Young Thunder: Making NBA History One Sweep at a Time

“Young legend.” The Oklahoma City Thunder are already, no matter what happens in the near future and in the long term, NBA history. The quintessential young, brash and competitive team became the youngest in league history to advance to the next round. Playoffs after sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans in a series without history. He 89-97 in the fourth game consolidates an incredible 4-0 and defining of his status as a candidate for everything in the Western Conference.

McCollum throws ahead of Holmgren.

Few trusted the Pelicans movie at this point. They competed well in the first match, decided between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, but fell in the second and third. There they were already far away and no one trusted them. In fact, comments from two legends about their team went viral. “Where are they going?” Shaquille O’Neal asked. “To Galveston. With that dirty water. The Pelicans don’t deserve to go to Cancun,” replied Charles Barkley on TNT.

The Pelicans don’t deserve to go to Cancun, they go to Galveston with dirty water

Charles Barkley

The fourth meeting was not very different. Yes, it came close at the end with 70-70 for the last period. New Orleans accelerated with Valanciunas and Marshall, but Josh Giddey answered with three triples. He activated the Thunder machinery, pressing back, defining a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander transition and opening the final margin for Jaylen Williams with two other triples. Without much more to propose, but enough.

Shai shoots a basket.

As almost always, their young base responds. Shaiwith 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Jaylen Williams, with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, they led. They also responded Holmgren (14+9) y Giddey (14). Of course, the absence of Zion Williamson was noticeable in the Pelicans, who scored 40 points in the Play-in against the Lakers but was injured in that same game. McCollum, with 20, and Valanciunas, at 19, the best on the day of their elimination.

We are a committed team. Many times people think some things because of their age or their stage in their career,

Mark Daigneault

Los Thunder advance and scare. No one so young advanced a series, no one so young closed a 4-0 in a series and no one so young had been first classified in a Conference. “We are a committed team. Many times people think some things because of their age or their stage in the race, but we have a very unusual group. And that causes things like that to be done,” confessed their coach Mark Daigneault. Another of the secrets, being coach of the year in the NBA.

2024-04-30 07:04:39
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