Oklahoma City Thunder: How OKC Transformed Into An NBA Finals Favorite

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the brink of completing their improbable run to the Finals. But, how did they get to this point after not being the favorites against elite competition?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have fought their way to an improbable run to the championship series, up 3-1 in the Conference Finals against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Throughout the regular season however, the Thunder looked far from the title contenders that they have become in the playoffs. Compared to their competition, OKC was seen as an exciting after-thought in the race for the West.

Their regular season struggles seemed to refute the idea that as a group they lacked the extra cohesion necessary to defeat the elite of the league in a seven-game series.

They had high profile struggles such as losing their Christmas Day game against the Bulls and being swept in three meetings with the aforementioned Warriors during the regular season.

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When looking at the standings, the 55-win Thunder certainly didn’t seem as threatening to win the NBA Championship as compared to the 67-win Spurs and the 73-win Warriors.

So, how did they get to this point?

Well, being led by triple-double machine Russell Westbrook and the ever lethal Kevin Durant certainly helps. But, it has actually been a very simple approach that has led the Thunder to this point.

Coach Billy Donovan has allowed his team to run the isolation plays that have overpowered lesser teams. In the playoffs, it has been the emergence of the bigs that have added the extra punch that the team has needed.

Steven Adams and Enes Kanter are no Andre Drummond or DeMarcus Cousins. But the bigs execute their roles consistently in clogging the lane and doing their job on the boards.

The Thunder have had an eagerness to battle for rebounds and loose balls that puts extreme pressure on their opposition. The effort of Westbrook can’t be overlooked regarding that point, he sets a precedent for his team as well as dismantles the opposition’s defensive schemes through sheer will.

Added into that has been the Thunder’s improvements on involving the rest of the team on offense. Much criticism regarding the team has been an over-reliance on Durant and Westbrook, and the predictability that such an approach brings down the stretch.

The result has been that the more complex systems of the Spurs and Warriors have collapsed behind the straightforward approach.

As has been seen in this series, as Stephen Curry has failed to shoot his team back into the game under pressure, the rest of his team seems to falter as well.

All of this makes the Thunder’s run all the more incredible. When watching the historic run of success from the Spurs and Warriors, it was easy to predict that the Thunder wouldn’t be able to make it past either one of those squads, let along both, to reach the Finals.

This is also taking into account that every stumble gave them fuel to the theory that Durant is waiting for an exit from Oklahoma City.

Such talk has been quelled over the last two weeks.

Even if the Warriors pull off an improbable comeback to win the series, there is little doubt that Durant is closer to winning a championship with the Thunder than he is by going to another squad and building the chemistry he has found in OKC.

All of this goes without mentioning, the fact that the Thunder missed last year’s postseason due to extended periods without Durant and Westbrook due to injury.

More sir charles in charge: Down 3-1 With Their Backs Against The Wall, The Warriors Have a Huge Opportunity In Front Of Them

Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder have to put in one more night of solid work to punch their ticket to the Finals. Against the Warriors, letting up on the gas could allow the defending champions back into the series.

But after watching Game 3, it’s hard to imagine such a fall at this stage.

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