Russell Westbrook, Thunder Beat Giannis Antetokounmpo-Less Bucks in Finale
The Oklahoma City Thunder polished off their 2018-19 regular season Wednesday night with a 127-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
In the hour leading up to the game, Oklahoma City announced All-Star forward Paul George as inactive one night removed from his game-winning three-pointer propelling the Thunder over the Houston Rockets.
On Wednesday night, without George and with Tuesday night's upset in-hand, the Thunder secured the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Starting in George's place, Dennis Schroder led all scorers with 32 points.
The loss is inconsequential to the Bucks, who have already locked up the Eastern Conference's top seed and league's best record at 60-22.
Because of that, the Bucks sat potential NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, starting center Brook Lopez and point guard Eric Bledsoe with eyes set toward a deep postseason run.
Thunder Are Most Dangerous Western Conference Underdog
A key storyline for Oklahoma City's 2018-19 regular season, not surprisingly, was Russell Westbrook and his affinity for triple-doubles. The 2016-17 league MVP finished the regular season averaging a triple-double for a third consecutive season, capped by his 34th of the year (15 points 17 assists, 11 rebounds) Wednesday night.
The Thunder have been ousted in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs each of the last two seasons, but this third attempt looks to be the charm because opponents should fear the Thunder as a whole—not just Westbrook.
Everybody knows what George and Westbrook are capable of, but this year's team is much more rounded out than last year's, which fell 4-2 to the Utah Jazz in the first round.
Schroder is in his first season with Oklahoma City after a trade from the Atlanta Hawks and has been relegated to a reserve option, but the competent depth he provides behind Westbrook—on full display Wednesday night—gives the Thunder an edge they lacked last season.
In last year's postseason, a major gap separated Westbrook (29.3 points per game) and George (24.7) from the Thunder's next scoring option—Carmelo Anthony (11.8). This regular season, Schroder has emerged as OKC's No. 3 scorer with 15.3 points per game.
Now, combine the addition of Schroder with forward Jerami Grant's growth.
Grant is in the mix for the league's Most Improved Player award, and that is invaluable as the Thunder look to pull off an upset in the first round.
Grant posted a career-high 28 points against the Bucks, and the fifth-year player is averaging lifetime highs in points per game (13.4) and rebounds per game (5.2).
Should George miss playoff outings due to his aggravated shoulder, the Thunder can feel confident in Grant and Schroder complementing Westbrook.
Against Milwaukee—granted, without its usual lineup—the Thunder set new franchise records by draining 23 threes and dishing out 40 assists, which highlights areas that could help them swing a postseason series.
Additionally, the Thunder are the NBA's fifth-best team in fast-break points (18.2 per game)—a mark far above the Portland Trail Blazers (11.1).
The most important marking, of course, is the Thunder's record this season against their first-round opponent. While the Blazers are fourth in offensive rating and Oklahoma City rates fourth defensively, the Thunder are still 4-0 against Portland.
The deeper you dig into the Thunder's profile, whether the roster or statistics, the more likely a first-round upset seems.
What's Next?
Both the Bucks and Thunder are moving into the postseason, which begins on Saturday.
Milwaukee will play its opening series against the No. 8 Detroit Pistons, while the Thunder are set the face No. 3 Portland.
