Dean Blevins: Don't schedule Thunder parade just yet

With 17 regular-season games remaining, the Thunder have a lot to work on: team health, Chet Holmgren’s health and rustiness, improving against teams like Minnesota and likely Denver to avoid SGA being clamped down, and one more thing—home-court advantage through the playoffs.

That’s huge and rarely mentioned. It comes down to OKC overtaking Cleveland (54-10) and holding off Boston (47-18). At 53-12, it may be too much to ask, but home court in the Finals could be pivotal.

No Surprise in Denver’s Dominance

I am not surprised a lick by Denver’s win over OKC.

The team played like the general public thought: "Win by 30. MVP race over. Jokic is not enough.”

Hello? I predicted a tight fit in Denver’s 140-127 thrashing of Big Blue. After Nikola Jokic injured his right elbow early in Sunday’s game, he was not close to being the total dominance he’d been earlier. It wasn’t OKC’s defense—it was Jokic’s inability to shoot.

Championship-Level Teams Can Stumble

It’s easy for us to get puffy about the seemingly never-ending wins, superstars, depth, and coaching. And, and, and …

But in the scheme of an NBA season—10 months from first practice through the Finals—championship-looking teams in March can wind up watching most of the playoffs rather than dominating them.

An optimist has a point in saying that until Jalen Williams was lost for the game with a right hip sprain in the second quarter—he’d only played 14 minutes and posted 12 points and a hefty six assists—but the same should’ve been said about how significant Jokic's injury was Sunday.

Defensive Struggles Cost OKC

To put the disappointing loss into a sentence: Denver defended SGA much better than OKC defended Jokic. The Thunder had not seen the whip-smart defensive change the Nuggets implemented Monday, while OKC flailed in a second half in which they were outscored 73-54, allowing Jokic space to catch the ball in the middle of the floor and then saying, "Someone help!"

Denver was hungrier, a tad healthier, and a ton hotter. Try on these shooting numbers: 61% from the field, 56% from 3-point range (including a beefy 9-of-14 from your unsuspected triple threats—Westbrook, Braun and Watson). Defensive ineptness contributed to Denver’s blistering fourth-quarter shooting numbers: 16-of-20 from the field, 7-of-8 from three, and six players hit a final-stanza triple.

Perspective: Don’t Panic, But Adjust

This soon-to-be-retiring pen pal does not suggest reacting the way we see the majority of the time when something interesting—but not doomsday—happens in sports. But slap yourself in the face (if over 55, slap on some Aqua Velva) and reset with facts: I put SGA’s MVP odds only slightly ahead of Jokic's (and with an avalanche of national journalists quickly switching to the big guy who literally touches the basketball virtually every trip down in a position to initiate plays and post outrageous stats).

I am looking for Mark Daigneault’s and Sudden Sam’s “problem-solving” kicks to address the concerns noted above.

A Championship Send-Off?

As I transition into another phase of life on July 1, it would be a sweet way to go out standing on the curb with Thunder pom-poms waving as the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder parade passes by on E.K. Gaylord and Mick Cornett Drive!