OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder finally know when they’ll get to resume the NBA playoffs. Their next opponent is still up in the air.
The Thunder will have had eight full days off when they start the Western Conference semifinals on Monday night against either the Denver Nuggets or the Los Angeles Lakers. Those two teams play a decisive Game 7 on Saturday night.
During their long layoff, Oklahoma City’s players are trying to keep from getting rusty.
In NBA history, teams with eight days between playoff rounds have won their next series eight of 14 times, according to research by STATS LLC. Those teams had lost five out of seven before the Dallas Mavericks came off an eight-day break to beat Oklahoma City in last year’s West finals.