Thunder make noise
Golden State forward Draymond Green said after the Warriors lost Game 1 to Oklahoma City in the NBA Western Conference best-of-7 Finals at the Oracle Arena last Tuesday morning (Manila time), that the Dubs are desperate to win Game 2 but qualified they’re not panicking. Green pointed out that there’s a difference between desperation and panic.
Game 2 is set this morning (Manila time) at the Oracle Arena where the Warriors lost only twice (to Boston and Minnesota) in the regular season. The losses to the Celtics and Timberwolves came in the Dubs’ last seven games. Golden State’s home record was 39-2.
The setback to OKC was a shocker. It was the Warriors’ first defeat at home in the post-season and coach Steve Kerr’s first loss in a Game 1 of seven playoff series. Last year was Kerr’s first on the Warriors bench and he took the Dubs all the way to the throne with a 16-5 playoff record, broken down into 9-2 at home and 6-3 on the road. Golden State came back from 1-2 series deficits to beat Memphis, 4-2, in the second round and Cleveland, 4-2, in the Finals so the title run wasn’t a cakewalk.
This past regular season, Golden State posted an incredible 73-9 record, the best ever by a franchise in NBA history. In the playoffs, the Warriors breezed to an 8-2 record before dropping Game 1 to the Thunder. Golden State is now 6-1 at home and 2-2 on the road in the playoffs while OKC is 4-2 at home and an eye-popping 5-1 on the road. The Thunder defeated Dallas twice on the Mavs homecourt and San Antonio twice at the AT&T Center. OKC lost twice to Golden State on the road and once at home in the regular season, failing to beat the Warriors in three tries.
**** In Game 1, OKC went with a big lineup and Golden State couldn’t crack it playing small. At the half, the Warriors were on top, 60-47, as Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was 1-of-8 from the floor and had only three points. In the third period, Westbrook came alive with a playoff quarter record 19 points. With no inside threat from the Warriors, OKC extended its defense out to the perimeter and alternated Westbrook and Andre Roberson in sticking to Steph Curry. Golden State hit 10-of-20 triples in the first three periods but was only 1-of-10 in the fourth where OKC turned things around.
Kerr stuck with 6-7 Green playing the five position against 7-0 Steven Adams. OKC coach Billy Donovan paired Adams with 6-11 Enes Kanter or 6-10 Serge Ibaka so the Thunder frontline was huge. Add 6-9 wingman Kevin Durant to the mix and OKC clearly had a size advantage. Adams, Kanter and Durant grabbed a combined 11 boards in the payoff period. For the game, OKC outrebounded Golden State, 52-44, and had more second chance points, 15-2. Adams finished with 12 rebounds and Ibaka, 11.
Kerr’s small lineup of Green, 6-8 Harrison Barnes, 6-6 Andre Igoudala, 6-7 Klay Thompson and 6-3 Curry tried to outwork OKC down the stretch but the Thunder was just too big to be swept aside. In Game 2, Kerr might want to employ 7-0 Andrew Bogut, 6-10 Mo Buckets Speights and 6-11 Festus Ezeli a little bit more to offset OKC’s size edge.
OKC’s rookie coach Billy Donovan hardly tinkered with the Thunder roster this season, retaining the nucleus of 10 while bringing in Randy Foye from Denver and 38-year-old veteran Nazr Mohammed from retirement. Gone from last season’s cast are D. J. Augustin, Reggie Jackson, Sebastian Telfair, Steve Novak, Jeremy Lamb, Lance Thomas, Perry Jones, Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett and Ish Smith. From the draft came rookies Cameron Payne and Josh Heustis.
**** OKC traces its roots to Seattle. Durant started his NBA career with the Sonics in 2008-09 then the franchise moved to Oklahoma City the next season when Westbrook came on board. In the last six seasons, OKC has advanced to four Western Conference Finals. In 2011-12, the Thunder went to the Last Dance and lost to Miami, 4-1, prompting the transfer of James Harden to Houston. The Thunder is now on its eighth season at Oklahoma City and the goal isn’t just to return to the Finals but also to claim the crown. In 2012, LeBron James and the Heat victimized OKC at the Last Dance and if OKC makes it back to the Finals this season, the King will likely reprise his role as spoiler.
NBA legend and TV commentator Charles Barkley noticed how OKC imposed its size on Golden State in the fourth period and called on Kerr to deploy his bigs in Game 2 if the Warriors hope to tie the series. Barkley often speaks quicker than he thinks and in a panel discussion on TV, tends to dominate the conversation, much to the consternation of colleagues Shaq O’Neal and Kenny Smith. After Game 1, Barkley put a foot in his mouth when he likened Golden State to Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match. After a while, Barkley realized the flawed comparison and didn’t belabor the analogy. Mayweather is undefeated as a fighter and Golden State just came from a loss. If Barkley meant the Warriors are as quick as Mayweather and just as deadly in long-range connections while staying away from brawling with bigs, then he made sense. But in the context of winning, Barkley left himself wide open for a counter.
OKC brought Golden State down to earth in Game 1 but that’s no cause for celebration. The Thunder has three more games to win before advancing to the Finals. The Warriors will make adjustments in Game 2 for sure. As Green said, they’re desperate for a win because the Warriors won’t want to go to Oklahoma City for Games 3 and 4 behind 0-2.