Spurs can thank Lakers for exposing sneaky OKC secret nobody's talking about

The Spurs are locked into a 2-2 battle with the Timberwolves, but that doesn't mean we can't take a peek at the other side of the bracket because some interesting stuff has happened. OKC just finished sweeping the Lakers, and they won most of their games by a significant margin. However, if you watched what was happening and checked the numbers, you may have noticed a defensive decline.

The Thunder had the top defensive rating of all 30 NBA teams during the regular season (106.5). They've dropped to sixth out of the 16 clubs to make the playoffs (109.3). That doesn't seem like a huge drop off, but it's a significant one when considering the competition these teams have been going against.

Spurs have elevated while OKC has regressed

I know, I know—they're the defending champions and just swept both of their opening rounds. However, the Suns were playing some of their most inconsistent basketball of the season when the postseason began. Injuries cratered their campaign.

The Lakers had to suit up without Luka Doncic, while Austin Reaves had just barely made it back from an injury that kept him out for nearly a month. From all the dynasty talk we keep hearing, you would think the Thunder would dominate that team every night from start to finish. They were being led by a 41-year-old LeBron James, for God's sake.

However, several of those contests were tied at halftime and/or tight in the third. Unfortunately for LA, there was a consistent script that led to big leads, making OKC look more dominant than they actually were. They would inexplicably start throwing the ball away, sometimes with very little pressure, or fumble the rock when driving the lane.

We shouldn't be completely surprised by it. Only four of the 16 teams that made the postseason had a worse defensive and offensive rating than Los Angeles. It manifested into very sloppy basketball. The Lakers looked like a team of players who knew they were extremely overmatched from the beginning. They'll find the Spurs to be the complete opposite.

The Spurs have upped their defensive intensity

If Oklahoma City doesn't have the number one defense, someone else does, right? San Antonio has taken hold of that mantle, elevating their rating to 102.9. When watching the games, you often find yourself impressed by the smothering effort the Silver and Black give nightly. The number is backed by the visual representation.

The Spurs are locked into a close fight with the Timberwolves in series score, but they've led for more than 60% of the series and routinely find a way to go up by double digits. They're actively battling their youth. That inexperience has led them to dropping games, either by way of not attacking enough in Game 1 or Victor Wembanyama getting himself ejected in Game 4.

However, there's never really been a time when you watched these two teams over the last week and thought, "Minnesota looks like the better team." Not once. So, as long as the Spurs learn from those mistakes quickly and button back up, they'll put this series away. They then get to turn their sights toward an OKC team that will be in for one hell of a jolt back to reality.

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