The OKC Thunder has been the top team in the league throughout the season, winning 64 games and topping the Western Conference for the third straight year.
The Thunder also has a shot to be the first NBA team to win back-to-back championships in eight years and could etch their franchise as the new dynasty in the league.
However, NBA legend Kevin Garnett believed the Thunder is still getting disrespected this season. He thinks that the Thunder’s best form has yet to come this season, especially as they deal with numerous injuries.
“Thunder mad, dog. The Thunder are like the bully who ain’t come outside yet,” Garnett said in the KG: Certified show. “The bully just got a a** whooping at home, right? Now he’s going to come outside and whoop all the kids in the neighborhood. They have been disrespected this year.”
Garnett, who has won one NBA title in his career, even compared the team to boxer Roy Jones.
“They won it and came back with another type of buzz saw dog. And not all of the players played,” he said. “J-Dub has been out the majority of the year, you know, they’ve been in and out, bro. We’ve been talking about oh this and oh this, and they like, really? Okay, watch this. Yeah, they on some Roy Jones sh*t bro.”
The Thunder looked vulnerable for some stretches this season as their shooting remained inconsistent throughout the year, on top of injuries that caused some of their core players to sit out for an extended period.
One of them was Jalen Williams, who only played 33 games this season due to wrist and hamstring injuries. His numbers also dipped to 17.1 points per game, his worst scoring average in three years.
Nevertheless, the Thunder still looked formidable for most games, led by MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on top of a slew of hard-nosed defenders such as Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso.
OKC Thunder Prepares For 1st-Round Meeting Against the Phoenix Suns
GettyThe Phoenix Suns take on the OKC Thunder in the NBA playoffs.
After days of waiting, the Thunder finally learned their opponents for the first round of the playoffs on Friday night as the Phoenix Suns stomped out the Golden State Warriors to occupy the No. 8 seed.
The Suns lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first play-in game before finally taking care of business against the Warriors.
The Thunder lost twice in five games against the Suns this season. However, OKC has swept its last two first-round series in the playoffs.
Having the superior record in the series, the Thunder will enjoy a homecourt advantage against the Suns.
Thunder-Suns Schedule
GettyIt’s the Thunder and the Suns in Round 1.
The Thunder and the Suns will open their first-round series on Sunday, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. Game 2 will then be on Wednesday, April 22.
The Suns will then play on their home floor in Games 3 and 4, which will happen on April 25 and 27, respectively.
If necessary, Game 5 will be played in Oklahoma City.
In the series, the Thunder is expected to engineer their game plan around stopping Devin Booker and Jalen Green, who have been terrific in the play-in tournament.
OKC Thunder Receives Scathing Statement from NBA Legend Kevin Garnett