Stiles Points: Remember to Enjoy the Ride as OKC Thunder Start NBA Playoff Run

The Oklahoma City Thunder begin their playoff run on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans which should serve as a reminder for fans to just enjoy this initial run.

Apr 18, 2018; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; A general view of t-shirts on the seats prior to the game / Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. This week is anything but Ferris Bueller's day off as the Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25) try to cram in playoff prep before Sunday's series opener against the New Orleans Pelicans (49-33). Though, the quote still rings true.

As the Thunder gear up for the postseason as the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history and is the youngest team to nab a playoff berth in league history each record previously already held by the franchise, the anticipation continues to mount.

This can lead to pressure, expectations and mostly nerves as the Bricktown boys aim for the first playoff series victory since Kevin Durant was in town, it is important to just breathe prior to tip-off.

After yet another unprecedented rebuild, Oklahoma City is again starring down the barrel of a historic decade of dominance with one of the most promising young cores the league has seen and the future assets to sustain it.

As playoff basketball returns to the Paycom Center for the first time since 2019, just soak it in. Put on the tee shirts, stand up, cheer and appreciate yet another unpredictable season in our sleepy flyover state.

Stiles Points

• In the Western Conference Playoffs day one, the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves took care of business to start their series 1-0 before the Clippers and Thunder take center stage on Sunday.
• Cason Wallace mentioned spending his childhood playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder on NBA2k as a child. Wanting to use Russell Westbrook as a downhill guard and Kevin Durant as an all-time great scorer as many 2010s kids did.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder released their game one playoff shirts which will feature a complete whiteout of the arena in the team's return to the playoffs.
• The Thunder turned in a clean injury report with everyone available. As a note, two-way players (Keyontae Johnson, Olivier Sarr and Adam Flagler) are ineligible for the playoffs. This is why Sarr (torn Achilles) was not listed on the injury report.

Song of the Day: I'm Sorry Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey by Paul McCartney.

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