Before I begin, I would like to say one thing first in regards to this post. I meant no disrespect to anybody but I also do not intend to mince my words either. The thing is this whether or not the San Antonio Spurs decided to tank the game I don't care! But what is certain is that they the Spurs did not show up at the Chesapeake Energy Arena at all! The game's result is a false hope to the Oklahoma City Thunders. If they are going to treat this game as what the Spurs have to offer at best, I would tell them STOP IT. But there are certain positives OKC can take home tonight, one for example is that they played great defense tonight.
First up, flow of the game? OKC went on a 8-0 run at the start of the game, Spurs manage to tie it shortly but as soon as that happened OKC just too the game over. End of story.
You are shock aren't you? Take a look at the replay for yourself, the moment the Spurs caught back up from the eight nothing run by the Thunders, it was all OKC.
The Spurs was so bad it isn't even worth mentioning. 21 TURNOVERS. I repeat 21 TURNOVERS. But that is not all all! The high pick and rolls or screens or plays were executed so poorly it led to so many turnovers. The passing was bad, it was really bad and perimeter defense was almost non-existent. You might be wondering, what I have describe doesn't sound like the Spurs, it sounded more like the Charlotte Bobcats! Alright I am over-exaggerating alittle over here but you get my point. Tony Parker was playing so poorly its no wonder he only played 28 minutes! Left somewhere in the third quarter and never returned. He was shooting 50 percent, 6-12 in shooting that's alright but the rest of the stats were just horrible. Parker only had 4 assist, and a massive 5 turnovers which is totally uncharacteristic of him. Daniel Green continued his shooting woes, going 1-3 in shooting. Manu Ginobili was 1-5 in shooting and had 4 turnovers. The list of people performing badly tonight for the Spurs just continue on and on and on. Well but I would like to say say this the only two players who felt like playing for the Spurs tonight, and who actually showed up were Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson. Though coming only in 5 for 15 in shooting, Duncan played with effort and gave his all (basketball is not all about scoring). He had 5 blocks at the defensive end to top it up. One reason or if not the only reason why this game didn't become a super blowout is because Stephen Jackson shot the ball well tonight. He was 6-7 in shooting, and convert 4 out of 5 times from downtown (three pointers). Stephen Jackson seemed like the only guy besides Duncan whom actually felt like playing. Though they were down 20 plus, he still gave his all, convert tough three pointers down the stretch.
Well you might be thinking, after reading what I have written so far, that OKC won only because the Spurs was having an off day. That is not what I am implying. The Oklahoma City Thunders played exceptionally well today. They got into their game going from the get go, played good solid defense and settled quickly into their accustomed transition basketball offense. They had 18 fast break points, a whopping 44 points in the paint and guess what! Only 8 turnovers! They passed the ball well tonight, all the extra passes gave them alot of wide open threes which unfortunately they failed to convert if not they would have win the game by at least 30 (I am NOT joking on this).
Thabo Sefolosha was outstanding tonight. Outstanding defense and quality production in the offensive end. Just look at this, 4 defensive rebounds, 6 steals, 1 block shot and only 1 personal foul. What an inspiring defensive performance by Sefolosha tonight.
And finally Kevin Durant was more aggressive and more assertive in this game! Way to go! Lets hope he keeps this up in Game 4, as OKC would really need it. He finally looked like something of a superstar he was expected to be. Though he only shot 17 times, I still hope he would shoot more by the way, he was facilitating the ball well in offense coming with 5 assist. He shot poorly from the three point line today though, coming in 0-4 from downtown.
And finally and i repeat FINALLY, Russel Westbrook shot lesser than Kevin Durant. He only shot the ball 15 times which is respectable, given that Westbrook is such an explosive player. A far cry from the outrages 24 shots he took in Game 2. But guess what he facilitated the offense well today with great ball passing, he raked up 9 assist! It is probably his best game in this series so far in terms of facilitating the ball and doing what a point guard should do.
Things I would still maintain my position at
1) James Harden should start. I don't understand why aren't OKC doing this yet! Take out Perkins and start James Harden!
2) Kendrick Perkins is useless in this series. I know early in the game he got this big defensive play or so and did a stare down to Reggie Miller and Co (commentators) because in the previous game the commentators said he was playing extremely poorly in the Game 2. By the way I support Reggie Miller and Co on this, Perkins was just terrible in Game 2. The fact is OKC have to go small in this series, they cannot afford to play Perkins the whole game or even majority of the game! It is as simple as that! No disrespect to Perkins's game but seriously he contributes very little if not none to this series at all. The OKC does not need him to produce at the offensive end that's one, secondly because he is slow when the Spurs start their high picks again OKC would be badly exposed! So again! He can do all the stare downs in the world, but it still does not change the fact that he is not productive in this series at all. If OKC manage to get past this round, he would then become of great use in the NBA finals facing either the Boston Celitcs or the Miami Heats.
3) I know I said the only way (one of the only way) for the Thunders to win is if all three in the name of Durant, Westbrook and Harden all shoot at least 60 to 65 percent. All three of them didn't shoot that high of a percentage or even close to 60 percent yet they still win. That is why I mention earlier in this article if OKC thinks that this is all that the Spurs got! They wrong! Dead wrong! One of the only reason why they shot this low in terms of percentage and yet win is because the Spurs was played poorly tonight, there is no denying that.
Conclusion
Once again, I would like to repeat myself, I meant no disrespect to any team in this series and neither do I intend to mince my words. Great game by OKC but again a badly played game by the Spurs. To be honest by the end of the second quarter or somewhere in the beginning of the third, I already knew this game would be blowout and actually struggled to continue watching the game to the end (which I eventually did of course).
Alright that's all for me! Bye~
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