Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was Sunday, and not only did it hold a number of surprises for both teams, it also ended up being just the 2nd Thunder loss in the last 10 games. We were witness to a 101-98 finish that wasn't that close in the 4th quarter, until the Thunder closed the gap in the last minute with 3 straight 3 pointers. A solid start for the Thunder in this one, I compared it to a boxing match where the underdog comes out and pops the favorite in the face real early on, and the favorite is a little stunned by the shot they just took. The first 3 quarters of the game played out pretty much just like that, with the Thunder eventually pulling away for a 9 point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter.
They did it with a ferocious focus on defense, with quick rotations and a dedicated effort to chase the Spurs off the 3 point line. OKC bodies were flying all around the court, and it really showed as the Spurs were a little out of sync early on, and the only real player in white and black to get it going was Manu Ginobili, who played the way that Ginobili can do when he's healthy. Duncan and Parker were mostly non factors, but the bad news for the Thunder was that so was James Harden, who had a statistically decent night, but finished the game by hitting back to back 3s to pad his stats, and didn't even ATTEMPT a single free throw. For a player who takes and makes a ton of foul shots, that's a bit of a disappointment. KD played well, in an efficient outing, but you could tell down the stretch in the 4th quarter that the Spurs were going to double him and force someone else to beat them in a tight game. The Thunder offensive execution fell apart in the 4th as well, and that 9 point lead evaporated over the course of a 6 minute span to start the final period. With Ginobili creating plays for himself, or getting easy hoops for the other Spurs, including role players like Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal (who both came off the pine and played well) the Spurs eventually pulled away from the stagnant Thunder players on the floor.
The game was impacted in large part in the last period by the Spurs bench, who have played well all year and even the recently acquired pieces like Boris Diaw (a 6'8" French player who has balled it up with TP before) and Stephen Jackson (on his 2nd stint with the Spurs) fit into the Spurs system almost as if they had been in San Antonio for years. The bench depth of the Spurs at key scoring positions is going to be a big difference this year I think for the Spurs, and could cause large problems for the Thunder bench. The OKC bench isn't terrible like the Lakers or Mavs bench was, but they do struggle to score, and when they aren't stopping the other team, it puts Scott Brooks in a tight spot by having to insert the starters sooner than he would probably have liked to on some nights. Guys like Collison, Nazr Mohammed, and Fisher are limited offensively, and even Daequan Cook is mostly a 3 point specialist and can't really create his own shot. By contrast, Diaw is a big body who handles like a point guard, can shoot all the way out to the 3 point line, and can rebound and finish down in the paint. Stephen Jackson (aka Captain Jack) has been the main weapon on a few other teams since he last left San Anton, and can put up numbers in a hurry and isn't afraid to take (or make) the big shot. This puts the OKC second unit at a disadvantage when they have to keep up the brisk offensive pace that the Spurs are going to likely want to set.
Game 2 is Tuesday - as always, #ThunderNationRISE
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