.png){kind=small}
Spurs Pound Thunder
San Antonio –The Oklahoma City Thunder were throttled on Saturday night by the San Antonio Spurs 124-92 at the A.T. & T Center in San Antonio.
The elegance of sound basketball was the reason—and this is a staple coach Greg Popovich has implemented for years—but this time the logistics of this well-oiled machine are so much more fun to watch than prior years.
The following are three reasons why the Spurs annihilated the Thunder, which includes the stars, depth and the defense: the three essentials a team needs to win a championship.
Stars:
Last year the San Antonio Spurs acquired LaMarcus Aldridge and David West via free-agency, moves that potentially could put the Spurs over the top, again.
After exceptional production all year, Aldridge came out like a man possessed, hitting wide open 18-footers, reverse pivots in post-ups, sound pump fakes ending in layups and even fade-away jump shots, which are actually all shots Aldridge has had since his playing days in Portland. Aldridge amassed 38 points, six rebounds and one assist.
By the way, let’s not forget the brilliance of Kawhi Leonard, who was scoring and playing lockdown defense. While Leonard totaled 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, the real show was at the other end of the floor, where he dominated his help defensive duties, and he was the main culprit in holding Russell Westbrook to a measly 14 points off of 5-of-19 shooting. Leonard has cat-like reflexes built with extremely huge hands, and, if you combine that with his supreme athleticism, this equates to Leonard being a hell of a defensive player.
Depth:
Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, the three players who led the Spurs to their championships in the 2000s, combined for 16 total points. Where did the other production come from?
The entire Spurs team contributed, scoring 124 points overall. But more importantly, when the others of the Spurs checked in off the bench, including Patty Mills and Boris Diaw, the flow of the game never missed a beat. Yes the stars shined, but everybody on that team had good to great shots, and that’s because of the crispiness of the ball movement preached by all-time great Greg Popovich. Danny Green, who is an exceptional defender, scored 18 points and stroked five three-pointers because of the extra pass made at the perimeter. In San Antonio, the ball never sticks, unless there is a favorable matchup.
Defense:
The quality of shots the Spurs took was sensational. LaMarcus Aldridge may have contributed 38 points, but his shots were wide open because of the thoroughness of the pick-and-roll and penetration in general. The Spurs were able to capitalize off of anything, including transition shots and half-court shots.
The Thunder did a poor job in communicating and switching on the pick-and-roll, as well as running out to contest the Spurs three-point shooting.
Moreover, when Russell Westbrook used his speed to get to the rim, he oftentimes didn’t finish in the lane, and that’s because the Spurs have agile, tall help defenders, who cause problems in the lane.
When the Thunder tried to get out and run, Pop commandeered his team to foul before the break could even start. Pop makes the opponent play a half-court game. And without even sifting through the crazed +/- stats, which are just horrible to look at, the Spurs were getting wide open shots, and the Thunder were taking contested shots.
For game 2, the Thunder need to guard the pick-and-roll better, and the ball needs to move a little more. Hero ball doesn’t work against the Spurs. Digging a little bit deeper, the Thunder bench also needs to play more efficiently, just as the Spurs bench did.
Comments