2024 NBA Playoffs – New Orleans Pelicans v Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City fans understand how special this team is — hundreds of them showed up at the airport at 1 am to welcome their Thunder back after they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Mavericks Saturday night.
Those fans are going to be rewarded over the coming years — this team has immense promise and the chance to be truly special.
Just don’t expect GM Sam Presti to rush the process.
Patience has been the mantra in Oklahoma City and that will not suddenly change this summer. Oklahoma City made a giant leap this season, going from the play-in a season ago to being the No. 1 seed and advancing to the second round of the playoffs this season. While Oklahoma City has cap space and a plethora of picks, they are not going to suddenly push all their chips into the middle on a win-now gambit. They don’t need to, they are already winning now and improving. While they may look to a veteran to fill a role, the core of this roster is set.
Oklahoma City has one of the best players in the league in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. At age 25, he has been in the top five in MVP voting for two consecutive seasons. He averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.5 rebounds a game this season. However, he learned a hard lesson in the final seconds of the Thunder’s elimination when he fouled P.J. Washington on a corner 3.
“We talk about it all year, the little things that go into winning games. And being disciplined. It sucks,” Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame of the foul. “Obviously, if I had the moment back, I wouldn’t have fouled him and just let him make or miss the shot.”
Next to SGA is Jalen Willilams, who broke out in his second season as an All-Star level wing who averaged 19.1 points a game and shot 42.7% from 3. Then there is Chet Holmgren, who finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting and changed the Thunder defense with his elite rim protection. Solid role players surround those three in Lu Dort (age 24), Isaiah Joe (24), Cason Wallace (20, a rookie) and Jaylin Williams.
The guy who could be the odd man out is Josh Giddey. His role has shrunk with the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bright-future-ahead-expect-more-181637914.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-05-19 18:16:37
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