Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Can Use Difficult Stretch as Litmus Test

The Oklahoma City Thunder sees a massive stretch coming up with six of its next seven games taking place against playoff teams. This can serve as one final litmus test during the regular season.

Feb 8, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Sitting at 50-11 with a 10.5 game lead as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder are playing a game of hurry up and wait. The rest of the regular season is rendered meaningless for all intents and purposes, with nothing left to prove.

It can at times be seen on the floor too, as a historically great defense has been the No. 22 unit in the NBA since the All-Star Break. However, this upcoming seven game stretch could serve as one final litmus test for the OKC Thunder.

After a week against beat-up, mediocre clubs, the Thunder will embark on a seven-game slate of games that feature six playoff teams - the lone squad not in the postseason picture? The Portland Trail Blazers, who not only have been scrappy this season at large but still have a chance to back into the play-in tournament as the Dallas Mavericks project to bow out after injury blows that will serve as a knock out punch.

With a National TV game against Memphis, two against Denver, Boston, a trip to Detroit and a rematch with Milwaukee on deck between March 5-16, the Thunder will have plenty of quality opponents to test its medal against.

Not only should these games drum up interest internally to get back on the right-side of the energy level defensively, but each offer the personnel to get the most out of what is left to work on for Oklahoma City: The double big lineup.

With only two of those games being the second night of a back-to-back, this should give Mark Daigneault plenty of runway to see what works - and what doesn't - with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein sharing the floor against not only high-quality teams but ones with size.

This will also serve as a showcase for a young team that has been shunned from the National Spotlight for most of the season and now goes on a run of five out of seven upcoming games on National TV. A stretch that can solidify Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's case for the MVP award and more firmly shape the narrative around the Thunder's contender status.

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