Dwyane Wade leaves Thunder out of his NBA Finals prediction

When the Oklahoma City Thunder had their smoldering start, winning 24 of their first 25 games, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they would return to the NBA Finals.

But while the Thunder still have the best record in the league at 45-15, they have looked rockier over the past few weeks, especially with the injuries to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.

Oklahoma City is eager to defend its championship, but for NBA legend Dwyane Wade, that will not happen, as he predicted on “The Zach Lowe Show” that the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons will face off in this year’s NBA Finals.

“I’ve watched the Spurs, I’ve done a few of their games. Even though I don’t feel like they’re supposed to be ready. They’re supposed to be a team in the next three years, but they just do things sometimes. You look at their roster, you look at their guys, with the right matchups, they’re going to be tough to beat,” said Wade.

The Thunder have lost thrice in four meetings with the Spurs this season, including in the semifinals of the NBA Cup, wherein San Antonio also snapped OKC’s 16-game winning streak.

As for the Pistons, Wade, who works as an analyst for NBC and Prime, said their depth will propel them to the ultimate round.

“I just watched Detroit the other night in New York without (Jalen) Duren and without (Isaiah) Stewart, and I didn’t see them miss a beat. I was like, ‘This team is deep.’ They know their style, they know their game, they know how to win. That’s tough when a team doesn’t have to figure it out,” explained the three-time champion.

The Thunder lost to the Pistons on Wednesday, although they were heavily depleted without Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Ajay Mitchell.

Oklahoma City will have another tough test on Friday versus the Denver Nuggets.

The post Dwyane Wade leaves Thunder out of his NBA Finals prediction appeared first on ClutchPoints.