{"id":701717,"date":"2026-04-06T17:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/701717\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T17:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:24:18","slug":"will-thunder-be-the-no-1-seed-in-the-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/701717\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Thunder be the No. 1 seed in the West?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Crashing the Boards: Will Thunder be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference?<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWATCH FOR MORE STORMS AND YOU\u2019RE UP TO DATE ON YOUR FIRST ALERT FORECAST. GUYS OVER TO YOU. EVERYBODY. WELCOME INTO THE SHOW. TONIGHT I\u2019M BRYAN KEATING ALONGSIDE DYLAN BUCKINGHAM. HI. HELLO. I\u2019VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS SO I\u2019M GOING TO DO IT REAL FAST. DO IT MAN. COME ON. IT\u2019S AWESOME. HI EVERYBODY. WELCOME INTO THE SHOW. FIRST TIME ON CRASHING THE BOARDS. I KNOW, I\u2019M EXCITED. THIS IS SO FUN. WE\u2019RE GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME. WE GOT PLENTY OF GOOD STUFF TO TALK ABOUT. TALKING ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER. OBVIOUSLY WE\u2019LL GET TO THAT IN A SECOND. WE GOT A LITTLE COLLEGE HOOPS. OKLAHOMA. WE GOT OKLAHOMA GYMNASTICS, MEN\u2019S AND WOMEN\u2019S. THEY KEEP ON WINNING. BUT I LED WITH THE STAR. WE GOT TO TALK ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER ON THEIR WAY TO WHAT THEY HOPE IS A BACK TO BACK NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. NOW FIRST THEY\u2019RE TRYING TO WIN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE TONIGHT. THEY WERE AT HOME AGAINST THE UTAH JAZZ. THE TEAM NOT TRYING TO WIN. OH BY THE WAY THE THUNDER WERE A 24.5 POINT FAVORITE. AND THEY WON BY MORE THAN EIGHT. CHET HOLMGREN WAS AWESOME. HE\u2019S BEEN REALLY GOOD HERE RECENTLY AT 21 POINTS SGA. WE WEREN\u2019T SURE IF HE WAS GOING TO GET HIS 20. HE DID THUNDER WIN AT 146 TO 111. SO DYLAN FOR THE FIRST TIME ON CRASHING THE BOARD I SEND IT TO YOU FIRST. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT OKC IN THEIR QUEST TO HOLD DOWN THAT TOP SPOT IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE? I MEAN, THIS IS THAT TIME OF YEAR. THIS IS WHAT THEY DO AT THIS TIME OF YEAR. I MEAN, IT\u2019S KIND OF WEIRD. YOU LOOK BACK TO LAST YEAR, THEY WIN THE NBA FINALS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR OKLAHOMA CITY. A BEAUTIFUL SITUATION RIGHT. WELL THIS YEAR I THINK THEY KIND OF HAD SOME INJURIES THEY HAD TO DEAL WITH AS THEY WENT THROUGH THE SEASON, WHICH IS EXPECTED DURING AN 82 GAME REGULAR SEASON. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT\u2019S ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE I FEEL LIKE THEY SORT OF KNOW WHEN TO TURN IT ON NOW. THEY GREW UP A LOT LAST YEAR, AND I KNOW THE THUNDER ARE ABSOLUTELY STICKLERS ABOUT MAKING SURE THEY\u2019RE GROWING IN EVERY SITUATION THEY HAVE, AND THAT INCLUDES BEING CHAMPIONS. SO I\u2019M JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND WRITE THIS DOWN REAL FAST AND JUST PUT AND SORRY, MY PENMANSHIP IS TERRIBLE. THIS IS WHY I TALK AND DON\u2019T WRITE FOR A LIVING. BUT I\u2019M GOING TO SAY DUH, DUH DUH. AND THAT\u2019S I CAN\u2019T SPELL REALLY WELL EITHER AND DOES KIND OF EASY. SO I\u2019M GONNA GO WITH THAT AND SAY DUH. I MEAN, THIS IS WHAT THEY DO THIS TIME OF YEAR. THEY\u2019VE WON 17 OF 18 GAMES. THE ONLY LOSS THEY\u2019VE SUFFERED DURING THAT STRETCH IS AGAINST THE BOSTON CELTICS, WHO MANY ARE SAYING, I KNOW. LISTEN, I KNOW DETROIT\u2019S