That said, the Thunder should prefer the Clippers to move on to Round 2. Leonard and Harden are a scary duo to face, but OKC is equipped with the right perimeter defenders to slow them down. Zubac has had a career season, but Hartenstein is the perfect counterpart against him on the boards and inside the paint.

With OKC having completed its first round in a four-game sweep by April 26, that could mean 7-10 days between games — that gap coming after a series in which there was a single off-day in between each game.

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder made short work of the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. And after a dominant regular season, the Thunder cruised to a 4-0 series sweep,