Category: NBA Playoffs

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had ample off-time recently. Since the end of the regular season, they’ve played two playoff games in nearly two weeks.

Being the first seed granted the Thunder additional rest and it has paid dividends in their two playoff wins over the New Orleans Pelicans. But as the series switches over to Louisana, the downtime between games is shortened.

From Game 3 until the end of the series, the Thunder and Pelicans will play on an every-other-day basis — very similar to the standard regular-season structure.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about the sudden switch in rest as OKC tries to win its first playoff series since 2016.

“We’re not used to playing this few games in this amount of time. The every other day gets us back to a regular season rhythm,” Daigneault said. “Any advantage or disadvantage exists for both teams.”

If the Thunder show out as the top seed and sweep the Pelicans, they’ll have an extra cushion of rest as the Dallas Mavericks and LA Clippers battle it out to advance to the second round.

This could be advantageous for the Thunder as they’ll enter the start of that series with presumed fresher legs against whoever moves on. This should boost their odds in the series and hopes of a Western Conference Finals trip.

These are the benefits the Thunder earned during the grueling 82-game season as they landed the first seed on the last day of the campaign.

Deep playoff runs usually require a bit of luck and that’s been the case thus far for OKC with its schedule.

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Through one playoff game, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has stuck to his guns. The probable Coach of the Year winner spoke several times in preparation for the playoffs about not changing the team’s identity in the postseason.

Daigneault believes the regular season is meant to build a team’s identity. To drastically change that in the playoffs is a sign of wasted opportunity in the 82-game campaign.

The 39-year-old went 11 players deep in the Thunder’s close Game 1 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. Every player played at least seven minutes in the 94-92 victory.

Daigneault talked about the unconventional approach on Monday after the playoff win. He said it allows rotation players to get game reps and stay warm in case they are needed to step up in their roles due to injuries or adjustments.

“There’s advantages to having depth,” Daigneault said. “There’s probably like a subtle pressure to cut it down arbitrarily but they all played well last night. … You never know what a series is gonna deal you in terms of the hand you have to play.

“If we (played) eight guys last night, and we had to pivot to one of the other three or four that didn’t play. Now you’re like dusting them off. They haven’t gotten in a game yet. They haven’t touched the floor yet. They haven’t gotten a taste yet. And now you’re going to them and it’s somewhat reactive.”

Daigneault also added none of the 11 players who checked into the playoff contest for the Thunder was an obvious weakness, saying all contributed in their ways.

“I didn’t think there was a guy in the game that was like red alarm,” Daigneault said. “I understand there’s norms but we want to expose ourselves to being the best team we can be. We’re willing to do things a little differently.”

As the Thunder go deeper into the playoffs, Daigneault’s approach could be tested. Playoff rotations usually shorten the more wins teams collect. Through the first game, his philosophy has paid off.

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