Thabo Sefolosha emerging as the pillar of Oklahoma City Thunder’s defensive system – NBA Feature
On Tuesday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Oklahoma City Thunder made an astonishing comeback in the second half to stun the Miami Heat 105-94 in their first ever trip to the NBA Finals. They have been stream rolling
their way throughout the playoffs having knocked out the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers in the next and then the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, by winning the last four games.
Their performances have been highlighted by the NBA`s three time scoring champion, Kevin Durant who has been constantly leading the charge for Thunder.
The performances from Durant have consistently been on the rise in these playoffs. He averaged 26.5 points in the first round, 26.8 against the Lakers and upped the ante against the Spurs, especially in the last two games. He finished
that series with a scoring averaging 29.5 points. The league leader in scoring was not fazed at the mere fact of playing in his first ever NBA Finals game and came alive in the second half of the game.
On the other hand, Miami who reached the Finals for the second year running after a draining seven game series against the Boston Celtics had a great start to the game and led all the way till the mid-way point of the third quarter
when Thabo Sefolosha tied the game up with a reverse layup on an assist by Durant.
The game was dominated by OKC from that point on and they went on to take this one by a difference of 11 points. The scoring prowess of Durant and the almost triple double performance by Russell Westbrook, who put up 27 points
to go along with 11 assists and 8 rebounds, was emphatic to say the least, but that does not depict a clearer picture of how the Thunder got it done.
The Thunder have always been a free flowing scoring team and the astounding comeback in Game 1 is mere proof of that fact, but their offence was not the main factor in their come from behind win.
It was their work on the defensive end, instead. And the defense was carried by the man now branded as ‘Superlosha’.
Dwyane Wade`s 19 points in the game on a 7-of-19 shooting performance are not the kind of numbers that were expected from the ‘flash’ but the real credit to holding him down goes to Thabo Sefolosha who completely shut down Wade
for the first three quarters of the game. To top of his defensive performance, Thabo was given the responsibility of hounding the reigning league MVP LeBron James in the last 12 minutes and he was up to the task in every aspect of the game.
Holding down the two players who are responsible for 80% of the Miami offense was no easy task, but Sefolosha got it done and boy did he do it in style.
“I told myself I can do this,” Sefolosha said, “I’ve been doing this the whole year, and this is how I can help the team win,” he said. “This is what I’m here for.”
This was not the first time the Thunder coach, Scott Brooks gave Thabo the responsibility of guarding the opponent’s best scoring option. After not getting much playing time in the first two games against the Spurs, Thabo was given
the task of controlling down Tony Parker, the veteran Spurs point guard, who held the key to the mesmerizing San Antonio offence.
Thabo came out with flying colours in that series and has come out ready to face the Heat in the Finals.
“We love what Thabo does,” said Brooks after the Game-1 win. “He’s a tough-minded defender. He understands that he has to be able to guard every possession like it’s his last, and he does that.”
The next few games in this series will clearly lay out the picture for Miami who now would look to make their way back into the series as they take on OKC in Game 2 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday night.
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