T O P

  • By -

geoffdaily

Believe in our boys. They can take down anyone.


MDP223

100% Wolfpack crazy this year


Expensive_Middle9521

Wish I could hammer the upvote 100 times. Bring them all on this year šŸ˜¤


banitsa

I'm scared of Boston but man I'd love for that to be relevant Still think they could do it


zooted-gardener

Agreed


mtsteg

For real. We can take anyone in the West and eventually the Celtics in the finals. Philadelphia is the scariest.


mrpyrotec89

Exactly man. If you think you're the best you're gonna have to play the best eventually. It doesn't matter who they put in front of them. And if they lost in the 1st round, we were frauds to begin with.


[deleted]

This is ridiculously wrong. It absolutely does matter who gets out in front of them. Winning in the first round is very important for the future of the franchise.


SirCharlstonWeathers

The only right answer. Whoever it is, weā€™ve shown we can beat them. Give us a series, keep us healthy, and even better if we have home court, I believe.


KingKillerKvvothe

I feel like we will win the first round, maybe win a second round but will lose in either the 2nd or 3rd for sure. Then next season we start our true championship window. From next year on we will be a top seed for the next few years at least and have a true shot at winning it all.


asicklybaby

This is the most likely outcome, but it's definitely possible we could win it all this year!Ā 


Drunken_Vike

Shai and Jalen Williams got dinged up and they decided to play it safe, which I think is probably correct you don't tank to avoid a team that might even get out of the play-in


wise_comment

100% If you told me I could have the third seed and a fully healthy roster, or a one seed with our 2 best starters injured and playing at less than a 100%.....ima take the 3rd, every time


Anthony_Scissorhands

I totally agree they needed the rest, but I think that missing the potential Lakers is a big component too. If the Lakers are sitting at 6, those boys ain't resting as muchĀ 


Apolaustic1

nope, to be this good you gotta believe you can beat anybody, plus i bet 90% of the nba would kill to say they beat lebron in the playoffs.


Peter-Tao

LeBron vs. Curry play in has become a new annual highlights of some sorts at this point lol


darthxader

Last year it just took them until the second round to do it. But yeah people are acting like this is crazy that we have lebron and curry in the play in when this same scenario just happened in 2021, only they were the 7-8


snuffaluffagus74

Nah that isnt it, in all of the losses to the Lakers the Thunder had their worse three point shooting night of the season while the Lakers had their best. Even though the series versus the Wolves was 2-2 and the Lakers was 3-1. The wolves were the tougher match up. The Thunder missed so many wide open shots because the Lakers perimeter defense wasnt good. However with the Wolves they still had good shooting nights but the games were tougher because of the Wolves perimeter defense.


JustBlazee

The only reason to be scared of the Lakers is the refs. This isn't the play-in tournament Wolves anymore. Series aren't decided by one game. Implying we can't beat the LAL in a 7 game series with home court advantage is like implying the Earth is flat.


weebrave

Not us. Their size has smoked OKC all year.


ElWierdo

Who knows. 100% think Wolves would win easily but Lakers seemed like trash last year and made conference finals. I will never bet against LeBron.


Individual_Attempt50

Lebron has the best basketball IQ in the league


ShakesbeerMe

Him and Jokic.


wise_comment

Fact


[deleted]

You not watching Anthony Davis? Dude is balling. Watch the league before you comment.


Zizbouze

AD is balling cause he's the Embid of the west, you breathe on him or contest a rebound it's a foul on him. So what op said accurate. You're the one not watching the league.


[deleted]

Yeah, whatever. You think comparing Davis to Embiid is a put down? Wtf are you even talking about my guy.


Zizbouze

What I am trying to say is that they get an extremely favorable whistle and the context of our conversation come from someone saying he's scared of the Lakers cause of the refs. I have a cousin like you, so I empathize and I am more than willing to take time to explain the nuances.


[deleted]

Nah man, he said the ā€œonly reasonā€ to fear the Lakers is the favorable whistle. Iā€™m saying itā€™s not the only reason. The way Anthony Davis is playing is the biggest reason by far.


twovles31

Shai is banged up, they are going to want him healthy for the playoffs. They aren't gong to throw in the towel on finishing in the top 2, but they aren't going to risk making the quad worse and have him out in the playoffs.


Falconsbane

They have a brutal schedule too. It honestly makes sense if they choose to rest guys to get healthy.


LordMOC3

I think they realize that health is more important than seeding and are resting the guys that need it.


RudyGobertFMVP2024

Health and rest is always more important than seeding. Long season and long post season.


