After sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured their spot in the Western Conference Finals. Although the top-seed in the West earned an ample amount of rest before Game 1, given that they are penciled in to face their rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, every advantage will come in handy.
The second-seeded San Antonio Spurs have been one of the few teams in the league to have consistently gone toe-to-toe with the reigning NBA champs. Still, when speaking about the upcoming matchup, the Thunder players appeared to downplay the rivalry with San Antonio.
While speaking with the media during practice, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was asked about his thoughts on the Thunder-Spurs rivalry. He responded:
“I don’t think so. I don’t know how many times the teams have played in the postseason. For us, it’s just starting. Call it what you want. Y’all are the media; y’all get to label it for us. It’s just about going out there and trying to win basketball games.”
On the face of it, Caruso didn’t seem to be concerned about the way the showdown between the top teams in the West was being branded. While much of the hype surrounding this “rivalry” stems from the heated regular-season games and some well-placed jabs by Victor Wembanyama, as Caruso noted, the two teams haven’t faced each other in a playoff setting.
Needless to say, the playoffs are a different atmosphere, something Thunder center Jaylin Williams made sure to highlight when asked whether the regular-season games could serve as a reference point for the WCF matchup.
“The playoffs are such a different monster. It’s a different game. You’re never playing a team this many times in a row in the regular season,” Williams stated. “The calls are different. Guys play harder. Defense is different, offense is different. Everything is different. So, it is a whole different game. There’s not a lot that we’re really just dwelling on from the regular season.”
Williams’ comment does hold. Unlike the regular season, facing the same team over a seven-game series creates its own challenges. Still, considering that the Spurs dominated the Thunder 4-1 in the regular season, there is some reason to believe that Williams could be deflecting, too.
Aside from San Antonio’s convincing regular-season performance against OKC this year, another key narrative heading into the WCF is the rivalry between Thunder star Chet Holmgren and Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
The rivalry between the two gifted big men dates back to their FIBA U-19 days, and for valid reasons, Wembanyama takes the matchup personally. However, when speaking about how this rivalry would take shape in the WCF, Jaylin Williams commented:
“I think Chet’s an All-NBA, All-Defense guy in this league. He’s an All-Star. Every night, regardless of who we’re playing and who he’s lined up against, he takes the same approach. I don’t think anybody on our team wakes up because we’re playing the Spurs. We’re waking up because we’re in the playoffs and want to be our best selves, and we know what we have to do to be that.”
Williams has every reason to show support for his teammate, but it can also be argued that he is mildly underplaying how important the showdown between Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama will be in deciding the outcome of the series.
In the five games played between the two teams during the regular season, Wembanyama routinely outplayed Holmgren despite coming off the bench in three games.
Holmgren was available in only four of these games, averaging 10.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Wembanyama posted 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game when facing Holmgren.
Although the Spurs lost in their fourth outing against OKC (119-98), a game in which Wembanyama was in the starting lineup, the superstar’s convincing double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds in the final meeting of the season sent a message.
After a relatively easy run through the first two rounds of the postseason, the Thunder finally look like they will be tested. With Game 1 of the WCF scheduled for Monday, May 18, it will be intriguing to see how both teams respond to the playoff environment.
