NBA Western Conference Finals: Game 3

A night full of potential, a raucous sell out crowd and the two best teams in the league as of right now in a potentially decisive (for OKC at least) game 3. And it did not disappoint for 2 and half quarters. A lot to cover on this one but here we go.


OKC 102 - Spurs 82:

Scott Brooks  said pregame he planned to stick with what the Thunder had been doing, play and hard and attack the shooters. He claimed that no drastic changes were needed, which he needed to do so the young upstart team didn't get disheartened. However this was far from the truth as from the tipoff the Thunder went after this in a different manner from Game 2 especially.

Happy Slap TV!

OKC came flying out the blocks and raced to an 8-0 lead. They were causing havoc on the defensive end, switching defensive assignments and denying entry into the lane (as best possible) to disrupt the super efficient drive and kick game that Tony Parker had dissected them with in San Antonio. When Parker lined up for the high screen and roll at the top of the key instead of leaving Westbrook to fight through the screen and close him out alone, the Thunder big men hedged Parker away from driving the lane. This forced him into spots he was not accustomed to and passing the ball up to other teammates, taking the Spurs stalwart out of the rhythm generated in the previous two encounters. The Thunder bigs throughout were phenomenal, closing out the space for the Spurs ball-handlers, forcing them out of the flow of the vaunted Spurs offense or into isolation plays.

"Perkins, on the perimeter?!"

At one stage Perkins took it upon himself to close out Ginobli on the perimeter, challenging him to a duel at the top of the three point line and succeeding with a block and fastbreak alley-oop for the Thunder. Following this play and throughout the first half Perkins was having a back and forth with the courtside TNT crew, apparently unhappy with Game 2 comments regarding his lackluster defense. You tell'em Perk, show that hard man act you worked so hard on by starting on retired announcers, that will show the world you mean business.

Get used to this TP

Now in the ECF Game 2 we saw a monumental effort by Rondo to keep the Celtics close. Well in this game there was nothing quite of that stature but Sefolosha put in a series changing performance. His play has been something I called for previously to put on Parker as his length, defensive prowess and 3pt ability would cause problems for the Spurs. Well he finished with 19pts, 40%3pt and 6 steals and a blocked shot. He harassed Parker into 5 TO's and caused mayhem for the Spurs perimeter offense all night long. His presence was invaluable as he played almost double the minutes as Fisher and Harden was limited to "genuine" 6th man minutes at 26min. This allowed the Thunder to use him as a spark as appose to a constant threat, which gives OKC more options and less predictability.

 
The influence of Sefolosha was even more apparent as the Thunder went small with Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosha, Durant and (Perk/Ibaka or Collison). The length and athleticism allowed the Thunder to switch on all rotations and cause the Spurs to play isolation sets and play inside out through Duncan (who shot 5-15 in just 26min). Now TD missed some shots you can rely on him making but this strategy clearly worked for Scott Brooks as the fluidity of the Spurs offense evaporated and they were caused to go one on one with the Thunder. Considering I have already stated my belief that as individual players the Thunder are more talented this worked heavily against the Spurs as the team element that makes them so dangerous was no longer a factor.

TD seriously. Use Sure. Phew

Now although Westbrook had his least impressive statline of this series so far (10pts/9ast/7rbs/4stls/2blks) which is still pretty good, it was the way in which he ran the offense that made the difference. On one play he played a beautiful drive, got three Spurs defenders in the air and mid flight wrapped the ball around all of them into James Harden for the corner three (Rondo style). His offense was calm, collected and he encouraged from the offset and trickled down into the team throughout. The other Thunder man under the spotlight, Serge Ibaka (14pts/5-9FG), finally started to hit down those open jumpers as well which allowed for easier attacks at the rim for Durant and co.

Finally the referees finally had a presentable game for the first time in either conference final. Both teams went to the line 15 and 19 times respectively, while Fisher was the only representative in serious foul trouble (5 in 20 minutes, his defensive liability is shocking). They missed a goaltend on a Serge Ibaka block but they generally let these guys play, although they still called "soft" fouls (handcheck rule) but this is an NBA problem and not a series issue.

For game 4 we know Popovich will adjust. Perhaps give DeJaun Blair will see more time as he posted (10/6) in 9 minutes and brought a toughness to the team, ableit in garbage time. The Spurs will come back on Saturday, move the ball and bring new schemes to counter the Thunder. This is now on Scott Brooks to adjust again and not rely on the same formula to get the victory because that will not work. So even though the momentum is with OKC, Spurs streak got snapped and it was a blowout that the Spurs haven't suffered in months, the advantage still feels like its in San Antonio's camp and the Thunder are playing catchup. Game 4 could change this and with that crowd behind them again don't put it past OKC to take another one, but can they summon this sense of urgency again? That remains to be seen.

Prediction - OKC to win by 5.

Oh and congratulations to Timmy Duncan for becoming the ALL TIME leader in blocks in the playoffs. Just another medal on this HOF career.

Highlights above.