What's Most Vital for Oklahoma City Down the Stretch?

Oklahoma City is arguably the most well-rounded squad in the NBA.

A stout defense, layered offense and a mound of depth, the Thunder is equipped with one of the most skilled rotations across the entire league. Though, with a team as young as this one, even with a few veterans and those with playoff experience, there will be some hiccups along the way that can highlight some faults in a team.

That showed in Oklahoma City's 25-point meltdown at home on Monday, as the Minnesota Timberwolves made a roaring comeback to finish the season series knotted at 2-2. And even though the 32-28 Timberwolves aren't up there with the big dogs in the standings, it can be nervewracking for the Thunder to know that there are star-studded teams that could potentially be fighting in the Play-In contests and ultimately end up as eight or seven seeds.

Actually, it's almost inevitable. The Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers round out the No. 6-12-seeded teams in the Western Conference. That's not a gauntlet you want to go through, regardless of if you have 46 wins on the season with just 11 losses. This team hasn't been battle-tested in the playoffs just yet, so refining its approach down the line and identifying weaknesses will be imperative to its postseason success.

The Thunder will need to become more comfortable and accustomed in clutch situations, something the team hasn't seen much of this season as it has amassed larged leads and coasted to wins in a large portion of its contests. Another point of emphasis will be locking in entirely defensively, as well as continuing to dominate the turnover battle and outscore opponents on the break and off turnovers.

This is something the team excels at, and with a newfound pair in Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren, those two can aid in fortifying the team's rebounding and securing extra possessions or limiting extra possessions for the opponent.

That said, creating more opportunities and getting more shots on goal and from the charity stripe will be immense heading into the postseason. This team has a great number of strengths, but it'll be up to them to execute down the pike.

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