MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 05: Isaiah Hartenstein #55 of the Oklahoma City Thunder goes to the … [+]
At 54-12 on the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have built a 12-game lead over the second-place team in the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies. With just 16 games remaining in the regular season for Oklahoma City, that means the franchise will have the luxury of taking whatever direction it would like the last few weeks of the season. That could look unorthodox at times, but the long-term vision is much more important than the result of games the remainder of the regular season.
The Thunder has officially solidified a playoff spot following a significant win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. While OKC hasn’t solidified the top seed in the West quite yet, it would take a historic collapse not to accomplish that feat for the second consecutive season. The Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers are the two teams directly behind the Thunder in the standings, each with 42 wins and 16 games remaining.
Even if one of those two squads went undefeated the rest of the season, 58 wins is their ceiling. As such, Oklahoma City could go 5-11 the rest of the way and still win the West, even in that unlikely undefeated scenario. Realistically, the Thunder could lose every game the rest of the season and remain the top seed with 54 wins.
Because of this 12-game cushion, Oklahoma City can use the final 16 games of the season to prepare for the playoffs. Winning really doesn’t matter, so instead, the team can focus on exploring lineups, gathering data points, managing minutes and staying healthy.
Again, the outcome of each individual game for the rest of the season is not important. Winning games won’t move the needle one way or another for OKC, so being strategic should be the move.
Against non-playoff teams, the Thunder has the luxury to outright rest key players — something we saw happen against the Portland Trail Blazers last week. This provides an opportunity for others to step up and play roles they usually wouldn’t, which is good experience and something the coaching staff can learn from. When playing teams that could be opponents in the playoffs, Oklahoma City can tactfully deploy lineups and matchups to gather extremely valuable data points. In either scenario, winning and losing doesn’t matter.
The first priority will be entering the playoffs fully healthy and rested, though not rusty or out of rhythm. The second will be gathering data points while building chemistry between players who haven’t spent much time alongside each other — notably Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Considering all these things, expect Mark Daigneault and the Thunder to try unorthodox things in these final 16 games of the season. The strategy will be more about preparing for the playoffs, not winning regular season games. That could mean Oklahoma City not playing its best players or top rotations in key situations against good teams, even if it results in a loss. It’s all about finding ways to improve on the margins and ensuring an NBA Championship run remains a real possibility.
