Maybe the public was hell-bent on backing either the Memphis Grizzlies or Denver Nuggets until they crashed out, one in the Conference round and the other in the semis. All agendas were against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. And you know why? Because the higher you rise, the sharper the knives. You might dislike them, but you have no choice but to respect them. They’re setting records by the second. However, their defense has people questioning- if Nikola Jokić had no chance against them, what makes people think that Anthony Edwards will?

Jokic played 7 games, of which he only dominated 2 of them- Games 1 (42/22/6) and 5 (44/15/5). Yes, the Nuggets managed to win one without the Joker’s antics in full effect. But for the most of it, the Thunder’s defense had him locked down. And during that series, it was their “Jokic Stopper” – Alex Caruso, who made sure Jokic’s playmaking didn’t flourish, restricting his assists to just single-digit numbers throughout.

Now, Game 1 vs. Minnesota was a little different. The focal defensive pivot was Chet Holmgren this time, and they had only one tactic in mind. They packed the paint so badly that it forced Anthony Edwards and Co. to rely solely on their shooting, which, well, didn’t end as expected. They ended up shooting just 29/83 from the field and 15/51 from deep. Isn’t that crazy? Mark Daigneault makes sure to find out every team’s weakness and exposes it to the world. And for any tactic, they have players good enough to execute it.

Jokic ended the season with a ridiculous 29.6/12.7/10.2 shooting, 57.6% from the field, and 41.7% from deep. And seeing all of this in retrospect, Kendrick Perkins has only one conclusion in mind, which he made clear on the Road Trippin’: “Let me say this to y’all. If Jokic struggled five out of seven games in that series, Jokic only had two games where he was dominant. The rest of those games, he struggled in that seven-game series. And everyone’s like, oh, well, what does Anthony Edwards gotta do? What is he gonna do? He ain’t gonna do a damn thing.”

But that wasn’t all Mark Daigneault had in store for us. KP noticed a characteristic of their defense that sets them apart from the rest of their peers. And there’s only one way they can be like that- with supreme confidence in their own abilities.

What’s the unusual habit that sets the Oklahoma City Thunder apart?

The Oklahoma City Thunder got the most steals by a team this regular season, with 847 steals. Just for comparison, the Hawks are second with 798. But why is this stat important? Well, it puts KP’s observation into perspective. For most of the teams, they’d be strict on discipline, being solid, and, most importantly, not gambling. The Thunder, on the other hand? Their teamplay is so good that they can afford to gamble every time, and if it doesn’t pay off, they have someone to cover for them.

“This is one of the greatest defensive teams that we’ve seen in NBA history… you gotta protect the ball when you play against the Thunder. You cannot let them get out of transition… You don’t get that option because they force turnovers… OKC gambles like a m———– and then comes up with the steal. It’s like they’re tied together on the string of like gambling defensively, but they know that they could gamble. Because somebody behind them has their back. And I’ve never seen no s— like that in my life. Like that’s where they turn up at,” said the ex-OKC star on the pod.

It takes an insane amount of skill and basketball IQ to end up like Mark Daigneault’s Thunder. They’ve trampled every team that’s come in the way of their first championship. If Anthony Edwards’ Timberwolves are next in line, so be it. And if Mr. Triple-Double Nikola Jokic couldn’t dominate in more than two games, then Ant-Man can kiss his championship hopes goodbye.