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With OKC Thunder back in NBA playoffs for first time since 2020, here are 4 things to know
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- With OKC Thunder back in NBA playoffs for first time since 2020, here are 4 things to know
The youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history is mere days from proving its worth in the postseason.
The Thunder 's opponent remains unknown until Friday night's Kings-Pelicans play-in finale. In the meantime, here are four things to know about this OKC team before the NBA playoffs tip off Sunday night at Paycom Center:
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NBA playoffs probably won't stop Thunder's fluid rotations
Mark Daigneault's methods aren't always so easy to explain. His mind is vast, with his creativity in adjustments feeling as free as Bill Walton's broadcast monologues. His rotations can feel spontaneous but are mostly exploratory.
Nothing is off the table. Everything has a purpose.
And all of it — the constant changing of hands, the unpredictability, the desired lineup looks — helped the Thunder win 57 games.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault looks on during the first quarter against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 31.
It doesn't feel likely that OKC would discontinue the trend now.
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"I'm not a big believer in cutting guys out of a series for no reason," Daigneault said Thursday.
He noted that the pacing of the regular season allows for different things than the playoffs. A full season of 82 games allows a different range of tinkering, to dedicate entire stretches or quarters to trying a certain combination of players. It's a large enough sample size to where Daigneault knows what's worked in spurts, or what probably couldn't fly in certain situations.
There isn't much he hasn't considered.
"Sometimes that means longer minutes, longer rotations," Daigneault said. "I'm open to that if it's best, but not committed to that either."
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Having a player available for nearly every specific scenario — a sideline out-of-bounds play at the end of a quarter, trying to break a mid-third quarter zone — is what Daigneault hopes he's equipped himself with. Otherwise, he'll have to reflect on his choices.
"If we have to change a lot of things heading into the playoffs," Daigneault said, "then we should really be re-evaluating how we're doing things in the regular season."
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Thunder 'will be more wise' with this playoff run
Excuse Jalen Williams if he hasn't paid any mind to Shannon Sharpe's takes on the Thunder headed into the postseason.
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They're centered around youth and inexperience, on whether accumulative playoff experience (or a lack thereof) strips the Thunder of its validity as a No. 1 seed. Williams, who turned 23 this week, has heard all of that before.
Asked whether he's concerned with the noise, he delivered the stale, quick jab that similar questions always evoke.
"Nope," Williams said plainly. "Not concerned with what's going on outside of this building."
None of the Thunder players have been, really. They don't know what they don't know.
Daigneault, a relatively young coach who's been drowned with the same questions for the better part of this season, won't discount the significance of experience. He's been known to discuss wisdom and accumulative lessons. He also won't dismiss the caliber of team in front of him.
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"We'll gain wisdom from this experience," Daigneault said. "Plain and simple. That doesn't put a cap on what we are capable of right now. But we will be more wise at the end of whatever our playoff run is than we are today. And we're not afraid to admit that. That's a good thing."
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Mark Daigneault allows team to think for itself at times
Kevin Durant has spoken highly of Daigneault this season. The Suns forward remembers spending time late in his Thunder tenure around Daigneault, who was then a sponge around Billy Donovan. And now, he has as close a view as any opponent to some of his expertise.
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Plenty of the time Durant has been frustrated by the Thunder defense has been when he's being double-teamed. That help could come from anywhere. It can start anywhere. OKC might trap at halfcourt, it might come from the nail. The players often made those decisions, with Daigneault noting a level of freedom he's given players to make those decisions in real time.
That open dialogue has transcended any Durant coverage. It's leaked into different coverages, different on-court roles. Where guys like to be placed defensively on the floor.
"I think every player has different spots where they're comfortable," Williams said. "And I think being able to voice that to coaches and then to be able to find you a position to be in is really, really critical."
Williams labels himself a wild card, hoping to guard multiple positions and be tasked with different things. But he got to that point through said discussions. Daigneault seemingly won't close that door in the postseason.
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How OKC Thunder has fared against Pelicans, Kings
The Thunder has known its place in a historically wild West since this past weekend. It just hasn't known its opponent, and still won't until Friday night.
According to Daigneault, these past few days of practice have been more about underscoring the team's identity versus trying to split its brain into focusing on both the Pelicans and Kings.
The staff will watch Friday's play-in game. It'll serve as a data point, even if the way either team plays doesn't mirror the way they'd play against the Thunder. But Daigneault has emphasized that the Thunder has a sample size against both teams, and that it isn't going blindly into this without some notion of what to do.
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Since the start of the new year, OKC is 4-0 versus its possible opponents. There are certainly factors involved: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander possibly playing through injury, Brandon Ingram 's absence in the last meeting, Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk being missing in last week's matchup (and likely missing the first round).
Even as stressful as it might be to only have two days to prepare for an opponent, Daigneault spun it in the most fitting way possible. With a possible No. 3 versus No. 6 matchup in play last week, Daigneault was worried that he might over-prepare the team. Concerned that teams that do so peak after so long.
"I certainly never want to be a reason that the team's overthinking it," Daigneault said. "That's really what it is. Get them overthinking, get them all whacked out on small details that really aren't going to determine the outcome of the game.
"We're gonna go out there and compete together and play the way that we've played for 82 games, and let the team be that version of itself. The game plan and the preparation needs to be an enhancer of that, but not in the way of that."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder back in NBA playoffs: What to know about West's No. 1 seed
