NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 29: Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts after ... [+]
On Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder officially swept the New Orleans Pelicans in four games, earning the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2016. Not only was this roster the youngest to ever earn the top seed in the Western Conference to secure an advantageous first-round matchup, but the sweep made the Thunder the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series.
All throughout the regular season, Oklahoma City thrived on being a young, energetic team with fresh legs as a result of deep and balanced rotations. That was amplified in the opening round against the Pelicans, as the Thunder had a significant rest advantage. New Orleans had to play two games between the end of the regular season and start of the series to earn the No. 8 seed in the West, including an elimination game just two days prior to Game 1. Meanwhile, the Thunder had an entire week off to rest, recover and even scout their potential first-round matchups.
That will be the case once again in Oklahoma City’s next series, as the four-game sweep will allow the team to rest for another full week before the next round begins for the Thunder. Oklahoma City is set to face the winner of the LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks — who are tied at 2-2 with Game 5 on the horizon today — in Round 2. Regardless of who that opponent ends up being, or how long that series goes, the league has already announced that the Thunder’s next series against one of those two teams will begin on May 7.
At minimum, if that series goes six games then Oklahoma City’s next opponent would have just three days off between the first and second rounds. If it goes seven games, then that series would end on Sunday which means just one day of rest for the Mavs or Clippers before the next round.
In totality, the amount of rest that the Thunder has generated for this roster has been pretty remarkable. Due to earning the No. 1 seed, OKC’s opening matchup against the Pelicans started on the last possible day for a Game 1 because the Play-In Tournament needed to conclude before the opponent was set. From there, an unorthodox amount of off-days took place between the first three games of the series. Between each of those first three games, two rest days were provided, which kept the Thunder fresh. And of course, sweeping the series meant the Thunder earned rest before the start of the next one.
Oklahoma City’s regular season concluded on April 14, with the postseason officially starting the next day. The Thunder’s second-round series begins on May 7, meaning the team will be off until May 6. What this means is that in the 21 days between the end of the regular season and the start of the second round, OKC will have played just four total games in that three-week stretch.
That should be a huge advantage entering the next series for the Thunder, who should be fresh and ready to compete. Assuming the rest doesn’t negatively impact the team from a momentum standpoint or result in Oklahoma City coming out cold, the postseason schedule couldn’t have worked out better for the Thunder.
