The Oklahoma City Thunder Went Full Belt To Ass On Timberwolves To Officially Punch Their Ticket To The NBA Finals
Well god damn. What an ass whooping. Take it from someone who watched his favorite team get completely dominated in an elimination game to the tune of 38 points, I know an ass whooping when I see one and this Game 5 between the Thunder and Wolves followed a pretty familiar script. This was a blowout from pretty much the opening tip after the Thunder jumped out to a 11-3 start in the first few minutes, which eventually turned into a 26-9 opening quarter. This was never really close, there was no epic Wolves run to get things close, none of that. It was a full 48 minute ass whooping by the Thunder, not too different from what we saw in the second half of their Game 7 win against the Nuggets.
Since Day 1 of the regular season, the Thunder have gone belt to ass on the entire NBA. You may not have to like how they do it, you may be upset because they kept beating your favorite team, but the facts are the facts and the production is the production. They backed up one of the most dominant NBA regular seasons in NBA history with a trip to the NBA Finals, and they did it in dominant fashion. Everything about their contender profile in 2024-25 has told us that this was a team that should walk to a title, and all year long the biggest thing you heard people say was that they "needed to see it first" before they would believe what their eyes had told them for the last 8 months.
OK. Here you go. You're seeing it.
They obviously still have a series to go so it's not as if the job is finished, but I do think it's important to stop and take a minute and understand what we're seeing. As I always say, perspective is important. Whether it's their historic point differential or their historic defense, the fact of the matter is that the Thunder to this point, have delivered on the expectations that were created by their regular season dominance. Hitting the level they have hit requires you to win the title. Period. That's the bar. It doesn't matter your age or experience, this is a type of dominance that only the most dominant teams in history have ever hit. You see that Grande tweet, if you touch +11.3 or higher, that's something only 6 other teams in NBA history have ever done where the previous 5 all won the title.
All throughout the season, OKC hit every benchmark you want to hit as a contender. Elite at home (35-6), elite on the road (32-8), elite vs teams .500 or better (31-10), elite vs bad teams (37-4), elite against the other conference (29-1), and most importantly, they hit 40/20. To anyone who pays attention, you know what that means
After they got past the Nuggets, it did feel like that was their "ready for the moment" playoff test. The way they turned that game around to end the first half and then dominated over the final 24 minutes, that looked and felt like their growing up was happening right before our eyes. That was the supposed "test" that many said the Thunder had to pass in order to be taken seriously as a title contender.
Then you fast forward and see how they responded in the WCF and the way they completely shut the door in this Game 5 blowout, and that's a team that looks ready to win a championship.
When a team has an opportunity to kill an opponent and end a series, champions find a way to do it. They don't play with their food. They kill. That is what the Thunder have done for the most part up to this point in their postseason run, and now they are about to embark on the toughest series of their lives, regardless of the opponent. Finals games are unlike anything in a playoff run. If the playoffs feel different from the regular season, well, the Finals are another 10 billion levels above normal playoff basketball. Just 4 wins away from basketball immortality, everything about that experience is different, and you never know how a team will respond to those moments until they're in them.
What's been so impressive with how the Thunder have gotten to this point is the way they're winning these games. Suffocating defense, guys like Caruso guarding 1-5 and causing chaos
SGA/Chet/JDub all figuring things out at the same time and not only showing up, but being consistent with their production. That's always been that next step right? It's not about doing it every once in a while, it's about doing it every single time you touch the floor, and their progression this postseason has to be acknowledged because it's the very thing that has the Thunder 4 wins away from an NBA title.
There's essentially been no drop off from their effectiveness in the regular season to how they are winning playoff games and playoff series, and that's the sign of a true contender and a title favorite. Playoff basketball has not phased them in the slightest, and for a team that lost back to back games just once all season long, you can understand why they are in the position we see today.
If they do end up playing the Pacers in the Finals, which it sure does feel like they will, that should be a fascinating series. A team that is the best maybe ever at forcing turnovers against a star point guard that simply never turns the ball over. The best defense against one of the best offenses. Two good coaches going head to head. Young stars and exciting styles of play. Not a bad way to determine a champion if you ask me, and if you put any stock into what we've seen since October, the Thunder appear to be in a great position to be the last team standing.