The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to sweep the Memphis Grizzlies and advance to the second round for consecutive seasons. In addition, this marked back-to-back sweeps in the first round for the Thunder. However, despite the sweep, the Thunder didn’t play their best in the series. Outside of the first two games, in which the Thunder won by a combined 70 points, the Thunder struggled despite winning. In Game 3, they got down by 29 points and had to play perfect basketball in the second half to win. Then, in Game 4, they shot 7 for 35 from three-point range, which correlates to 20%, and had to win a scrappy game against the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies. Let’s dive into the three improvements the Thunder must make in the second round. 3 Improvements The Thunder Can Make for the Second Round The Thunder Must Shoot Better From Three Last season, the Thunder led the NBA in three-point percentage, and this year they were seventh in the regular season. However, the big reason why the Thunder lost in the playoffs last year was their inability to knock down three-point shots. This year has been no different, as they are shooting 31.3% from three, which ranks 14th out of the 16 teams in the playoffs. This is not good enough, especially for the Thunder, who have championship aspirations this year. However, they are still generating good looks and are getting more open threes than they had a year ago; they are just not falling. The Thunder don’t have too many elite shooters on their team, but they are filled with above-average shooters. OKC has gone 13 deep in the playoffs, but out of the nine main rotational players, only three of them are shooting above 35% from three. Those players are Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso. The Thunder’s other three-point shooters, Aaron Wiggins, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Jalen Williams, have all struggled to make shots. If the Thunder wants to avoid another elimination in the second round, these players need to start hitting their shots more consistently. Getting off to a Better Start in the First Quarter Another improvement they need to make is getting off to a better start, especially in the first quarter. Even though the Thunder won three of the four first quarters in their series against Memphis, they were sluggish to start. Either their offense was slow to begin the game, or their defense was sluggish to start the game. In Game 1, they won the quarter 32-20; however, it was 17-21 with just a little over two minutes in the quarter, and the Thunder hit three consecutive threes to give them that 12-point cushion. The only first quarter they lost was Game 3, 29-40, when nothing went the Thunder’s way in the first half of that game. Despite the early first quarter struggles from the Thunder, they still were able to find ways to win in all four of their games against Memphis. However, in the next round, whether they play the Nuggets or Clippers, they will have to be better in the first quarter. In the playoffs, the first three quarters don’t matter too much, it is the fourth quarter that is the most important. As long as you are within striking distance entering the fourth quarter, you have a shot to win. The Nuggets and Clippers both have more experience in the playoffs than the Thunder, but if OKC can create a good cushion in the first quarter, this will help them in the fourth quarter against a more experienced team. SGA Must be Better Finally, the last improvement is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has to be better in the second round. Gilgeous-Alexander had one of the best seasons in NBA history this year, which is why he is the front-runner to win his first MVP. However, in the first round, he was still able to score, just not at the usual efficiency he plays at. In the four games, he averaged 27.8 points while shooting 40.2% from the field and 25.0% from three. This is far off from his season average of 32.7 points while shooting 51.9% from the field and 37.5% from three. Despite Shai’s struggles in this series, the Thunder still found ways to win. Last season in the playoffs, Gilgeous-Alexander was brilliant and the only one who showed up in the Mavericks series. This year so far, it looks like he will be getting more help, especially from Jalen Williams and Holmgren. While the Thunder got by in the first with SGA struggling, that won’t be the case in a series against the Clippers or Nuggets. If the Thunder wants to advance to the Western Conference Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander will have to start playing like an MVP again, while getting the same level of play from Jalen and Chet. The Last Word The Thunder had one of the best regular seasons of all time and seemed like the best team in the NBA. However, in the first round, the Thunder played better than last year but showed some flashes of what led to their playoff exit a year ago. If OKC wants to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016, they will have to be much better in the second round. Regardless of who OKC plays, between the Nuggets and the Clippers, they will have to do the three things listed above better, or it could be another second-round exit.