OKC is basically death by a thousand cuts.
OKC just grinds you out on depth and talent!
For game 1, there were no lead changes, no huge daggers, and no single possession swung the game by even 8%.
OKC just won every quarter and slowly squeezed the game away.
| Quarter | Score | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | OKC 31-26 | OKC +5 |
| Q2 | OKC 30-27 | OKC +8 |
| Q3 | OKC 22-19 | OKC +11 |
| Q4 | OKC 25-18 | OKC +18 |
That feels like the Thunder in one game. They don’t need one guy to explode or one stretch to break the game open. They just stack good possessions until you look up and you are down double digits…
The EWA board had the same feel. OKC had nine players finish above +0.04.
Ajay Mitchell led the game. SGA was second. Chet, Caruso, Hartenstein, Dort, and the rest of the rotation all kept adding positive minutes.
The Lakers, meanwhile, had a bunch of guys underwater:
| Player | EWA |
|---|---|
| Rui Hachimura | -0.081 |
| Marcus Smart | -0.067 |
| Austin Reaves | -0.059 |
| LeBron James | -0.055 |
| Jaxson Hayes | -0.050 |
| Luke Kennard | -0.050 |
With OKC, you aren’t just trying to survive SGA. You’re trying to survive the math of nine playable guys winning their minutes.
Full board: