I think there is a general consensus that if the Thunder want to beat the Warriors they are going to need to dominate the glass in much the same way they did in the Spurs series. It’s a skill that isn’t available on most teams, and will require concerted effort from the Warriors to stop. On paper, it would appear they do not have the tools to defend against aggressive offensive rebounding. The Warriors love their perfected small ball approach. The Thunder beat an historically good Spurs team with their perfected version of tall ball. It’s a stark contrast in styles and will be a battle to see which team can assert their will on the other. If the Warriors can break free and start taking endless uncontested threes, no way can the Thunder continue rolling with 2 paint based bigs. If the Thunder are afforded the opportunity of a second shot every time they miss the Warriors will be forced to keep Bogut and Ezeli or even Verejao in the game much longer than they would like.
Well, they did it. The Thunder upset the 67 win San Antonio Spurs after losing game one of the series in a blowout worthy of this year's Lakers. The Spurs are now the second team ever with an SRS of 10 or above to not win a championship along with Milwaukee is 71-72. The reward for the Thunder however is a matchup with yet another 10+ SRS team. By SRS the Warriors and Spurs are the 6th and 7th best regular season teams in the history of the NBA. The Thunder are having to face both just to get to the finals! What a year.
Anyway over the course of the weekend I hope to put up several posts previewing the series by looking back at some of this year's matchups. I'm looking for things that can be gleaned from how we approached those contests and compare to what has been done so far in the playoffs. Without further ado, part 1! What a game. With everything on the line both team's came out and battled like Titans. There was no fear of tomorrow's fatigue, no hesitancy and no shying from the stage. In a game that saw both teams lead by double figures at one point or another it's hard to imagine a closer contest. This is playoff basketball at it's finest.
Let's dive into a few noteworthy plays. |
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