A team with the statistical profile of the Oklahoma City Thunder is expected to sweep its first-round opponent. It did just that, closing out the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 and securing its spot in the second round.
For the first time in these playoffs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked like the MVP candidate that resided in Oklahoma City all season, scoring 38 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including something of a spinning step back to put OKC up two possessions with less than 10 seconds left.
He was joined by Jalen Williams, who continued his terrific series by scoring 23 points and dishing out five assists.
Despite the absence of Ja Morant, Memphis hung around and made it a game, coming from 12 down with under three minutes left to lose by only two points with a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds. Scottie Pippen Jr. scored 30 and grabbed 11 rebounds, continuing his strong series and proving himself as a valuable role player. Santi Aldama also showed up, hitting five 3s and helping a Grizzlies offense that struggled whenever he or Pippen didn’t have the ball.
It was a valiant effort by an undermanned Memphis team that many left for dead, but the Thunder’s talent was too much in the end.
History will see it as nothing more than a sweep, but it didn’t come without its bumps and bruises.
For the first three games of the series, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play well. His final numbers looked good enough in Game 2 and Game 3, but he was inefficient and was missing shots he had made for upwards of three seasons. Luckily for Gilgeous-Alexander, his co-stars made up for him, as Williams and Holmgren erased the doubts around them stemming from last season’s playoffs.
In Game 4, Gilgeous-Alexander finally looked like himself, only for everyone outside of Williams to struggle. It’s a startling trend that will undoubtedly bite OKC should it carry over to the next round against a better team.
There is also the matter of Morant’s injury.
When Lu Dort unintentionally undercut Morant on his dunk attempt in the second quarter of Game 3, Memphis was up 27 points. In an alternate universe where Dort clears out, or Morant goes up for a basic layup instead of going for a dunk, Memphis is likely a few points better in Game 3, and it likely holds off OKC.
If Morant plays in Game 4, maybe he’s enough to get Memphis over the hump.
Ifs don’t equate to wins, everyone knows that. But, between OKC’s uninspired play outside of Game 1, and the easy-to-apply hypothetical of Morant’s injury never happening, it’s easy to see a path other than a sweep happening against a Memphis team that fired its coach a few weeks ago and has been experiencing inner turmoil of one kind or another for multiple seasons.
In the end, a win is a win. A sweep is nothing to sneeze at, especially against a Grizzlies team that, while it has its issues, has a lot of talented players.
That said, OKC has to be better if it wants to beat the Clippers or the Nuggets in the next round. Gilgeous-Alexander will likely continue to bounce back; that’s what is expected of the soon-to-be MVP. But can the Thunder put it all together when the pressure is on? That remains to be seen.
So Thunder fans, be excited. A sweep is something to celebrate, but it’s also important to recognize that there are real issues that OKC has to fix ahead of its series with Denver or Los Angeles if it wants to win the championship.
