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OKC Thunder dominate Pelicans down stretch for sweep in NBA playoffs

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7 months ago

May 1, 2024

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 29: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder goes to the basket as Naji Marshall #8 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on during the second quarter in Game Four of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Smoothie King Center on April 27, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NEW ORLEANS — Moments faraway from the Thunder’s first playoff sequence win in eight seasons, OKC coach Mark Daigneault sat upon the postgame platform within the Smoothie King Middle’s cafeteria turned visiting media room, taking questions whereas droplets of water trickled from his hair.

Being drenched by his gamers in chilly water was a tolerable actuality contemplating what led to it, a 97-89 Sport 4 win and sweep of the Pelicans. And that very same tub was a becoming actuality, soaked the way in which faculty coaches are after an NCAA Match win. Most of his crew is younger sufficient to nonetheless be in faculty.

“Our gamers are idiots,” he mentioned jokingly.

Maybe the younger Thunder is silly, although, in a way of naivete. Not realizing what was ready for it on the opposite facet of a 57-win season. Oklahoma Metropolis was younger. Inexperienced. Oblivious to the methods the postseason forces groups to shapeshift.

None of which seemingly mattered throughout its first-round sequence.

The Thunder turned the youngest crew to win a playoff sequence in NBA historical past. By the tip of its postseason run, its largest mistake could be not trademarking the phrase “youngest to.”

Its youth has been endlessly linked to it — by pundits, by critics, by NBA historical past. Seemingly everybody however the crew itself.

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“We don’t see it as youth or being younger,” ahead Jalen Williams mentioned. “We haven’t used that excuse all yr. We didn’t use it final yr. … It’s been introduced up, it’s simply one thing that everyone wants to speak about, and we kinda simply go away it on the market.”

Monday’s win marked Oklahoma Metropolis’s first playoff sequence win because the 2015-16 season, maybe the final time Thunder followers have been brimming with this stage of hope. With goals of rivalry.

That’s eight seasons, 5 journeys to the postseason, three eras of Thunder basketball, a kiss goodbye to the tough pair of rebuilding seasons that jump-started this crew, and one arrival — not look — that common supervisor Sam Presti hoped for.

A mark of the place this younger Thunder squad stands, it did it with out an awesome efficiency from its MVP candidate.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who tweaked his ankle close to the tip of the primary quarter after seemingly stepping on a pair of teammates’ ankles, had his least environment friendly output of the sequence. He shot simply 8 for 21 from the sphere and missed six free throws, including 24 factors.

In probably the ugliest recreation of the sequence (and Sport 1 occurred), it was Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams who delivered with shotmaking. Giddey, who scored 14 factors and made 4 3-pointers, hasn’t been quick on confidence since March. Every of his three fourth-quarter 3s have been gutsy and crucial.

Williams tallied 24 factors on 17 photographs, following Giddey with a pair daring photographs that every one however sealed New Orleans’ destiny.

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Ugliness apart, the Pelicans appeared like a crew with the desperation that comes with taking part in in a season-ending recreation. Jose Alvarado’s on-court theft was extra obvious than any recreation. Naji Marshall aimed to be a hero, drilling 4 3s. Jonas Valanciunas spent many of the night time within the publish, taking part in 14 extra minutes than he did in Sport 3.

However ugly is ugly. There wasn’t any succesful make-up to decorate up the 37.6% taking pictures OKC held New Orleans to from the sphere, or the 8 for 34 (23.5%) mark on 3s. The Pelicans by no means scored greater than 92 factors within the sequence.

The Thunder is younger. It hasn’t run from that. Chet Holmgren admittedly doesn’t know who Bruce Springsteen is. Gamers jumped and howled by way of the Smoothie King halls like youngsters awake previous their bedtime, bringing life to the hallway resulting in the locker room that’d been left silent in any other case.

The knowledge to finish Sunday’s feat is institutional. Nick Collison was on the ground pregame and standing proper earlier than the corridor that Thunder gamers frolicked in. Different former gamers like Eric Maynor and D.J. White are current, scattered all through the group.

Even earlier than it knew what the postseason felt like — the heightened thrill behind a sea of followers, the feeling of chilly water — this Thunder crew had crutches in every single place.

“Extra so than express recommendation, I believe it’s simply the presence of everyone of their job that creates a really constant surroundings,” Daigneault mentioned.

As a corporation, it’s recognized who it’s been even earlier than the season started. As a crew, it had the sources to determine who it was early. The youngest first-round winners in NBA historical past, turning its head on the sight of its credentials being checked.

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Historic clamps

When you felt just like the scoring for a number of the Pelicans and Thunder sequence was a name again to the 2000s and early 2010s, you have been proper. Simply perhaps for the incorrect causes.

The low scores — offered extra usually by New Orleans — went past the latest adjustments in officiating and the character of postseason basketball. The Pelicans delivered a 93.5 offensive ranking by way of the 4 video games, the worst offensive ranking from a playoff crew because the 2015-16 Memphis Grizzlies.

Being offensively linked to a crew coined the “Grit and Grind” Grizzlies in all probability isn’t ultimate in 2024. It will get deeper, although.

Per ESPN’s monitoring knowledge, New Orleans shot simply 9 for 35 (25.7%) on photographs inside 5 ft of the rim and contested by Holmgren all through the sequence. The Pelicans shot greater than 38.5% in simply one of many 4 video games. They solely shot 28.2% or decrease from 3 every recreation.

Pels ahead Brandon Ingram, banished to a life sentence in essentially the most public show of the Dorture Chamber but, was defended by Thunder guard Lu Dort for 35:09 throughout the sequence. Dort held him to twenty-eight factors on 11-for-33 taking pictures with 4 turnovers. Monday was Ingram’s worst night time but, making simply two of his 14 makes an attempt.

CJ McCollum, additionally thrust greater on the totem pole with Zion Williamson’s injury-related absence, equally struggled. With Williams defending him, he made simply 40% of his 20 photographs. Holmgren, by way of change on the perimeter or across the rim, restricted him to 37.5% on 16 makes an attempt.

The younger Thunder grinded the Pelicans to an offensively-challenged pulp.

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