If Thunder can preserve their margin of victory (17.4) for the remainder of the season, they’d surpass the 1971-72 Lakers (12.28), 1970-71 Bucks (12.26) and 1995-96 Bulls (12.24) as probably the most dominant regular-season crew in NBA historical past.
Thoughts you, this 12 months’s Warriors (17.29), Celtics (14) and Cavaliers (13.13) are additionally drubbing opponents by report margins. Final 12 months’s Celtics (11.34) personal the fifth-largest points differential in historical past for a full season, falling wanting the 2016-17 Warriors (11.63).
The scary factor for the remainder of the league is OKC is off to a rollicking begin with out the companies of its large offseason pickup, Isaiah Hartenstein, who fractured his left hand within the preseason. With the German anticipated to return in early December, the Thunder will solely develop stronger, particularly on the defensive facet of the ball.
And protection has been the crew’s greatest calling card to date. OKC is holding opponents to just 95.9 points per game, practically 14 factors fewer than elite defensive groups such because the Celtics (109.6) and Cavaliers (109.1).
Second-year heart Chet Holmgren has been integral to the impeccable protection, as evidenced by the Thunder permitting solely 42.9 paint factors per sport. Nevertheless, their perimeter protection, spearheaded by Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, has been equally spectacular.
Throughout Monday’s version of “NBA Today” on ESPN, Kendrick Perkins declared that the Thunder had already separated themselves from the remainder of the pack within the West and had been primed to fulfill the Celtics within the 2025 NBA Finals.
“They’re clearly the most effective crew within the Western Convention,” Perkins stated. “I’ve by no means seen a bunch of younger guys with outdated souls like they do. They’re the true definition of dropping your self within the crew. In the event that they proceed to maintain this up, which I imagine they’ll, they’re gonna be within the NBA Finals taking part in the Boston Celtics.”
Final 12 months, the Thunder grew to become the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA historical past however fell to the Mavericks within the second spherical of the playoffs. This 12 months, they appear primed to take an enormous step towards the last word aim.
