Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Maverick and Oklahoma City Thunder getting physical
This year’s Western Conference Finals have been about two players so far, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant. While it was Dirk, who put on a shooting show in the game-1 to land a victory for the Dallas Mavericks, Durant was the man who carried the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder to a victory in game-2. After game-2, the talk in both the camps was about how to put a leash on their opponents’ aces.
And eventually the level of physical play rose in game-3.
Although OKC lost the game-3 on Saturday night, but getting physical almost helped them rise from a 23-point deficit. It was Thunder’s forward Nick Collison, who set the tone. Collison followed Nowitzki like a shadow. He didn’t miss a single chance to bump and swat at Nowitzki whenever he got the ball at the key. This aggression from Collison restricted Nowitzki to just 18-point performance on 7-of- 21 shooting.
Nowitzki, who was pretty consistent in reaching the line in earlier games, failed to do so against Collison and shot just three from the paint. This play from Collison helped OKC in whittling down the Mavs lead.
Collison was so impressive that the Mavs coach Rick Carlisle also turned his head and took notice. He praised Collision’s defence on the night and called him as one of the best post defenders of the league. However, at the same time, Carlisle questioned his extra aggressive approach, which according to him was beyond legal limits. This was perhaps Carlisle’s delicate way to deliver the NBA brass a message that his player was abused.
It’s not for sure that Carlisle’s statement is going to help Nowitzki earn more respect from the officials, but what is for sure is that Collision’s belligerent style is playing on the minds of Dallas.
The physical play was not a one way traffic as the Thunder also received their share of bumps from the Mavs during game-3, or perhaps they made it look like it. During the third quarter of the game, Mavs centre Tyson Chandler was whistled for a technical when he it appeared that he grazed James Harden’s face with his elbow. However, upon review by the league, Tyson’s elbow hit was deemed as inadvertent and his technical was lifted.
Harden was not the only one being hounded by the Mavs. The Dallas backcourt, especially Tyson Chandler and Brendon Haywood hounded Durant throughout the game and often caught him off guard with their aggressive play. Dallas’s aggressive and upbeat play was so pronounced that did not let the Thunder convert a single three pointer till the last two minutes of the game. The Mavs did not allow OKC score on their first 16 three point attempts on Saturday.
Dallas won the game-3 and may be favourites to snatch the series, but their weakness against a shored up and aggressive defence has been exposed in game-3. It is something that both their potential NBA finals opponents from the Eastern Conference thrive upon. They surely have some thinking to do. As for OKC, they were successful in squeezing the life out of Nowitzki in game-3. If they are to have any chance to topple the mighty Mavs, they should tread on the same line in the games to follow.
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