• OKC Thunder โ€” SGA and Chet are genuinely ready to make a title run

    I was skeptical of the OKC hype entering this season because young teams with good records in November historically melt under playoff pressure. Three months later I am a believer. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has added a late-clock creation element that was the one missing piece from his game โ€” he can now engineer shots against set defenses that have game-planned specifically for him. Chet Holmgren's defensive versatility gives them switching capability at every position from 1-5. The bench hasn't been tested yet but Thunder have the starting five to go to a Game 7 in the West and win it. That's a significant statement from where they were 18 months ago.

  • I was skeptical of the OKC hype entering this season because young teams with good records in November historically melt under playoff pressure. Three months later I am a believer. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has added a late-clock creation element that was the one missing piece from his game โ€” he can now engineer shots against set defenses that have game-planned specifically for him. Chet Holmgren's defensive versatility gives them switching capability at every position from 1-5. The bench hasn't been tested yet but Thunder have the starting five to go to a Game 7 in the West and win it. That's a significant statement from where they were 18 months ago.