Paul George drew plenty of snark on July 1 upon his re-signing with the Thunder and subsequent “Unfinished business” Instagram post alongside Russell Westbrook. What unfinished business was George referring to? Was it a first-round loss to a rookie-led five seed? Or was it a 2–16 performance in an elimination game? The jokes came easy.
Last season was undoubtedly a disappointment for Oklahoma City. No team truly looked like a legitimate challenger to the Warriors entering 2017–18, but below the Bay Area behemoth there was no one directly in the Thunder’s way. There was (now undue) skepticism toward the Harden-Paul marriage in Houston, Portland’s ceiling appeared limited and the Thunder, by adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, finally possessed the necessary scoring punch to pair with OKC’s point guard.