Earlier this week, the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Due to the significant margin between OKC and the teams just below in the standings, the Thunder was able to solidify homecourt advantage through at least the Western Conference Finals with several weeks left in the regular season.
Given these circumstances, the stakes that come with winning games down the stretch have, in some ways, been minimized. Even if Oklahoma City were to lose every game for the remainder of the regular season, the top seed in the West would still be the Thunder.
So, what matters at this point?
There are numerous historic milestones that OKC could surpass with a strong close to the season, but the only tangible reason to win games relates to a potential NBA Finals matchup. If the Thunder was able to make it that far in the playoffs, then record could come into play.
As of today, Oklahoma City has the best record in the NBA at 58-12, which is a two-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers (56-14). If those two teams met in the NBA Finals, the team with the better record during the regular season would host the series and have a homecourt advantage.
Even then, it’s not all that likely that a scenario like that unfolds. While there’s no question the Thunder and Cavaliers are two of the best teams in the NBA, the odds of both advancing to the NBA Finals against each other — relative to the numerous different scenarios that could unfold — are quite low. For example, if the Boston Celtics were to make it out of the Eastern Conference and Oklahoma City was to match up with them, then a strong push to close out the season with victories isn’t essential. Furthermore, it’s not a guarantee that OKC gets to the NBA Finals for this to even matter. Regardless, this situation is the only remaining thing that has any impact on the Thunder’s desire to win its final 12 games.
NBA Standings
- OKC Thunder: 58-12
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 56-14 (2.0 GB)
- Boston Celtics: 51-19 (7.0 GB)
- Houston Rockets: 46-25 (12.5 GB)
- Los Angeles Lakers: 43-26 (14.5 GB)
As such, health and rest should be prioritized, at least for the next week. Oklahoma City being healthy in the playoffs is much more important than pushing for the best record in the league when it ultimately may not matter. The top priority is ensuring the roster gets back to full health and allowing players to recover.
But entering the final week of the season, if the Thunder has a clear path to that top record in the NBA with a quick win or two, perhaps it could make sense to push for victories. But in the meantime, that shouldn’t be an objective for the Thunder. The odds of it actually being necessary to have the best regular season record in the league are low.
In short, a pivot of focus toward the playoffs and doing everything the Thunder can to ensure success beyond the regular season is now the sole priority. The regular season carries very little importance the rest of the way.