3. Oklahoma City Thunder
Although OKC is sitting at last in the regular season standings, this team’s record does not do justice for just how talented they are. Paul George and Russell Westbrook are one of the best duos in the league by far and PG13 has been in competition with James Harden in the MVP race.
On top of that, the Oklahoma City Thunder have an excellent defensive presence in Steven Adams and Russ and George are the top 2 players in the league in steals per game. The Rockets and Thunder are the two teams with the best chances of taking down the great Warriors. But the Thunder have lost some very very winnable games this year which has hurt them both in record and in confidence, but do not count this team out that easily.
Not only do they have the capability to go far in the playoffs but they have the biggest needs to as well. The Thunder have been knocked out in the first round the past two seasons and with Paul George signing long term it is imminent for Oklahoma City to make a deep run in order to keep PG motivated and show the team as a whole that when playing their best they can win against just about anyone.
With that being said though the Thunder simply do not match up well against a good amount of teams in this year’s playoffs. At the end of the day, it’ll all come down to seeding. If the Thunder can get themselves in a position where they’re set to play against a team that they match up well against, then they have one of the best odds of making it to the Finals.