GREAT. I KNOW CADE CUNNINGHAM IS AWESOME. GOT TO GET THAT ONE RIGHT. BUT ONCE THAT HAPPENS IT\u2019S GOING TO BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WHO COMES OUT OF THE EAST AND WHO THE THUNDER IS. I THINK THE THUNDER ARE THE FAVORITES. SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO ABOUT SAN ANTONIO. TO ME, OKLAHOMA CITY IS THE FAVORITE. THEY\u2019VE LEARNED A LOT FROM LAST YEAR IN THOSE SITUATIONS. THUNDER TALK ABOUT. AND I THINK THEY\u2019RE GOING TO PRIME THEMSELVES TO MAKE ANOTHER RUN. I AGREE BOSTON IS AWESOME BY THE WAY. THEY\u2019RE PLAYING GREAT. I LOVE THE WAY THAT THEY PLAY. BUT I THINK WATCHING THIS THUNDER TEAM, WATCHING THEM PLAY SINCE THE ALL STAR BREAK, THEY\u2019VE WON 16 OF 17, WHICH IS REMARKABLE I THINK FOR THE REST OF THE NBA. HERE COMES THE HORROR SHOW. I THINK THE HORROR SHOW IS COMING FOR OKLAHOMA CITY. IS THAT ONE AROUND HERE COMES. THAT\u2019S GOOD PENMANSHIP. IT\u2019S A COMPLETE SENTENCE. AND IT\u2019S. I MEAN, LOOK AT YOU. THAT\u2019S SO AWESOME. WRITING TOO. SOMETHING TO WORK UP TO. I TALK THAT MUCH. NO. I\u2019M SORRY. HERE COMES THE HORROR SHOW. AND THAT HORROR SHOW IS SHEA GILDAS. ALEXANDER. AND IT\u2019S JALEN WILLIAMS NOW HEALTHY. I THINK THEY\u2019RE JUST THEY\u2019RE TERRIFYING. I THINK TO EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE NBA, IT\u2019S EASY TO TALK ABOUT OKLAHOMA CITY. S T A AND THE FOUL THING AND OTHERS. ALL REASONS TO DOUBT WHATEVER. THIS IS NOT THE TIME OF YEAR TO DOUBT THIS TEAM BECAUSE THEY LOOK RESTED, THEY LOOK HEALTHY, AND THEY LOOK READY TO GO. AND I THINK IF EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE NBA, YOU OUGHT TO BE A LITTLE BIT AFRAID OF THIS OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER TEAM. HERE\u2019S WHAT I WANT TO ASK YOU, BECAUSE I LOVE TO ASK THIS TO THUNDER PEOPLE WHO SEE THE TEAM EVERY DAY. WHAT\u2019S SOMETHING THAT YOU WORRY ABOUT WITH THIS SQUAD? BECAUSE I HAVE ONE THING THAT WAS, I DON\u2019T WANT TO SAY SHOWED ITSELF. AND I MEAN, ASIDE FROM INJURIES TO. SURE. ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THIS SQUAD WITH. THEY CAN GO THROUGH TIMES WHERE THEY DON\u2019T SHOOT THE BALL REALLY WELL AND TEAMS ARE GOING TO TRY TO FORCE LOU DALTON TO SHOOT A BUNCH OF THREES AND OTHER GUYS TO SHOOT A BUNCH OF THREES. I JUST THINK THEY HAVE THE GREATEST MARGIN FOR ERROR IN THE LEAGUE. THEY CAN BEAT YOU DEFENSIVELY. THEY CAN SHOOT THE BALL WELL ENOUGH. THEY CAN GET TO THE RIM. THEY CAN GET TO THE FREE THROW LINE. THEY CAN WIN. BECAUSE I THINK MARK DAYTON IS ONE OF THE BEST COACHES IN THE LEAGUE. THEY WIN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS, SO I THINK THEY ARE THE SCARIEST TEAM. NOT ONLY ARE THE DEFENDING CHAMPS, THEY\u2019RE THE SCARIEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE RIGHT NOW AND THEY\u2019RE PLAYING GREAT. LET\u2019S GET TO THE STANDINGS IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE. HERE YOU GO. THEY\u2019RE IN FIRST PLACE TRYING TO HOLD DOWN THE FORT. THEY\u2019RE DOING THAT. IT APPEARS THEY\u2019RE GOING TO BE THE TOP SEED IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE, WHICH OH, BY THE WAY, NOW THEY GET GAME SEVEN. AS LONG AS THEY CONTINUE TO GO ON THIS PACE, THEY\u2019RE GOING TO GET GAME SEVEN AT THEIR PLACE OF THE MACOMB, POTENTIALLY TWICE LIKE THEY DID LAST SEASON. I JUST THINK THEY ARE TERRIFYING FOR EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE LEAGUE. SO MY QUESTION TO YOU NOW IS THIS HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU FIRST, THAT THEY\u2019RE GOING TO WIN THE REGULAR SEASON AND THEN POTENTIALLY MOVING FORWARD INTO THE WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS? I\u2019M EXTREMELY CONFIDENT. I JUST THINK THAT THERE IS A GROWING AREA THAT TEAMS HAVE TO HAVE IN THE PLAYOFFS, RIGHT. SO A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, OKLAHOMA CITY GOES TO DALLAS. THEY LOSE TO LUKA AND THE MAVS AND KYRIE. THAT WAS A GROWING LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR THEM. I THINK EVERY TEAM HAS TO GO THROUGH THAT AND SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO. ABOUT PLAYING FIVE TIMES IN THE REGULAR SEASON AGAINST OKLAHOMA CITY AND WHAT GOING FOR. AND ONE THE SPURS. SPURS THE SPURS. YEAH IT\u2019S THAT\u2019S FINE AND ALL. BUT THE THUNDER ARE BATTLE TESTED NOW AND THEY GROW FROM EVERY EXPERIENCE. AND WHEN YOU WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP YOU THINK WE\u2019RE GOING TO GROW FROM THAT. SO I\u2019M GOING TO SAY THIS. I\u2019M GOING TO SAY FORGET THE ALAMO IN THIS WITH THE WESTERN CONFERENCE. I. LIKE THAT. FORGET THE ALAMO. IT\u2019S OKAY. LIKE OKLAHOMA CITY\u2019S PLAYED SO WELL. AND WE CAN WE\u2019LL TALK ABOUT THIS IN A SECOND. BUT THE MVP OF THE LEAGUE IS IS SHEA. AND I\u2019M SORRY I\u2019M GETTING AHEAD OF US. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. BUT FORGET THE ALAMO. I THINK OKLAHOMA CITY IS PRIMED TO MAKE THIS RUN. AND I KNOW FORMER SPORTSCASTER TURNED SPORTSCASTER AGAIN IN OKLAHOMA CITY SAYS HEY THE THUNDER ARE REALLY GOOD. SHOCKER. I KNOW, RIGHT. BUT THEY ARE. AND THE HEALTH IS THERE. I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT ALEX CARUSO AND THE SHOOTING WAS THAT HE HAD ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, BUT IT DIDN\u2019T REALLY MATTER. SO THAT\u2019S WHERE I\u2019M AT WITH THIS. I THINK THEY\u2019RE READY TO GO. AND THAT\u2019S WHY YOU ASKED ME HOW CAN TEAMS BEAT THEM. YOU JUST HOPE THAT THEY MISS SHOTS. I THINK THAT\u2019S THE ONE SHOT. HOW CAN WE MAKE OKLAHOMA CITY YOU KNOW HOW CAN WE BEAT THEM IN A SERIES IS YOU JUST HOPE THAT THEY MISS A SHOT. BECAUSE IF THEY MAKE SHOTS THEY\u2019RE WINNING ALL THOSE SERIES. OH BY THE WAY. YES. ALL RIGHT. SO HERE\u2019S THE DEAL WITH OKC. THEY STARTED THE SEASON 24 AND WON THE LAST 17 GAMES. THEY\u2019RE 16 AND ONE. SO YOU BOOK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON WHERE THEY KIND OF RELAXED. THEY TOOK A BREATH. THEY START THE SEASON 24 AND WON THEIR 16 ONE. THEY ARE UNBELIEVABLE. THEY\u2019RE THE DEFENDING CHAMPS. THEY\u2019RE THE FAVORITE FOR A REASON. AND SO I JUST THINK THEY ARE THE FAVORITE. AND THEY ARE GOING TO BE A LOAD TO TRY TO MATCH UP WITH IN THE POSTSEASON. AND I HATE TO BE THIS WAY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE NBA POSTSEASON IS SO CRAZY AND IT\u2019S IT\u2019S MORE OF A GRIND. IT\u2019S NOT A SPRINT. IT\u2019S A MARATHON. WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH TWO MONTHS OF BASKETBALL. BUT TO ME, THEY\u2019RE JUST CONSTRUCTED DIFFERENT. THEY ARE. AND THEY\u2019RE I MEAN, TO ME AJ MITCHELL YOU PICK HIM OVER DYLAN JONES LIKE LOOK AT THE DRAFTING THEY DID. IT\u2019S INCREDIBLE WHAT SAM PRESTI HAS PUT TOGETHER WITH THIS TEAM. IT\u2019S JUST UNBELIEVABLE. THEY DO EVERYTHING WELL. THERE\u2019S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. SO WE GOT ABOUT 90S TO GO. I WANT TO GET INTO THE MVP. YOU BROUGHT IT UP. SO HERE\u2019S THE LEADER IN THE CLUBHOUSE. IT\u2019S SHEA GILGEOUS ALEXANDER. YOU CAN LOOK AT THE ODDS. MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE FAVORITE TO BE THE BACK TO BACK MVP AGAIN. SO LAST WEEK AFTER THEY BEAT THE PISTONS AND SGA WENT CRAZY AT THE END OF THE GAME. I LOVE THIS RESPONSE. HE WAS ASKED IF HE WANTED TO TRY TO SELL