Over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s past six games, the team has went 5-1 with the only loss coming at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.

What’s even more amazing is how the Thunder have went about with their business over that stretch, and that is by setting the tone early with pure grit and hustle.

Furthermore, it goes to show how big an acquisition Taj Gibson is for GM Sam Presti as the former Chicago Bulls bruiser have infected his teammates with tenacity and toughness while providing veteran leadership on and off the floor.

A testament to how the Thunder have dictated the game atmosphere early is by way of the starting unit’s offensive rebounding percentage since March 11.

The team next to them is Utah at 30%. However, the Jazz are still miles away from Oklahoma City’s rate. The lineup featured here is that of Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, Taj Gibson, Andre Roberson, and Steven Adams — all of whom are known to be the aggressive type.

This is the kind of energy Oklahoma City would like to carry over to the playoffs as there’s no question that they will be at a disadvantage in terms of personnel. But they can very well make up for it with heart.