The Thunder have established themselves as favorites

The second heavyweight clash between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two best teams in the NBA this season, was over early in the second quarter. The Thunder went on a 28-2 run to take a 26-point lead over the Cavs and the game was never close. Oklahoma City won 134-114, blowing out Cleveland at home after the Cavaliers won the first matchup last week 129-122.

The two teams now have matching records of 34-6 and are well on their way to being the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences. However, Oklahoma City has something Cleveland does not. The frontrunner for NBA MVP.

10 minutes of SGA going 1-on-1...

BUCKLE UP!

Shai (31.4 PPG) leads the 33-6 Thunder into The Rematch vs. CLE tonight🍿 pic.twitter.com/6WoDZjetWL
— NBA (@NBA) January 16, 2025

Thursday night against Cleveland, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cemented his status as the favorite for MVP. SGA, as he's commonly known, shot 17-for-26, scoring 40 points and adding eight assists in the win. He's now averaging 31.6 points, six assists and 5.4 rebounds per game this season. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, SGA has odds of -330 to be awarded MVP.

Having an MVP favorite and the top record in the NBA is a recipe for playoff success. The Thunder have won 13 of their last 14 games but are still behind the Boston Celtics, who the Thunder beat by 13 points last Sunday, in terms of odds to win the NBA Finals. Boston has been in a slump recently, posting an 8-7 record in their last 15 games. In comparison, the Thunder are 14-1 in their last 15 non-NBA Cup games.

A season ago, the Thunder were eliminated in the semifinals by the Dallas Mavericks, and now a more experienced Thunder team takes the court every night. Their defense has improved significantly since last year. OKC leads the league in points allowed per 100 possessions, 102, a big drop from last year when they were allowing 110. They create a lot of turnovers, forcing 21 from Cleveland on Thursday and they were +23 in points off turnovers.

Both the Thunder's offense and defense have improved from a season ago, when they captured the one seed in the West. This year, with experience under their belt and the best record in the NBA, they seem poised to make a run at a championship and should be the favorites to do so.