OKC Thunder officially clinch 2023 play-in tournament spot
After a two-year drought, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play game(s) beyond the regular season.
The Thunder clinched a play-in tournament spot when the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Chicago Bulls on Friday. The Thunder will be the 10th seed and play the 9th seed on Wednesday, April 12.
The winner of the 9 vs. 10 matchup will play at the loser of the 7 vs. 8 matchup to earn the eighth seed on Friday, April 14.
Friday was an adventurous day for the Mavericks, who started the morning by ruling out Kyrie Irving (foot injury recovery), Christian Wood (rest), Tim Hardaway Jr. (ankle soreness), Maxi Kleber (hamstring injury recovery) and Josh Green (rest).
Luka Doncic (thigh injury recovery) played 13 minutes before checking out at the 11:25 mark of the second quarter with an intentional foul. The plan was for the All-Star to play just the first quarter before sitting the remainder of the game.
After going 2-7 in their last nine games, the Mavericks had incentive to lose their final two games to keep their 2023 first-round pick. The top-10 protected draft pick was involved in the 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade with the New York Knicks, who will acquire the pick if it falls to No. 11 or below.
With the play-in spot officially secured, it’ll be interesting to see how Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault handles Sunday’s season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies.
That game is now meaningless, which provides OKC an opportune time to rest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and other starters if they choose to do so.
The Thunder will finish the regular season as the 10th seed in the Western Conference, securing a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
OKC will face the 9th seed on the road on Wednesday, Apr. 12 at 8:30PM CT exclusively on ESPN.
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 8, 2023