HIMSELF AS THE MVP OF THE NBA ROLE. IT. NAH. I\u2019M GOOD, THANKS FOR ASKING THOUGH. BUT YEAH, I\u2019M GOOD. I LET MY GAME DO THE TALKING. THAT IS SO BALLER, MAN. NO I\u2019M GOOD. I\u2019LL LET YOU VOTE FOR ME WHEN YOU VOTE FOR ME. HE\u2019S GONNA WIN THE MVP RIGHT? YEAH 100%. LOOK, HERE\u2019S WHAT I THINK. YOU\u2019RE GOING TO GET IT THIS YEAR. AND YOU SEE SO MANY MORE PEOPLE START TO SAY, OH, OKLAHOMA CITY FOUL. BATES SGA FOUL. BATES THE WAY HE DRIVES, ESPECIALLY FOLKS ON THE EAST COAST. YOU\u2019RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT OF THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. BUT TO ME THE OBVIOUS IS SHEA. SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT LUCA. HE MIGHT NOT REACH THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF GAMES. SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO ABOUT VICTOR WEMBANYAMA. FINE. THAT\u2019S THAT\u2019S OKAY. SHEA IS GOING TO WIN THE MVP THIS YEAR. THEN NEXT YEAR THEY WILL PUT UP SIMILAR NUMBERS AND THERE WILL BE FATIGUE. IT\u2019S LIKE 100% 100% IS GOING TO BE THE FAVORITE TO BE THE MVP NEXT YEAR. BUT NOW. BUT I JUST THINK SHEA\u2019S ALL TIME GREAT. I MEAN, HE\u2019S ALL TIME. ALL TIME, ALL TIME GREAT. YOU\u2019RE TALKING ABOUT THE BEST GUARD IN THE LEAGUE SINCE STEPH CURRY. ONE OF THE BEST GUARDS EVER TO PLAY THE GAME. ONE OF THE BEST, EASIEST SCORERS EVER TO PLAY THE GAME. HE\u2019S GOING TO BE A BACK TO BACK MVP. THEY\u2019RE THE FAVORITE TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. IF ALL THOSE THINGS COME OUT, YOU\u2019RE LOOKING AT ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS EVER TO PLAY THE GAME. HE\u2019S PLAYING IN OKLAHOMA CITY DOWNTOWN RIGHT NOW. HE IS. IT\u2019S REMARKABLE HERE. THERE\u2019S MY THERE\u2019S THAT SPONSORSHIP BOOM. NAILED IT. I\u2019M JUST GONNA SAY TIMES TWO TIMES TWO. IT\u2019S GONNA HAPPEN. I\u2019M NOT AS CREATIVE. I KNOW IT\u2019S GONNA IT\u2019S GONNA HAPPEN. THUNDER PLAY THE LAKERS ON THE ROAD\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Crashing the Boards: Will Thunder be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference?<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769787952_390_koco.png\" class=\"lazyload lazyload-in-view branding\" alt=\"KOCO logo\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tUpdated: 12:17 PM CDT Apr 6, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.koco.com\/article\/hearst-television-news-policy-statements\/14471973\" class=\"editorial-standards border-left\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Editorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tOn the latest edition of Crashing the Boards, Sports Director Bryan Keating and special guest Dylan Buckingham talk about the Thunder&#8217;s recent wins and their chances of wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference as the regular season nears its end.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>On the latest edition of Crashing the Boards, Sports Director Bryan Keating and special guest Dylan Buckingham talk about the Thunder&#8217;s recent wins and their chances of wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference as the regular season nears its end. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crashing the Boards: Will Thunder be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference? WATCH FOR MORE STORMS&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,6,11,310],"class_list":{"0":"post-701717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-nba-playoffs","11":"tag-oklahoma"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}