The Oklahoma City Thunder are near the top of the Western Conference right now, but not everyone is sold on their potential to win it all this spring. Speaking on ‘Inside the NBA’ this week, O’Neal boldly proclaimed that the Lakers or Warriors could handle the Thunder this postseason.
“The Lakers or the Warriors could beat the Thunder in the first round… and if you the No. 1 seed you don’t want people saying someone can beat you,” argued O’Neal on TNT.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylen Williams, the Thunder have emerged as one of the best teams in the West after a short and well-run rebuild. For the first time since Kevin Durant’s departure, the Thunder have a real chance to win the championship and are even favored by some to come out of the West.
Impressively, the Thunder rank in the top 5 for both offense and defense, displaying a strong balance between both sides of the court. Plus, with their core players all under 25 years old, the Thunder are young enough to outlast and outrun many of the older veteran teams who might stand in their way.
Even so, teams aren’t particularly scared of the Thunder like they are of the Nuggets, Bucks, or Boston Celtics. Last season, Oklahoma City was mediocre at best and the feeling from many is that they need to see more before they can rank the Thunder as one of the best in the West.
For Shaquille O’Neal, he’s just not willing to put too much trust in a Thunder team that has never been here before at this level. Until they win a series or even more than a few games in the postseason, O’Neal will be hard-pressed to pick them over the Lakers or Warriors, who have already shown they can win it all.
Lakers And Warriors Are The Teams To Beat In The West?
The Western Conference standings are a mess right now as the top six teams battle for playoff positioning. Of course, on the other end of the playoff bracket, the Lakers and Warriors are working hard to make up ground by any means necessary.
With such a large gap between them and the 6th seed, it’s unlikely that either team will win their way out of the play-in but there is still a sense that pose a major title threat in the Western Conference.
For the Lakers, their struggles have been documented all season long but we’ve seen what LeBron James and Anthony Davis can do when healthy Just a few years ago, they won the NBA championship together and set the stage for years of prosperity.
Today, while the best times have passed, the Lakers are still showing some signs of life thanks to D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, who have helped to lighten the burden on the offense for the two stars.
In Golden State, the Warriors are still looking for answers on how to re-discover their championship ways. With Jordan Poole gone and Jonathan Kuminga fully unlocked, the team may have discovered something that can power a run.
Of course, the odds will not be stacked in anyone’s favor in the West this year. With so many deep and talented teams, every round will be an absolute dogfight and as we’ve seen across NBA history, some teams are more equipped to handle it than others.
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