a year ago.
The Thunder made a statement in New Orleans, turning the tables with a dominant third quarter and holding on to defeat the Pelicans 123-118 in the NBA play-in round. OKC moves to a Friday night win-or-go matchup in Minnesota against the Timberwolves at 9:30 p.m. ET. The victor receives the eighth seed in the Western Conference and a series against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.
The takeaway: The Thunder demonstrated to the NBA world, in an isolated TV window, that this team has a lot of potential and upside, and if this team becomes a factor in the future, Wednesday may be considered as a launching point.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was terrific in the closing minutes of his NBA career, scoring a game-high 32 points, eight of which came in the final 1:40. The 24-year-old, who is in his fourth season with the Thunder, looked unsurprisingly fluid with the ball in a game in which the Thunder pounced on the basket at will, scoring 58 points in the paint. SGA’s big performance came as no surprise given that he has averaged more than 31 points per game this season.
But, in order to outlast Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and company, OKC’s supporting cast had to step up — and they did. Josh Giddey and Lu Dort shone brightly in this scene.
To begin with, it’s hard to believe Giddey is 20 years old after seeing Wednesday night’s game. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 draft was considered an upside pick at the time, and we all witnessed why with the performance he put on in New Orleans, matching a career high with 31 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds.
With a perfect 5-for-5 performance and five assists in the third quarter, Giddey helped the Thunder outscore the Pelicans 39-24 and take a nine-point lead.
Dort, on the other hand, saw Wednesday night as a reward for all of the nights he’s put in for the organization over the last four years. The 23-year-old scored a season-high 27 points, including two critical free throws with six seconds remaining to restore the lead to three.
These play-in tournament games signify various things to different clubs, and New Orleans improves its draft value after an unimpressive season. That’s for another day.
Wednesday night was all about the Thunder enjoying the situation, with its core playing their best game of the season and putting Oklahoma City on the map for another 48 minutes. The calmness of this Thunder team down the stretch in a road game was incredibly outstanding, with Ingram (30 points, 7 assists) willing his team and looking like he couldn’t be stopped. But OKC just kept punching back, playing a tremendous job defensively in the last minute and troubling McCollum all night, shooting 5-for-15.
Consider this: Last August, No. 2 overall draft pick and self-proclaimed unicorn Chet Holmgren was ruled out for the entirety of his rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.
Sam Presti should be happy since his plan is coming together and he’s only touched the surface of his core. What about Holmgren? He is not responsible for the organization’s fate. He can certainly speed up the process, but Presti controls 15 first-round picks in the next five NBA Drafts. He’s enjoying himself, and the Thunder are still standing.
Two major points:
The No. 10 seeds entered Wednesday night having gone 0-4 in the past two NBA play-in tournaments. That winless streak is over, as the Bulls and Thunder defeated the Raptors and Pelicans, respectively.
The road teams are 3-1 in the play-in tournament, and that total might easily be 4-0 if the Timberwolves hadn’t fallen apart in Los Angeles. Is this a foreshadowing of what’s to come once the playoffs get underway? We’ll see what happens.
Source: foxsports.com
