OKC Took Care Of Business, Now Enjoys Fruits of Labor

The Oklahoma City Thunder made quick work of the Memphis Grizzlies, sweeping the No. 8 seed in four games with only two being competitive affairs.

Oklahoma City was the first series on the NBA Playoff bracket to wrap up, now joined by fellow No. 1 seed Cleveland as the Cavs dispatched the Heat in four contests on Monday.

This is very reminiscent of the regular season. The Thunder lapped the field en route to 68 wins which saw the back end of the 82 game slate feature plenty of chances to earn rest for OKC before the week off leading into Round 1.

Now, the OKC Thunder find themselves in a similar boat, awaiting the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets first round series which is tied at two wins each heading into Game 5 in the Mile High City on Tuesday.

“We'll always take it,” Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault said after the Thunder swept the Grizzlies. “We're trying to win every game. You can't choose how the series unfolds. We put our best foot forward and let the outcomes be what they are. But it's good obviously physically to rejuvenate. Guys, I'm sure, are dealing with little things here and there that they get to get healthy and allow sample prep time.”

This is familiar territory for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who last year on top of waiting out the play-in tournament also swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the NBA Playoffs before taking on the Dallas Mavericks in Round 2.

“We made some progress from last year to this year in terms of our process, but we've done a nice job of getting ourselves ready for the series,” Daigneault said. “We've played well in the Game 1s. I think we've maintained relative rhythm and sharpness for as much as you can without games. So we'll try to replicate that and do it again this week. But it's easier said than done.”

Oklahoma City gets another long layoff, with the second round not slated to start until May 3 at the earliest and May 6 at the latest. This gives the Thunder roughly 7-10 days on ice before resuming playoff basketball.

“Honestly, it could work both ways against us,” Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It could add a little rust, or it could add a little freshness. I think trying to find a balance in between those two is going to be important in this next — however long it is, until we wait for the next series. But we always say like the times in between the games is the days we have to win in the playoffs, and that's where we're going to try to tackle this next little break we get."

This season, rust was no grave concern as the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a historic 131-80 win in Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies back on April 20 after a long layoff.