Sometimes, in the postseason, it’s not all about how well a team is playing.
It’s about how well a team is playing and who it is playing against.
In the case of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, their postseason path, at least at this point, will show little to no resistance.
Yep, the Spurs beat the Thunder in four of five games this season, but the playoffs are a different beast. And when looking at OKC’s perceived greatest threats — Denver and San Antonio — those two will duke it out in the second round, considering each gets through teams they should beat in the first round.
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Denver gets Minnesota to start, while San Antonio gets Portland. Meanwhile, OKC will get either Phoenix, the Clippers or Golden State.
In the regular season, the Thunder went 10-2 against those three teams, losing twice to Phoenix. However, one of those losses came in the last game of the season, with OKC resting its stars.
So, while all of this really doesn’t need much explanation, here goes it: OKC pretty much has a bye to the Western Conference finals.
After getting the play-in winner, the Thunder face the winner of the Rockets–Lakers series. So, you’re getting a shorthanded Lakers, or a Rockets team that has disappointed this year but picked up a few hollow wins late in the year against tanking and play-in caliber teams. Then, we’re looking at a relatively rested OKC team taking on the survivor of the Denver-San Antonio conference semifinals matchup.
The Thunder will be favored in that series and if you want to, at that point, you will be able to take either the Nuggets or Spurs at some type of plus price to either get off the bet if you think Denver or San Antonio can win, or you could take them +1.5 games at plus money and hope for a Thunder seven-game win.
But this bet sure feels like you’re simply getting OKC -155 vs DEN-SA and that’s a bet you have to have in pocket.
PICK: Thunder (-155) to win the Western Conference
