It\u2019s all about beating the Thunder this NBA season.<\/p>\n
And after what we witnessed on the heavyweight Christmas Day schedule, at least five teams have to feel better about their chances.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at Thursday\u2019s five winners and what it\u2019ll take \u2013 if it\u2019s even possible \u2013 to be considered a serious threat to dethrone the defending champions.<\/a><\/p>\n They\u2019ll have a chance to beat the Thunder if \u2026 The Eastern Conference continues to offer a much less taxing path to the Finals. We saw the energetic Pacers, having benefitted from injuries to Damian Lillard, Darius Garland and Jayson Tatum along the way, nearly take down the Thunder in last year\u2019s championship series. So why not the Knicks? They\u2019d love to follow the Warriors\u2019 path to an improbable title in 2015, which was built on the foundation of a defense emphasized by Mark Jackson, then given an offensive implant when the coach was fired and replaced by Steve Kerr.<\/p>\n Key player: Jordan Clarkson.<\/strong> Thursday’s winners averaged 126 points. Let\u2019s face it: Good offense is beating good defense this season, just as the NBA rules-tinkerers have wanted. So why wouldn\u2019t that be the case in the playoffs as well? New coach Mike Brown is given credit for supercharging the New York offense this season. He might be the skipper, but Clarkson is driving the speedboat. The Knicks are 11-2 when he\u2019s scored 11 or more points this season. And when he\u2019s scored 25, like he did Thursday against the Cavaliers? 1-0. And he’s just warming up.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll have a chance to beat the Thunder if \u2026 Based on what we\u2019ve shockingly witnessed this week, perhaps a better supposition would consider the Thunder\u2019s chances of beating the Spurs. So much for all the blather about dynasties and record-setting win totals.\u00a0<\/p>\n All of a sudden, they’re talking LOSING STREAK in the heartland. All because the basketball world now realizes \u2013 if they didn\u2019t before \u2013 that Gregg Popovich is the premier roster-builder. Yes, even better than old pal Sam Presti. The Thunder might have gotten surprised Tuesday in San Antonio, but they got embarrassed Thursday in Oklahoma. The Spurs, brilliantly pieced together by Pop and now coached by his hand-picked replacement, are for real.<\/p>\n Key player: De\u2019Aaron Fox.<\/strong> The Spurs match up well with the Thunder. Stephon Castle is as capable as anyone of slowing down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and with Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs will always have the best big man on the court<\/a>. That should keep San Antonio in most games, setting the stage for Fox, one of the clutchest performers today\u2019s game has to offer. The fact that he hasn\u2019t spent 47 minutes chasing around SGA would help keep those shots falling, even on a totally unfamiliar center stage fit for kings, not Kings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They\u2019ll have a chance to beat the Thunder if \u2026 OK, it ain\u2019t going to happen. The NBA has more athletes these days than at any time in their history. And the Warriors have the fewest since the Pittsburgh Ironmen trotted out five plumbers in the 1940s.\u00a0<\/p>\n Short of adding Giannis, Golden State won\u2019t be squeezing another banner into the rafters this season. But trading Jonathan Kuminga for a defensive-minded tag-team partner for De\u2019Anthony Melton to suffocate SGA would help. The question is: Which rebuilding team would give up a Jrue Holiday, Matisse Thybulle, Grayson Allen or \u2013 dare we say? \u2013 Dillon Brooks for a chance to light a fire under Kuminga?<\/p>\n Key player: Al Horford.<\/strong> The veteran admitted this week he\u2019s been embarrassingly bad this season. Maybe that\u2019s a good thing. If it inspires him to rattle off 3-pointers like he did Thursday and guard the big guys Draymond Green no longer wants to deal with, the Warriors will be able to put the league’s most feared foursome of winners on the floor at the end of close games. And those 17 games Horford has already missed? The Warriors would gladly trade in 17 more to have Christmas Al show up again right around St. Patrick\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll have a chance to beat the Thunder if \u2026 The calendar flips to 2027 next week instead of 2026. Because as innovative, versatile and entertaining as the Rockets are, they\u2019re still a year away from figuring out what\u2019s likely to continue to work and what\u2019s been successful only because opponents aren\u2019t familiar with what they\u2019re seeing. Still, Houston\u2019s oversized lineup is a force to be reckoned with. And while the Thunder can go Twin Towers with the best of them, the Rockets can go Quad Khalifa and make you disappear. Like Luka and LeBron did Thursday.<\/p>\n Key player: Kevin Durant.<\/strong> Well, duh. OK, but not for the reasons you might think. At age 37, Durant should be guarding slower power forwards and shooting over undersized small forwards. Instead, he\u2019s stuck with dealing with guys like Luka because the Rockets almost always have two bigger guys on the court, and he\u2019s tasked with playing point guard at the other end because, well, Houston really doesn\u2019t have any of those. Can he keep it up for 82 games? Probably not. But would you trust him on the big stage to handle both critical assignments? I think we all saw the answer to that.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll have a chance to beat the Thunder if \u2026 The refs get the memo.\u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what Anthony Edwards said to get ejected from what turned into the showcase\u2019s main event, but I\u2019m guessing it was something along the lines of: \u201cThey\u2019re chanting \u2018MVP! MVP!\u2019 for Jokic<\/a>, but I\u2019m the guy who put up 40 playing 5-on-8.\u201d No doubt, the NBA would love to see a Thunder-Nuggets rematch in the playoffs, but that probably would take a Denver win over San Antonio in the Western semifinals. Having given it a dry run Thursday, Adam Silver is fine-tuning his instructions to Scott Foster as we speak.<\/p>\n Key player: Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/strong> You were expecting someone else? Obviously, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray would have to come up huge for the Nuggets to beat the Spurs, let alone the Thunder. But like the Knicks, the headliners are going to need help at some point, and Denver\u2019s depth is better than ever. With Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson out, it’s shocking Denver can beat anybody. But those were the old Nuggets.\u00a0<\/p>\n This new Hardaway-led band of backups is getting an opportunity to introduce themselves to the big boys, and are doing so while demonstrating they won\u2019t melt under the bright lights alongside their superstar mates. That experience can only help down the line.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\nNew York Knicks<\/h3>\n
San Antonio Spurs<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
Dec 23, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots while being fouled by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams (34) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Golden State Warriors<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
Dec 22, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates a three point basket against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Houston Rockets<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
Dec 20, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Denver Nuggets<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
Dec 25, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n