Oklahoma Thunder Vs Golden State Warriors
- Oklahoma City Thunder fans have been anticipating Wednesday night's tip-off since the schedule was released. But, perhaps, so too have the Golden State Warriors.Or, at least, Kevin Durant.
- The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Golden State Warriors. This is Kevin Durant against his old team – again. The Golden State Warriors are 13-4 and tied with the Rockets for the best record in the West. The Warriors have won back to back games since their loss to the Celtics. For the Oklahoma City Thunder – they are 7-9 on.
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs Golden State Warriors. PlayOffs NBA 2016 - YouTube. Oklahoma City Thunder vs Golden State Warriors. PlayOffs NBA 2016.
Another trade, another first-round pick coming Sam Presti’s way.
The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Kelly Oubre Jr. to the Golden State Warriors for a first-round pick that is top-20 protected, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. If Golden State ends up in the top 20, it will convert to two second-rounders.
Wojnarowski and Anthony Slater, who confirmed the trade, did not specify if any Warriors players would be involved.
A few years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors were considered the cream of the crop in the NBA. The Thunder have tumbled as they lost Kevin Durant and now Russell Westbrook. The Warriors find themselves in a similar situation as they have also lost Durant and several key players in their title runs.
As of now, the Thunder’s return for Chris Paul and Abdel Nader has turned into Aleksej Pokusevski, a 2021 first-round Warriors pick, a 2022 first-round Suns pick, James Johnson, Ty Jerome and Jalen Lecque.
Oklahoma City gets out of Oubre’s $14.4 million salary. The Warriors used the Andre Iguodala trade exception to complete this deal, so they did not have to send any money back to the Thunder to complete the trade.
Additionally, the Thunder have created a $14.4 million trade exception, according to Bobby Marks. They will be able to use that to match salary in a trade this season.
Oubre, 24 years old, is an explosive wing who gets to the rim and dunks with power. He can hit 3s with moderate reliability and has a personality that will add to the culture of Golden State as he helps replace the loss of Klay Thompson, who suffered an Achilles injury.
Oubre averaged 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season for the Phoenix Suns.
Oklahoma City owns three first-round picks next year. The organization has its own, Golden State’s protected pick, the Miami Heat’s unprotected pick and it has the right to swap draft picks with the Houston Rockets.
The Warriors’ luxury tax figure may be startling. According to Bobby Marks, Oubre’s salary would increase the tax bill by $68 million, putting them at $134 million in luxury taxes alone.
We already had to cancel those reservations for a San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors Western Conference Finals, reservations made in, what, December? Now, it’s time to hold off booking that Warriors vs. Cavaliers, LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry rematch in the NBA Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder have crashed these playoffs, first knocking off the Spurs in six games in the conference semifinals—winning two games in San Antonio, where the Spurs had lost only a single game in the regular season. And on Monday night, Oklahoma City erased a 13-point halftime deficit in Oakland—where the Warriors, owners of the best regular season record of all-time, lost only twice all season—to take Game 1 of the Western finals, 108-102.
Yeah, it’s time for Warriors fans to gnaw their fingernails.
Because it’s one thing if the Thunder simply outplayed the Warriors, or beat them at their own high-octane game. But Oklahoma City beat Golden State with its two best players, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, each hitting only a third of their shots. (Durant finished 10-30 from the field, while Westbrook went 7 for 21.) Another problem: Oklahoma City’s size. The Thunder played a chunk of the fourth quarter with two centers, Stephen Adams and Enes Kanter, on the court at the same time. Golden State outscored Oklahoma City 15-2 on second-chance points. Adams, the third-year player from New Zealand, by way of the University of Pittsburgh, has emerged as an impact player this postseason. With Adams on the floor, the Thunder outscored the Warriors by 19 points. He finished with a double-double, 16 points and 12 rebounds. No player, on either team, made more of a difference.
Stopping Stephen Curry, repeat league MVP, is one thing. But how to slow down the dude with the Captain Hook ‘stache? (Adams caused some controversy with his remarks after the game; he called the Warriors guards “quick little monkeys.” He apologized, tellingUSA Today Sports, “it was just a poor use of words, mate.”)
All season, the talk was all about Golden State and San Antonio, San Antonio and Golden State (that LeBron and the Cavs would win the Eastern Conference was practically a given). The Thunder got a little tired of it. Amidst all the shouting about Steph, and San Antonio as a model sports franchise, it was easy to forget that Oklahoma City features two of the very best players in the world. Durant and Westbrook are explosive and healthy. They’re hungry to erase the talk that they’re playoff underachievers, two prolific scorers without enough supporting players, who suffered the bad luck of competing in the LeBron-Steph-Spurs era. When asked about guarding Curry prior to the series, Westbrook responded: “He’s a shooter. He’s not nothing I’ve ever seen.” The unmistakeable message: we’ve got a little chip.
We know it’s convenient to project the future off a single game of a seven-game series. We’re aware of the recency trap. But OKC’s win didn’t feel like a fluke. The Warriors have succeeded in the playoffs despite Curry’s injury issues. Still, let’s face it: his bum knee has thrown things off. The joyous vibe of the regular season is all but gone.
In the conference finals, the team that steals Game 1 on the road goes on to win the series 71% of the time. With their dramatic comebacks and Curry’s crazy shooting, the Warriors have defied probability for a long time now. The magic, however, can’t last forever.
Scary thought.