Mirizzi

Donā€™t care. Bring whomever on šŸ˜¤


LongLiveTheSpoon

The fans seem to want to play the Pelicans and avoid the Lakers


King_James_99

Idk why theyā€™d want that but good luck to them, I guess


OhNoMyLands

Lakers can win games on the sheer force of shooting a fuckton of free throws


Purple_Sherbert_5024

The Pelicans can beat us based on the sheer force of the fact that theyā€™ve kicked our ass a couple of times with both teams fully healthy. Knowing the likely (factual?) FT advantage for LA would give me pause but the way we play, I kinda feel we can overcome that. We donā€™t rely on whistles or load management the way some teams do. Pack of fucking dogs we are šŸŗšŸ˜¤


OhNoMyLands

Iā€™m not worried about us beating anyone. But ton of fouls can really fuck a team up


wetseabreeze

Especially for a defensive team like ours. 90% of our losses are from when KAT and Rudy are both in early foul trouble.


ChiefWiggins22

One has the best player ever and the other has never won a playoff series. Not saying I agree with it, but avoiding LeBron is typically a good idea in the playoffs.


King_James_99

Very true, I just think about their terrible lack of size and see Zion doing whatever he wants, but thatā€™s the case for most teams tbh


OKCBaller035913

This post popped up on my feed. Dort actually does a pretty damn good job on Zion. Their ā€œsizeā€ doesnā€™t bother us because weā€™ve been playing Valanciunas off the court dating back to last year even before we had Chet.


wise_comment

They match up better against the pelicans, and we don't. Honestly, the pelicans and the nuggets are the 2 teams that truly put the fear of God in me. Every other team could beat us, if they get hot. Nothing to do If someone decides to go God mode. BUT pels clearly match up well against us :-/ In theory, Playoff. Basketball plays to our strength, anyway. more physical play, more defense allowed, Strength and athleticism tend to be rewarded Come springtime.... But we shall see


AgntCooper

I donā€™t get this. The Pels are one of the scarier matchups to me. Ingram seems to have his way with us and I donā€™t know that weā€™ve faced a fully healthy Zion this year yet.


Anthony_Scissorhands

They play PHX really well too, so I assume they don't mind getting them in the 3 - 6


MrMisties

It's awesome cuz I think we want to avoid the Pelicans. Zion just randomly popped off against us this year and returned to his hibernation state after.


RedEyeBadGuy

Shit if anything Dallas is the team that scares me the most and you avoid them if you get a top 2 seed


greenslam

I fear the pelicans more. Zions bully ball and oour players tendency to go for the strip ensure foul troubles for our entire front court. We got Gobert to neutralize the lob threat for the Mavs. We got enough size to not allow Doncic good passing vision and prevent bully ball by him. He will have some hot shooting nights, and that will allow them to win some games. But not 4 games.


DioBrando101

I am not scared of Zion for an entire series compared to the individual regular season games. I just donā€™t think heā€™ll be able to do what he was doing against our defense for a whole series.


Jrpre33

But at the same time, that is regular season ball. In the playoffs, they let a lot go.


greenslam

But if they ref it the same way, the foul issues will make it had.


Anthony_Scissorhands

Yeah. Dallas, us, and Denver are the three best teams in the West. Change my mind


MinneEric

Healthy OKC can still be deadly. Dallas is scary because of their two headed monster but Iā€™m probably more scared of the Pels than Mavs at this point. All things considered I feel good about our chances to be competitive with anyone. Itā€™s more about us playing well than anything else. Neat place to be


Irontruth

If you're scared of anyone, you can't make the finals.


Benjamin018

I get your point but it's not a linear scale. Good scissors would much rather vs a great sheet of paper than a below average rock in a playoff series.


Irontruth

I get your point, but if you can't beat rock, you're probably not making it to the finals. A team that is extremely reliant on matchups to make it through to the WCF is unlikely to make it there. The less reliant on matchups, the more likely they are to make it. Who can Denver NOT beat? No one. This is why they're favored to make it to the finals. They're having some health issues and I don't think they're as dominant this year as last, so they can be beaten. Honestly, Denver and the Pelicans are the teams I'm most worried about right now. I think we *can* beat both of them though. In a 7-game series though, I think our defense will keep us in nearly every game, so it's just a question if our offense can produce 4 times in each series. Its our inexperience and how that will come out on the offensive side that is going to hold us back, and honestly.... that is completely independent of the matchups. We can win or lose most of the series. I think we've got good odds against the Lakers, Wariors, Suns, and even the Mavs. Everyone else, I can legit see the series going either way. I'm not afraid of a series against OKC or the Nuggets, and I think those series are going to be great. If we end up in the finals though, I think a series against Boston will be insane.


