Time is fate! Injury bonus + alliance star creation? Is the Thunder’s 2025 championship worth the gold content

hit 3 three-pointers in the finals, and had to withdraw from the game due to an Achilles tendon injury. Only Durant could truly empathize Halliburton's experience.

When Halliburton hit the third three-pointer, the Pacers led the Thunder 14-10 at 7 minutes and 01 in the first quarter. This three-pointer directly forced Degenot to request a timeout, and the momentum was still on the Pacers' side. We have reason to believe that the Pacers led by Halliburton, who had a full fire early in the game, did have a chance to win in the G7, but all their longings fell into vain with Halliburton.

Matherin scored 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 interruptions, McConaughey made 8 of 13 shots, and scored six goals in a row in the third quarter, which was really the best. The biggest crisis encountered by the Pacers is undoubtedly the attack launch. The Thunder easily crushed the Pacers with a mistake in the third quarter, 18-0. They used double-player attacks to bully the dwarf Conor's field of field of shots. The negative impact of Halliburton's withdrawal at the organizational offensive level is actually the Thunder's killer weapon against the Pacers in this game.

Without Halliburton, the Pacers rely on Nemhard to organize the organization and sort out six assists, and no one else assisted more than three times. In the end, they lost the championship and lost the championship.

It is undeniable that this Thunder Youth Army did enjoy the injury bonus during its 2025 playoff journey.

In the first round, G3 Morant played only 16 minutes due to injury and missed G4, which directly led to the Grizzlies losing both home games G3 and G4, and the Thunder finally swept the Grizzlies.

The Thunder played 7 games with the Nuggets in the second round, and the intensity of this round of the series is the real Western Conference Finals level this year.

Potter Jr. was troubled by a shoulder injury, and averaged only 7.4 points per game, shooting 32.2% from the field and 25.0% from three-pointers, which is far lower than his normal level of average 18.2 points per game, shooting 50.4% from the field and 39.5% from the three-pointers per game in the regular season. Porter Jr. performed very poorly due to a shoulder injury, which also made the Nuggets lose the most important three-point fire support on the wing in the series.

Not only did Porter Jr. fight with injury, Gordon G6 suffered a second-degree strain on his left hamstring in the fourth quarter, and played with injury in the tiebreak and scored 8 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes. The Nuggets finally lost to the Thunder 93-125.

The two main players Porter Jr. and Gordon were injured. Can such a Nuggets force the Thunder into a tiebreak? What if the Nuggets are completely healthy? It is indeed easy to doubt whether the Thunder can pass the second round.

The Thunder's opponent in the division final is the Timberwolves, and the intensity of this series actually does not reach the final level.

The Timberwolves' path to promotion is relatively easy: the Lakers have no inside depth, and only center Hayes is the only one at No. 5. When Hayes is not on the court, the Lakers can only play five small lineups, and Doncic and Reeves have two points to defend and stab the backcourt, and the Timberwolves easily entered the second round 4-1; the Warriors Curry was injured in G1, and the Timberwolves won 4 games in a row to advance.

The Timberwolves took Curry's injury bonus and were beaten by the Thunder in the division final and were eliminated in five games.

After the first and second rounds, the Thunder once again enjoyed the opponent's injury bonus in the finals. Halliburton suffered a strain on his right calf in the finals, and the G7 Achilles tendon injury withdrew from the game. The Thunder won G5 and G7 respectively. In particular, the Pacers did not have Halliburton and fundamentally lost hope of winning the championship.

It must be admitted that the injury of Morant, Porter Jr., Gordon and Halliburton has reduced the difficulty of winning the Thunder.

Injuries have always been part of the uncontrollable factors of the game, and the Thunder's defense has truly supported them all the way to this day.

Thunder ranked fourth in the league in defensive efficiency in 2023-24 and first in the league in defensive efficiency in 2024-25. They have achieved 57 wins and 68 wins respectively in the two seasons. Referring to their 40 wins and 42 losses in the 2022-23 season, the 14th defensive efficiency, and defensive progress is undoubtedly the foundation of the rapid rise of the Thunder Youth Army in the past three years.

The Thunder's defense has made its mark last season. Alexander, Dortmund, Jaylen Williams, Homegren, Carson Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Jaylin Williams, and Kenridge Williams can all provide reliable individual defense while having the counter-elastic flexibility of switching defenses for multiple positions. They are competent for misaligned defenses for small defenses. The Thunder, which focuses on the lineup of five foreign balls, is uniform in pinch and rotation coordination. Coach Dagnott has cultivated the top defensive habits for this young army.

The Thunder were rebounded and inside by Gafford, Lefly and Washington in the playoffs last year. In short, the Thunder's bamboo pole inside meets the Mavericks' large muscles in the frontcourt and was beaten to the point of being terrified. The Thunder also introduced Harten and Caruso in a targeted manner in the offseason last year to make up for the shortcomings and consolidate the depth of defense.

This season's Thunder have two sets of lineups and two defensive styles. Harten can play a large lineup and play a double tower system on the court. Homgren can play swing and switch defenses when playing center, and even use Caruso to play the center's mini five small. It can be said to be big or small, and it is flexible to switch defensive forms according to the opponent's lineup and style, which is extremely comprehensive.

The Thunder's defensive strength ensures the basic balance in the individual quality. There are many defensive players, including leader Alexander. While scoring the points, he can also average 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Dortmund, Wallace, and Caruso are top defenders. There are at least four big locks on the outside and double towers inside. This defense is terrifying to think carefully, and he can truly play a suffocating high-intensity game through defensive counterattacks.

The Thunder's first championship in history, Presti is the true greatest hero.

Thunder's 2012 and 2025 Finals were both created through the draft team model. In the past, there were Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka. Now the main rotation lineup includes 9 new players trained by themselves, including Homegren, Jaylen Williams, Wallace..

Ace Alexander comes from the George trade in 2019. The former rookie Alexander averaged only 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the Clippers. He has no superstar appearance and is just one of the biggest deals in George's.

Presti will get two cornerstone players, Alexander and Jaylen Williams, through the George trade, and there are also a lot of continuous resources for future drafts. It is no exaggeration to say that half of the Thunder's first championship will be attributed to George, and the decision-makers of all this are the Thunder godfather Presti.

Presti laid the main lineup for winning the championship through trades and drafts, and also introduced Harten to strengthen the center position. He traded Kiddy to exchange for Caruso. He was far-sighted in every operation and was undoubtedly the founder of the Thunder's long rotation mode winning the championship lineup.

Two finals in 2012 and 2025, two generations and two youth troops, two reconstructions and rises, the Thunder won the championship in just 17 years of history of founding the team. It is impossible to describe how unique and great Presti is.

Presti accelerated the championship process in the Thunder's history, and the long rotation system cultivated by his own draft has become the mainstream model of team building in today's era. We must pay tribute to this Thunder Youth Army. The average age of players playing in the division finals and finals is 25.6 years old, ace Alexander is 26 years old, second-in-command Jaylen Williams is 24 years old, and third-in-in-command Homgren is 23 years old. It can be foreseeable that in the next ten years, healthy Thunder will be active among the Western Conference strong teams.