Spurs, 103 - Thunder, 109 - Reflections

K.D. races for the prize

In the infamous words of Kanye West, "It was all good just a week ago".  And the Spurs (and Spurs fans) were most certainly feeling themselves.  Well, not anymore.  All we can feel now is the floor dropping out from underneath us.  And this one really hurt.  It hurt because it was so eminently winnable.  That Game 3 loss was almost expected.  I don't think anyone really thought the Spurs could sweep the Thunder.  But drop one in OKC, before closing out the series in 5 in S.A.?  That seemed doable, likely even.  Now, all of a sudden, the Spurs are groping for answers, and it feels like we'll need a bit of luck to even win this series at all.

And this game was just so winnable.  Despite the Spurs' customary second quarter collapse, the game was very much within reach as late as the 4th quarter, thanks to the Thunder choking up a 15-point lead in the second half.  We had contained Russell Westbrook throughout the game, as has been the case all series.  Kevin Durant was only 2-4 for in the first half, for just 10 points.  The Thunder lead had been shrunk to 4 points.  It seemed we could escape OKC with at least one win despite another less-than-stellar performance from Tony Parker (12 points on 5-15 shooting).  Then, of course, as any sports fan with an internet connection or a television in America knows, that rascally bandit Kevin Durant did it again.

K.D. exploded in the 4th quarter, scoring 15 of the Thunder's finals 20 points, including 13 in a row at one point.  He ended the game with a scorching 36 points on 13 of 20 shooting, 26 of which were scored in the second half.  In addition, not content to hurt us with just his scoring, the Thunder's superstar also dished out 8 assists.  Many, many of those were timely passes to his big men, who were just excellent last night.  In fact, The Thunder frontline had perhaps their finest game of the playoffs. while the backcourt struggled (Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden and Derek Fisher were a combined 9-of-33 shooting).  Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, and Serge Ibaka fed off the passing of Durant in the first half, combining for 33 points on 15-of-18 shooting.  And Ibaka, Ibaka.  The big man from the Congo quite literally had a perfect game, shooting 11 for 11 to score 26 points.  Quite uncharacteristically for the normal close range specialist Ibaka, many of those points were scored on jump shots in the 15-foot range.  Perkins and Collison were both quite accurate with that shot in Game 3 as well.  Of course, this was made less challenging by the amount of airspace that the Spurs frontcourt defenders afforded them.  Tim Duncan and co. challenged the Thunder big men to make that shot all night and they complied quite willingly.

But clearly, Durant will be the talk of this game, and rightfully so.  Watching Durant carve up our helpless defense was an awesome sight, and unfortunately a not altogether unfamiliar one for Spurs fans.  Durant is in a rare class as a scorer in this league: the player so preternaturally gifted offensively that, when he is going, can essentially score whenever he wants from wherever he wants with seeming ease, regardless of how he is defended.  The man was simply built to score.  As a Spurs fan, I've witnessed Dirk Nowitzki go off in similar fashion countless times.  Last year, our playoffs ended in part because Zach Randolph (who, admittedly, lacks the range of long distance bombers like Dirk and K.D. but is a scoring machine nonetheless) had an extended run of games just like this against us.  When a player that good gets into that kind of zone, there is simply nothing you can do.  Kawhi Leonard, who has been truly impressive during this series, did about as good a job on Durant as anyone could, short perhaps of an indestructible robot designed specifically for the purpose of guarding Kevin Durant.  In regards to the nights that Durant and Ibaka had, there isn't much we can do other than simply hope it doesn't happen again.

What we can do (or hope to do) is fix our broken offense.  It is quite clear to me that we cannot stop the Oklahoma City Thunder.  They are simply too deep and too talented, and the Spurs too limited defensively (I'm looking at you, Tiago Splitter),  although we have done an admirable job on Westbrook in this series, holding him to around 15 points per game on roughly 32% shooting.  But then again, I'm not sure how much of that is the Spurs doing, and how much is simply the mercurial guard going through a bit of a cold streak (oh God, if that is the case I hope it continues).  Anyway, we have to outscore the Thunder to beat them, which is exactly what we did in the first two games of the series.  But how can we get back to that?  The key lies in our two ball handlers and creators, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  

The Spurs free flowing offense has had a wrench thrown into it by OKC.  They stuck Sefolosha on Parker.  They are switching pick and rolls, and making life difficult for our big man screeners, particularly Splitter.  The Thunder have been so disciplined defensively these last two games.  They aren't scrambling, and thus the Spurs can't take advantage of rotations the way they have all year.  The clear response is that we have to go to isolation basketball.  We do, after all, have two players who presumably excel at it in Parker and Ginobili.  Ginobili in particular must be more aggressive in attacking the basket and attempting to create his own offense.  He is our Kevin Durant (not at all in terms of their style of play, but simply in the fact that he can take over a game offensively, and be the straw that the stirs the drink, so to speak, for the entire Spurs offense).  Ginobili was solid in Game 4 (despite fouling out? how often does that happen for him?), but our team is struggling now, and this is when our stars should take over, despite the Spurs usual team-first approach.  That's what Durant did in Game 3, and look where it got the Thunder.  Thus, I'm sorry Manu, but 7 shots simply isn't going to cut it, though you were your usual efficient self with 57% shooting.  Anyway, if those two (Parker and Ginobili) can beat their man off the dribble, get into the paint and draw the defense in a bit, guys like Danny Green (completely M.I.A. recently), Matt Bonner, and Gary Neal can get the open 3-point looks that they are accustomed to and simply have not been getting the last two games as the Thunder perimeter defenders have been able to stay home on them all game long.

Lastly, I will address Blairgate.  Dejuan Blair, who has been little more than an expensive bench ornament in these playoffs, made a cameo at the end of the Game 3 blowout, and made some waves with his energy and hustle, as he is wont to do.  He popped in again in Game 4, and contributed to a big Spurs run in the 3rd quarter.  He also seemed to flummox the Thunder a bit in the pick and roll, and was his general active, disruptive self all over the court.  All this, coupled with Splitter's relative (OK, total) lack of effectiveness in this series has some calling for Coach Pop to dust off Blair and give him some meaningful minutes in Game 5.  I agree that Blair has earned himself some more minutes, but I don't think it will be a cure all in this situation.  After all, plugging Blair in for Splitter and Bonner solves some problems, but it opens up just as many.  Blair still can't rebound (defensive rebounds), still is undersized, still can't stretch the floor.  I think that, thinking not just about this series but the Finals as well (should we get there), Splitter is our best option at the 4.  Ideally, Splitter would just play better.  I think he can do the things Blair does, albeit with perhaps 75% the effectiveness. But that should be good enough, given the myriad things he can do that Blair can't (be tall).  And cutting his minutes would only serve to hinder his confidence, something that seems to be an issue with the big man to begin with.  Tiago is key; we need him, and we need him to play better.  So give him a chance people!

Now, all eyes turn to Game 5.  Hopefully some home cooking will be enough to get the Spurs back on track.