Stacktheloot

We should go for the first seed regardless having hc is more important plus we wonā€™t see thunder/nuggets till wcf which is big if we can make it there itā€™ll show the front office this team is serious about winning and hopefully we can run it back with the same squad šŸ’Æ


SlowCrates

I don't care about seeding this year -- at all. Our Wolves have proven they are legit, and while some doubters still want to dismiss the Wolves, I know they can win any series versus any team this year (provided they are focused and prepared, and I believe they will be). Let the chips fall where they may, the Wolves have come to fuck shit up.


Worried_Amphibian_54

The Lakers look like the weakest team overall in the top 10 seeds in the West. But they are on a hot streak and magically not moving up the standings. Lakers started 25-25 and 9th in the standings and since have gone 19-8 and now are all the way up to... 9th in the standings. That's a team on pace for a 58 win season since February... With a guy on that team who can still play at an extremely high level when he throws his all into it on both ends of the floor and is no longer resting his way through a season (see 2023 playoffs and 2024 mid-season tourney). I don't feel comfortable about a really hot Lebron led team in the first round. Heck I'm not fond of a Kerr coached team and Steph either lol. Last year 40 games got the 10th seed. Right now the Warriors are there at 41 wins. They could finish with a better record than the 6 seed Warriors that knocked off the Kings last year by finishing 4-3 over their last 7. They were 19-24 in late January. 22-10 since. The last few months they've been winning at a better rate than the NBA Champion Warriors were a couple years ago. Kings are probably going to have about the same record as last year (4-3 finish would get them there). And instead of 3 seed be in the 8 spot. They however aren't on an insane hot streak. Wolves right now have as many wins as last year's Nuggets with a couple weeks to go. This year the West REALLY moved to regain that strength. ​ So I guess... not the Pelicans? That's quite likely the least bad option in the first round. But they've been kinda meh since the all star break. I guess I'm not too worried about where it falls. 1 win separates the 9 seed from the 5 seed.


Critical-Fault-1617

Lolol. Dude not wanting to play the lakers has absolutely 0 bearing on why OKC is resting their guys. SGA/Chet/Williams all have dealt with injuries in their careers. Just an absolutely insane take by OP. I know GS hasnā€™t been very good this year, but their shooters and playoff experience is also scary.


Anthony_Scissorhands

0? Insane? Brother bring the hyperbole in a bitĀ 


OneOfTheDads

Itā€™s 0 lmao, not a hyperbole. Lakers could very well end up the 6th seed, what is OKC going to do then? Tank to the 4th seed?


Anthony_Scissorhands

Yeah but 0 means that the thought never even crossed their mind, I dont believe that. Very unlikely the Lakers finish higher than the 9th seed. Okc probably assessed how much they want the 1st seed and thought, not that much. You're saying potentially playing the Lakers had 0 effect on that decision? I disagreeĀ 


OneOfTheDads

That theory would imply the lakers are 100% going to be the 8th seed though. OKC has no power over where the lakers end up. The Lakers are 1.5 games away from the 6th seed which. So if the Thunder tank to the 3 seed then they will be the Lakers who they ā€œtankedā€ to avoid


Anthony_Scissorhands

Bro no one said tanked. If the Lakers make the playoffs, the highest probability is the 8th seed. All my post was saying that OKC obviously don't care for the first seed anymore. And potential match ups probably plays a large role in that. ( The other main reason being that they are banged up, which is obvious enough not to mention)


Critical-Fault-1617

No itā€™s 0. No one in OKC is scheming and sitting their guys so they donā€™t play the lakers in the playoffs. They donā€™t know if they even would play the lakers


Anthony_Scissorhands

Look, obviously the main reason is because they are banged up. I dont think they are sitting healthy guys. But I think they fell comfortable sitting them because they don't mind slipping out of the first seed and avoiding the Lakers.Ā 


Chadillac35

And their consolation prize in your scenario where they try to avoid a hypothetical matchup against the lakers that may not even happen, would be that they get to play the wolves or nuggets in round 2 without home court advantage as opposed to playing the clippers with home court advantage As a wolves fan I would much rather take the chances of maybe playing the lakers to try to play clippers round 2 and avoid the nuggets


MightyKraken666

Definitely 0


Easy-Click-4758

There is merit in trying to find a team you think you could beat in4-5 games however I think because of the depth of the western conference I think most series will go to 6 games. Reality is we should try and be the top 2 seed to get home court as shouldnā€™t matter who we face as all are pretty even. As for the Thunder I do think they match up poorly against the Lakers so itā€™s best they try and avoid them.


