The Thunder and Spurs have separated themselves from the rest of the league

Through the first 5 games of each series just two teams have wrapped up their first round series, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. All season it has been those two teams that have separated themselves from the rest of the pack and that has not changed in the first round. While every team has shown flaws, both the Thunder and Spurs look as dominant as ever. Is this a sign of things to come?

These two teams were the 2 best teams all season. They had the 2 best regular season records and the 2 best regular season net ratings, they were the best teams in the regular season and have been the best teams thus far in the playoffs. These were the only 2 teams in the NBA this season to win at least 61 games and have a net rating of +9 or better for the entire season. It starts with each team’s defense, in the regular season the Thunder were 1st in defensive rating while the Spurs were 3rd. They do it in different ways, Oklahoma City is ultra aggressive defensively creating turnovers while the Spurs have Victor Wembanyama.

We saw the Oklahoma City defense win the championship last year by creating turnovers and playing in transition. The Thunder won by forcing turnovers and not turning the ball over themselves and while they didn’t force 18 turnovers per game in the regular season like they did the playoffs last year, they were among the top teams in the NBA in opponent turnovers this season, with 16.7 per game only behind the Pistons. This remains one of the most suffocating defenses in the entire league. On offense it remains the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander show, the Clutch Player of the Year was marvelous this season, he is going to win the MVP and should be seen as the best player in the world. However, he did have some help. Chet Holmgren’s defense is what the main topic always is. His rim protection allows for the Thunder guards and wings to be so aggressive on defense while his offense has also flourished this season. So much of his offensive game has taken a leap this season including his post game and passing. Jalen Williams has missed a lot of the season and is going to miss time in the playoffs, that is a huge concern as OKC needs him to beat the Spurs (if they face off). Yet, the emergence of Ajay Mitchell has helped out a lot. He is very simply a bucket, a 3 level scorer who is very creative in ways to score baskets. This is the best team in the NBA who is looking to go back to back.

The Spurs are built around Victor Wembanyama, who has proven he is one of the greatest defenders to ever play this sport. At 7 foot 6, Wemby is a force around the rim and his athleticism allows him to move his feet well in open space, guarding 1-5 is not a problem for him. He is also an elite scorer. Averaging 25 points per game this season, Wemby is a force around the rim on offense as well and while his three point shot isn’t great, it is just good enough for teams to feel that they need to guard him and opens up the Spurs offense even more. The Spurs also have an elite trio of guards, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper all give the Spurs tons of options on both sides of the floor. Castle and Harper are the better of the defenders but Fox’s quickness and skill on offense gives the Spurs another layer that they don’t otherwise have. Their depth is also very good, Sixth Man of the Year winner Keldon Johnson is one of  the many high value wings that this roster cluttered with. I wrote all about the Spurs about a month and a half ago so go read that but the Spurs are absolutely title good.

Both the Thunder and Spurs have shown themselves to be elite teams and the 2 best in the league but I think another reason that these two have separated themselves is because the rest of the league has so many flaws. Look at the other top 3 seeds in both conferences, many thought the Nuggets and Celtics were in a tier with the top 2 teams but that has not been proven right through the first 5 games of round 1. Denver, along with the 60 win and top seed in the east Detroit Pistons, are on the ropes and look like they might be eliminated. Finally the Knicks have been so up and down all season, their A game isn’t as good as the Thunder or Spurs and they don’t play their A game enough. A part of the reason that Oklahoma City and San Antonio have separated themselves from the rest of the league is that the rest of the league just is not that good.

If you were to give me the choice of the Thunder or Spurs vs. the field on who is going to win the title, I’d choose the Thunder or Spurs. The first round has shown that these two teams have separated themselves from the rest of the field and look ready to win the title. Hopefully we get these teams battling in the Western Conference Finals because that will be so awesome.