The Thunder’s next opponent might be easier to score against than New Orleans.

Oklahoma City’s first-round series was a slugfest, but that could change the next time they step on the floor.

The Thunder swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round to win their first playoff series since 2016. Despite the Thunder finishing with a top-five offense and defense, the series tilted heavily toward defense.

With the Pelicans never scoring more than 92 and failing to reach the 90-point mark in New Orleans, the first round featured some of the lowest-scoring affairs for the Thunder this season. Along with playing great defense against the Pelicans, the Thunder were facing an elite defense.

After failing to reach 100 points in the regular season only three times and winning only twice when scoring 106 or fewer, Oklahoma City finished below triple digits twice against New Orleans, which had the seventh-best defense this season. Although Oklahoma City does not know its second-round opponent yet, the team could have an easier time scoring against the LA Clippers or Dallas Mavericks.

In the regular season, the Clippers and Mavericks finished 18th and 17th in defensive rating. The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers were the only playoff teams to finish with worse defenses.

Beyond the defensive inconsistencies of those teams, those rankings favor the Thunder historically. In the past five seasons, only one team ranked 17th or lower in defensive rating has made the conference finals.