Adam Silver will not want the nba finals in Oklahoma. U think Taylor swift or Kardashians wanna go there?
They have been doing all of this without Chet. Chet is easily their third best player and will continue to improve.
They have what it takes but one bad series is all it takes to ruin it all. To me they were slightly better than Mavs even with Giddey.
Even if you think the league puts its thumb on the scale sometimes, I'm not sure it matters when the talent gap is this large. They can't be too obvious about it and OKC is going to be blowing teams out in the playoffs. Anyway, in recent history, Denver, Milwaukee, Toronto, Cleveland all won championships. Evidence doesn't suggest a "small markets aren't allowed in the Finals" rule.
OKC had NBA's best point differential, even during the Cavs ridiculous start. In fact, OKC is on pace for the ALL TIME record in season point differential . The top 20 all time ranked pt diffs is a strong indication of winning titles. Generally a top 10 all time pt diff, they win it during that season, or their core eventually wins title after. (Or their core already won it before) https://hoopshype.com/lists/best-po...ba-history-2023-24-celtics-at-fifth-all-time/
Point is nobody is truly giving 2 shets about the regular season except for the Thunder, Rockets and a few teams. But I like how they can turn it on and off at times, that is going to be key in the Playoffs and favorable matchups that they can win easily without exerting too much energy. If they can withstand the first 2 rounds without losing too much stamina and injuries, they can get it done...... Is that supposed to be a jinx thread?
