Championships aren’t won in the regular season, but after the Thunder’s 105-86 dismantling of the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, anyone who hasn’t taken the Thunder seriously in the Western Conference has been put on notice.
With the victory, the Thunder has improved to 3-1 in Orlando and is proving to be a team that’s hardworking, deep, effective and well-led.
They certainly don’t look anything like a team that’s rebuilding, and after having long clinched a playoff berth, after the contest, Chris Paul took a moment to remind all who were listening of something he clearly hasn’t forgotten.
Before the season began, as it normally does, ESPN polled its experts and sought to predict the outcome of the 2019-20 NBA season. Its Basketball Power Index (“BPI” for short) gave the Thunder a 99.8% chance of missing the playoffs this season. Said differently, the club was given just a 0.2% chance of actually qualifying for the postseason.
That’s why they play the game.
After Wednesday’s contest — after the Thunder soundly defeated the Western Conference’s top seed without key reserve Dennis Schroder — Paul took a moment to remind everyone of that fact when he was asked how “playoff-ready” the Thunder were on a scale of 1-10.
“Where are we? I don’t know, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can put a number on it,” Paul said.
But after that, he went out of his way to show his teammates maximum respect, and also troll some of those who didn’t get them a shot.
“I’ll just say that we put in a lot of work. We put in a lot of work to get ready for this, and I think that’s the dopest part about my team.”
When teams reconvened after the layoff, players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lou Dort and Andre Roberson all impressed their teammates with slight improvements they’d made. Paul noticed.
“You know, guys’ shot looked different before the break and guys have come back with more confidence and when you put the work and time into anything, your teammates can tell, you know what I mean? So I think there’s a different trust level with our team.”
There’s also something equally as important: belief.
“We’re just gonna keep building,” Paul said.
“Nobody expected us to be here.
“0.2… 0.2%, 0.2%,” he said, with a chuckle.
Appropriately, it would appear that Paul and his team are getting the last laugh.