There was no surprise that Alexander's Thunder team defeated the Pelicans 97-89 in G4 and swept the opponent bloodlessly in Tsai's absence to advance to the next round. In this game, Alexander scored 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, and Jalen Williams scored 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
There is no doubt that the Thunder are the winners of this season, and they rank first in the West in the regular season, although there is still a slight gap with the Celtics, who are the first in the league, but friends who are familiar with the NBA know that the gold content of the first in the West is higher, after all, the pattern of the West is strong and the East is weak has been a tradition in the NBA for many years, and even James who was in the sky back then could not change this pattern.
At the playoff level, the Thunder successfully entered the second round, although the championship situation is not yet clear, but the Western Conference can still be thought about. In short, it is not easy for a small team like the Thunder in the NBA to achieve such results.
However, the Thunder's spring breeze is not only on the court, they are still the biggest winners in the league off the court!
It's no secret that there's a not-so-written rule in the NBA that records and draft picks often go against each other. The better a team's record, the worse the draft prospects, because the teams with the best records will have a lower draft pick, and many teams will give away some draft picks for the sake of the record, in short, the better the team usually has a low and few draft picks.
After the game between the Thunder and Pelicans, a set of stats was shared by the media very quickly, roughly the Thunder swept their opponents in the playoffs, but they have 16 first-round picks in the future, while the Suns were swept by their opponents, but they have 0 first-round picks in the future. In other words, the Thunder today can be said to be a win-win situation, winning the present, but also winning the future, while the Suns are a lose-lose situation, the so-called big three are vulnerable at the moment, and they have no draft picks to help them complete the rebuild in the future.
It is reported that the Big Three of the Suns have expressed their dissatisfaction with head coach Vogel and hope that the team can change the head coach in the new season. This is a bit of a blame-off, you brothers took so much salary, took up so much right to shoot, and as a result, the team lost the blame for the coach, which is somewhat unspeakable.
Some netizens said that Durant could consider returning to the Thunder, after all, the future of this team will be better, but the actual situation may not be so ideal, because in March, the general manager of the Thunder team has made it clear that the team is not considering retiring Durant's jersey, which is actually a signal. In short, Durant's current situation is really embarrassing.
A lot of people wonder where the Thunder's draft pick came about? Of course, it's been a few years ago, starting with the trade for the Thunder going into a rebuild. The Thunder from 2019 to 2024 can be said to be a seller, leaving no chips that can be exchanged for draft picks, and this team's draft vision and ability to develop new talents are extremely strong, and in the end they formed this win-win situation.
In the next few years, the Thunder can keep the draft picks for their own use, and use 16 first-round picks to select a young man, which should not be a big problem, which can be regarded as a replica of the miracle of the Thunder's three less;
As we all know, whether James is a Cavaliers, Heat or Lakers, the team's policy of building a team around him is to exchange the future for the present, the advantage is that he can win the championship in a short time, and the disadvantage is that once the current players pass their peak, the team will be a chicken feather.
Durant's experience after leaving the Thunder is actually similar, although the Warriors have had success, won the coveted championship and FMVP, but he doesn't have a sense of belonging there, the team is still Curry's team, he has always been outside the system. After that, the Nets and the Suns were all exchanging the future for the present, and the embarrassing thing was that they didn't understand it.
So again, the excitement of the NBA is never only on the court, but also off the court! If a team's management can use a series of operations to turn decay into magic, it is also a good story!
After changing its name from SuperSonics to Thunder, this NBA small team has staged a miracle that belongs to them for the second time, but I don't know if this series of operations of the Thunder will become a beacon for those small teams! When the size and commercial value of the city cannot allow the team to do whatever it wants in the transfer market, the excellent and smart management becomes the key!
It's just that I don't know if Durant will regret his decision when he sees the vigor of the Thunder now?