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Epic matchup awaits in NBA West finals


This is not a one-of-a-kind matchup in the Western Conference finals. And it’s not the NBA Finals, either.

It may just seem that way.

In one corner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of 64 games this season. In the other corner, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, winners of 62 games this season — and four against the Thunder. That’s the West finals matchup, with Game 1 on Monday in Oklahoma City.

This is only the seventh time in NBA history that a playoff series features two teams that won 62 games (or had an equivalent winning percentage of .756 or better, when taking into account the years without an 82-game schedule). It’s the first since Chicago vs. Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals.

The others: Chicago-Utah in the 1997 finals, Chicago-Seattle in the 1996 finals, Boston-Los Angeles Lakers in the 1985 finals, Boston-Philadelphia in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals and Lakers-Milwaukee in the 1972 West finals.

The Thunder may get a big piece of their lineup back for Game 1. Guard Jalen Williams, who has been out for nearly a month with a left hamstring injury, was not on Oklahoma City’s initial injury report filed Sunday afternoon — a sign that he should be available for the series opener.

The Thunder have a huge edge when it comes to having experience this deep into the playoffs.

Only five current Spurs have scored in a conference finals or an NBA Finals game — and since the postseason started only one of those five, Luke Kornet, is averaging more than 10 minutes per contest. Harrison Barnes is playing 9.8 minutes per game and the remaining three Spurs of Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee and Bismack Biyombo aren’t in the regular rotation.

But the Thunder have 12 players who have scored in Rounds 3 or 4 of the playoffs, most of that coming on the run to last season’s title.

The Thunder were supposed to be here: defending champions, whole team back, the heavy preseason favorites to win this season’s title.

The Spurs, well, were not.

Oddsmakers had San Antonio’s predicted win total for the season at 44.5. And with championship odds of 66-1, San Antonio had the 17th-best odds in a 30-team league coming into the season.

Here the Spurs are, in the NBA’s final four. And that would suggest they’re ahead of schedule.

“Ahead of schedule what?” asked Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “I understand the general expectations of what we were supposed to do in October aren’t necessarily aligned with where we’re at right now. So, if that’s your question, I would guess by general consensus then we’re ahead of that schedule. But we never talked about what we were going to be or what we were going to do. We just knew that we had a lot of potential and we were going to try to be the best team we can be.”



(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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