Oklahoma City Thunder looking to be more physical in game 3 against the San Antonio Spurs – NBA Preview
The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the San Antonio Spurs in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals Thursday night.
The Thunder are down 0-2 after losing the first two games in San Antonio, and are looking to become only the 15th team in NBA history to climb back from a 2-0 deficit and win the series. But, it is going to be one tough
task.
The San Antonio Spurs are playing like a team that is as near to perfect as any team can be. They have won the last 20 games stretching back into the regular season and have not lost a game in the post season this season.
The Spurs seemed in a bit of trouble in game 1 when they were trailing the Thunder in the 2nd half. But they came back strong with a 39 point fourth quarter to blow past the Thunder before they could realize what hit
them. Game 2 saw the return of the dominant Spurs as they led most of the match, and made life difficult for them.
The Spurs are shooting 63% from the paint in this series so far. In game 2, they shot 55% from the field. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have been wrecking havoc, particularly in the paint area. Tony Parker had 34 points and 8 assists
shooting 16 of 21 in game 2, and Ginobili added 20 points from the bench. The Spurs seemed to be penetrating at will, and the Thunder defence were lost as to how to cover the white shirts.
The Spurs have great shooters in their team which allows them to spread the floor on offense and creates opportunities for penetration and easy lay ins. However, if Parker and/or Ginobili are contained, the role players are not
capable of carrying the team on themselves against a team like the Thunder.
Also, the Thunder Big men in Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka have not made any significant contribution so far in the series. With Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden handling the scoring, Ibaka and Perkins need to
step up on the defense and contest the Spurs spurting guards in Parker and Ginobili.
Both Ibaka and Perkins have not been in foul trouble so far in the series so they have a few fouls to give.
Also, they are not rebounding well, particularly on the offensive glass. In game 2, Ibaka had 10 rebounds and Perkins had only 5. The Thunder as a team had 40 rebounds in game 2, one less than the Spurs despite their size advantage.
Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw combined to grab 17 rebounds, 2 more than Ibaka and Perkins combined.
The one positive thing the Thunder can look to ahead of game 3 is their resurgence late in the game, which led to the Thunder coming within 6 of the Spurs in the final minutes of the game.
However, the Thunder cannot afford to be trailing to a team like the Spurs in the final period because they are great finishers owing to their experience.
The Thunder believe they played more aggressive and physical in that last stretch that brought them to within 6, and are looking to play like that the rest of the series.
"We're a physical team. We have to play that. If we play free-flowing basketball, we can beat some teams but we're not at our best if we're not being physical on the defensive end. Even on offense, we're a physical team” said Thunder
coach Scott Brooks on Wednesday.
"They started to attack, attack, attack - put your head down and try to draw fouls - and it worked for them in that fourth quarter. And defensively they were everywhere. I don't know if we got a little tired or we kind of stopped
playing a little, but they were successful in doing what they wanted in the fourth” said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili referring to Thunder’s play in the 4th quarter of game 2.
The Spurs have so far looked dominant in the playoffs and the first two games of this series. But, they have not yet played in Oklahoma City and the Thunder are a great team in home games.
Game 3 is critical for them to shift the momentum towards their side and give them a chance of prolonging the series.
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