OKC Thunder's Preferred Matchup: Sacramento or New Orleans?
After the first round of the Play-In Tournament, the Oklahoma City Thunder's first round matchup will be decided Friday night.
The clock is ticking down until the Oklahoma City Thunder enter its first round playoff series in four years.
Some waiting for Oklahoma City's first round matchup has been required due to its possession of the No. 1 seed, but it will end Friday night once the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans clash in the final game of the Play-In Tournament.
By proxy, it avoided the Los Angeles Lakers — who will instead take on the Denver Nuggets — while the Golden State Warriors collapsed in an elimination game. Avoiding the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis was crucial for the Thunder, and it certainly will feel good about missing out on Stephen Curry too.
Still, Oklahoma City won't have it easy against either potential matchup.
The No. 7-seeded Pelicans came narrowly close to defeating the Lakers in a highly competitive matchup, but a hamstring injury to its leading scorer Zion Williamson crushed its momentum in the final minutes of the game. The 23-year-old stayed fairly healthy for the entire season — playing 70 of 82 — but more bad luck came to strike him and New Orleans.
It vastly diminishes the Pelicans to get out of the Play-In, but they still have a full roster around him. Brandon Ingram has been an All-Star talent for plenty of seasons and C.J. McCollum has vast playoff experience, while players such as Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones serve as quality complementary pieces.
New Orleans even carries a bench unit full of quality role players, including the trio of Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III and Larry Nance Jr. It's a well-rounded roster that nearly reached the 50-win mark in a competitive Western Conference, so it can't be counted out even with the absence of Williamson.
The Kings, on the other hand, rely heavily on their starting lineup.
It starts with the duo of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, two of the best players at their individual positions that have meshed into one of the NBA's best duos. Each bring different areas of excellence to Sacramento, but both are capable of take over its offense at any point its needed.
At the forward positions, the Kings have a mix of youth and longevity. Keegan Murray has gotten more comfortable in the offense, and so comfortable that he was their highest scorer against the Warriors, scoring 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting in 39 minutes of action. Harrison Barnes is the veteran presence alongside him, continuing his similar level of production from him extensive time in Sac-Town.
The injury hurting Sacramento is Malik Monk, who suffered an MCL tear and could miss extended time in a potential first round entry. Luckily, 24-year-old Keon Ellis has jumped into a vastly bigger role with ease, giving the Kings a consistent level of play that it desparately needed to fill in the shooting guard spot.
It's hard to predict which team will come out on top, but by weighing the effect of injuries, the Pelicans will have a much more difficult time gaining the opportunity to face the Thunder. It's likely they would've been easier matchup to get given the circumstances, and Sacramento got its first taste of the playoff atmosphere last season, coming into this season increasingly prepared.
Anything can happen in playoff basketball. Although they'll run through Oklahoma City, both its potential opponents are craving the opportunity to pull off an upset.
But where will the lightning strike?
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