Tonight the Thunder started off
clueless against the Spurs pick and roll game. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili
were successfully able to get to the rim all night because of the Spurs’ big
men relentlessly screening Russell Westbrook. He was left on an island all by
himself because Thunder big men did not want to leave Tim Duncan wide open down
in the post as a result of helping Westbrook. The Spurs started off dominating
the game even though Duncan had an awful performance on from the field. Duncan
was able to get open in the paint was either not able to make the shot or had
trouble getting a hold of the ball. Great ball movement from Parker and
Ginobili allowed Kawhi Leonard and other Spurs role players to get open
shots. The Spurs also played superior
defense in the first half as Durant was the only Thunder really able to get to
the rim with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Westbrook.
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| Splitter spent much time at the line due to the Hack-A- Splitter technique |
The Thunder on the other hand
really struggled to get the ball rolling at all during the game. They had no
real offense going throughout the game and most of their points coming from
their Big 3. Unable to run plays, the Thunder relied on one on one basketball
and fast break points for their offense. With the Spurs running all over the
Thunder the Thunder decided to go to the Hack-A-Splitter strategy. It worked a
little as Tiago Splitter struggled from the line. In the end it did not work as
well as planned because the Spurs were able to score with the clock stopped and
the Thunder failed to capitalize on offense.
Unless the Thunder can find some
sort of homecourt advantage the Spurs will most likely run all over them on
their way to the NBA Finals. What more can you expect from a team that seems to
have everything. They have a big 3 that is capable of rebounding, scoring, and
passing while also possessing a great depth of role players. This depth will
help them later on in the season as they will not get tired late in games. They
also have the most experience together of any of the teams left in the
playoffs, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan have been around since the end of the
David Robinson era. It will be interesting to see if the Heat or Celtics challenge
the Spurs in the Finals.
