Thunder’s Play-In Win Proves Arrival

The Oklahoma City Thunder took on the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of the Play-In Tournament. Being the tenth seed, the Thunder had all the pressure to win this game or their season would end. On top of that, they took on the Pelicans in New Orleans, a hostile place to play.

Eventually, the Thunder defeated the Pelicans 123-118. In doing so, the Thunder showed incredible poise as the youngest team in the league. There were many times across the game where the Thunder were playing like a seasoned team as they handled themselves in the clutch times of the game.

One player who stood out with their maturity was Jaylin Williams. He didn’t come into this league as a shooter or floor spacer. He was a pick that was hard to make out before he proved himself on the court. He grew over time overall and found his way into the starting lineup consistently, and would occasionally knock down 3-pointers followed by his trademark “BOOM.”

After shooting 0-of-6 from beyond the arc, Williams – without hesitation – fired off another 3-pointer, but this one dropped. As a rookie, there’s going to be nerves running through with a game having so much consequence, yet Williams kept on firing until he eventually came through.

Had Williams began to deflect the shots from beyond the arc, the flow of the offense would have been impacted. That wasn’t an issue, because Williams came into the game ready, even if it wasn’t his best shooting night.

As the season winded down, the Thunder had hit a bit of a road block. They took two rough losses to the Hornets and Pacers and a near-loss to the Pistons. In the loss to the Hornets, the Thunder saw huge missed free throws from Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey. This time around, in an elimination game, the Thunder watched huge free throws drop to help them take control in clutch time and maintain their advantage.

Within a short few weeks, the Thunder turned things around and did the small things right that winning teams do.

Then there’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who should be All-NBA First Team and is already an All-Star. He stepped up in a huge way alongside Giddey and Lu Dort. Though he started the first half poorly, Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone in the second half. He finished the game as the leading scorer with 32 points.

It’s one thing to turn things around in a regular season game and finish off strong, but Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Thunder take control of this game when they could have rolled over in the third quarter. Being in his first postseason action as the number one option on offense, Gilgeous-Alexander proved that alongside his superstar arrival, the Thunder as a squad have made their arrival.

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