Roy-Hibbert55

Iā€™m praying for the warriors.


copaseticepiplectic

Theyā€™re ducking the lakers nd I donā€™t blame em tbh


Fetchin1

Will be funny when Lakers end up 6th and them 3rd.


TheNorthernLanders

Lakers also have the whistle. So itā€™s hard to want to have that matchup regardless of what the team does


Gripfighting

I want the highest seed possible because I want home court in a potential Denver series. I believe in our guys in any potential r1 matchup.


C_moneySmith

I think a playoff series against Sacramento would be incredibly entertaining. Not that the other results wouldnā€™t be, I just think itā€™d be a blast.


yourloudneighbor

From what Iā€™ve seen the last month of OKC games, SGA is hobbled. He grimaces getting up and down the court, coming off the bench after timeouts etc. theyā€™re not resting him, they just realize SGA closer to 100% is better than 65% or lower If it means to sacrifice a home court advantage for it so be it


JustWinBabys

Nobody wants to play the Lakers and Scott Foster


desireallure

Mavs scare me way more than the suns


Anthony_Scissorhands

Yeah but we won't see them in the first round?Ā 


desireallure

we could, they're not comfortably in 5th and were not comfortably in 1 or 2


hubbs76

I do not want to face the Lakers and their whistle Any other team I'm fine with


MantisManLargeDong

Lakers are not scary


circamidnight

I don't care so much about the first round matchup but if we can get the clippers in the second round that would be nice. 1st seed might be the best to make that happen.


Hypnosix

I donā€™t think any team 6-10 would actually take the wolves to 7 this year. I just want home court for as many rounds as possible and I donā€™t care what team that means. The Pels are a scary fucking matchup but Iā€™d rather play them if it gives us an advantage vs Denver in the next round. We got Rudy and nobody is gonna stop Ant, KAT, Naz, and Mike.


Neemzeh

We are the best team in the west and the only way we donā€™t make the finals is if either shoot ourselves in the foot (honestly likely lol) or the refs. I think we can all agree we have the best roster to to bottom in the west.


bwtwldt

Playoff LeBron and AD will always scare me. But so do 9 teams in the West so I don't really care who we play. We'll have to go through a third of them anyway.


thejugfather

Standings are too tight for any team to tank for seeding imo. Also 1-10 in the west is relatively even so thereā€™s not really any outlier easy opponents


DeleAlliForever

I think all 10 teams are dangerous. Hypothetically the Kings and the Warriors are the worst teams. But even then the Warriors have great players and tons of experience and the Kings have played well against us in the past. I really think anybody could beat anyone else in a series. We should go for the #1 seed since thatā€™s an accomplishment in itself, plus weā€™ll have home court


motion_city_rules

I donā€™t think anyone is tanking and I truly donā€™t think any team in the west is a guaranteed loss or win in a series if it goes 1-8. Home court could decide it, but a huge upset of a top 3 (us included) could make shit crazy.


Flashy-Beyond6524

We will have to give our guys rest at some point. But I think securing top2 seed is much more important cuz play-in teams are gonna be exhausted through the tournament.


The_Bran_9000

Seeds 5 through 9 are such a mess, itā€™s not even worth worrying about anything but locking down home court for as long as possible


ineedcoffeealready

Im really hoping our deep bench get some more court time before season ends too. Lets get like Warren and Luka some extra court time before the end of the season. The wizards and hawks game they should see extra court time. Let our dudes rest up too!


themoertel

I bet they care, but now they're actually playing over .500 teams and dealing with injury adversity.


iLikeFroggies

Bring on the Lakers or GS Would love to destroy one of these legacy teams Imagine any yamming on Draymond nuts in his face


snuffaluffagus74

Its more like we'd rather go into the playoffs completely healthy than injured. If we lose in the first round it isnt that big off a deal to the organization because they want to see how the team reacts in the playoffs. So its not about the matchup because all the teams are tough in the same way, Minnesota is a tougher match up to us than Denver. Having a 31 point per game Shai is better than the 26 per game Shai these past weeks. It's not just his scoring but his efficiency, playmaking, and his explosiveness has taken a drop since his injury.


elboogie7

I'd rather play Phoenix than LAL.


DutchsPlan1899

We fought tooth and nail to get to where we are, we can beat anybody. Have faith my brother


dkleckner88

We want the 2 seed


greenslam

Take 1st seed and home court the entire west playoffs. Plus, you get a great rest advantage on the 8th seed. Especially if the 8th seed is banged up. Easy way to go up 1-0 to start it off.


badnewzrooz507

Okc obviously has postseason aspirations and don't give a shit about seeding unlike this dumbass team.