2 weeks Ago
Efficient basketball teams win games in the NBA. That's just a fact. Based on that, there's a reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the best teams in the league.
Whether it's on offense or defense, the Thunder seems to minimize their mistakes, which leads to victories. On Kirk Goldsberry's most recent efficiency landscape visual, the Thunder found themselves on the right area of the map, alongside some of the league's best. Being in that top right corner of the efficiency landscape is exactly where you want to be.
The spot makes sense, with the Thunder finding themselves in the top five of the NBA in scoring per game and points allowed per game. A plus-one offense and plus-five defense also are proof of that. There isn't necessarily a team that is the "best" on this graphic, but the area where the Boston Celtics and the Thunder lie would probably be an example of the best, compared to other teams.
The Celtics have a higher net rating than OKC does, with a higher offensive rating and a lower defensive rating. This general efficiency of the Thunder needs to be a theme that carries on throughout the upcoming NBA playoffs. If they've done it consistently up until this point, there's no reason they can't continue to be an efficient basketball team.
There will be certain things they can or can't do that will help them go far and stay efficient. Taking good shots and not turning the ball over will be the exact keys to keep them on the same track. Those have both been strong suits of Oklahoma City throughout the regular season, but things can change when the playoffs come around.
They average the least amount of turnovers per game at 11 and according to ShotQuality.com , have the fourth-best adjusted shot quality as a team. Oklahoma City won't be the only team that displays similar efficiency metrics heading into the playoffs, such as the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Clippers.
That being said, the team they will play in the first round, whether it's the Dallas Mavericks or Memphis Grizzlies, is not on the friendly side of the landscape. Both squads are toward the bottom left, signifying low efficiency on both sides of the ball. OKC will take on either the Memphis Grizzlies or Dallas Mavericks to kick off their NBA title hopes, which will be decided on Friday night, on Sunday, April 20, at noon CT.
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