Russell Westbrook was totally lost on the final play of this game, leading to a wide open look for Tony Parker on the left wing that ripped the net as time expired to give the San Antonio Spurs an 86-84 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was that kind of night for the Thunder and Westbrook in their season opener.

Parker finished with 14 points and 11 assists and also made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left that tied the game at 84.

The Thunder tried to get the ball to Kevin Durant on the next possession running him off screens set by Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka but Kawhi Leonard was lurking as the pass arrived and knocked the ball away giving the Spurs the chance to win it on the final possession.

Westbrook will get the most heat for this game and deservedly so. He shot 6-for-21 in the game, had five assists and six turnovers and completely lost Parker on the final possession.

Durant went 9-for-18 in the game, had 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Durant was noticeably trying to play more of a distributor role in the game and it led to some early turnovers for him.

The Thunder ran their pindown play with Durant and Westbrook that worked so well in last year’s Western Conference Finals on the last few possessions tonight. Durant didn’t get any touches though in this game.

The Thunder displayed some of the same problems they’ve had the past few years. Durant has to work so hard to get the ball and physical defense from someone like Stephen Jackson can make that very difficult for him.

Westbrook can do a better job of getting Durant touches but it’s the offensive sets too that are the problem. There just has to be easier ways to get the ball in Durant’s hands. It may even be the best option to use him bringing the ball up the court and as the pick-and-roll ball handler.

Kevin Martin made his Thunder debut tonight and was very solid. He scored 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 33 minutes. He made 3-of-6 threes, all four of his free throws and also had five assists. He was hesitant to look for his shot though and that’s something he can’t be moving forward this season.

Ibaka was looking for his shot a lot in this one and it was a struggle all night. He played 31 minutes, was 2-of-7 from the field and had just four points.

The Thunder shot 37.7 percent from the field in the game. They were only in it thanks to getting to the line 23 times, 12 offensive rebounds and getting hot from deep in the second half that included a 3-point shot at the end of the third quarter by Eric Maynor that was hoisted from well beyond halfcourt.

The Thunder didn’t have the luxury of playing this game with last year’s team. That all changed when they traded James Harden last weekend and it will take some time for this year’s team to gel.

They didn’t lose tonight because they didn’t have Harden. Westbrook can take less bad shots and turn the ball over less regardless of Harden’s presence.

We saw a lot of Thabo Sefolosha and Hasheem Thabeet tonight and no minutes for rookies Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb. This wasn’t surprising because Scott Brooks always favors veterans but this isn’t the Thunder team we will see all season.

Opening up the year on the road in San Antonio is not an easy thing to do. Combine that with the Thunder having so many new faces and it’s not surprising they lost. They played a pretty bad game actually and shouldn’t have even had this good of a chance to win it.

OKC won’t have to wait long to redeem themselves as they will play their home opener tomorrow night vs. the Portland Trail Blazers at 8 p.m. EST.

Spain trailed by two points heading into the fourth quarter before holding France to just six points in the final period as they came away with the win 66-59.

Marc Gasol led Spain with 14 points and nine rebounds while Pau had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Serge Ibaka had four points and five rebounds in limited time, but made an important impact on defense in the fourth.

Boris Diaw was magnificent for France with 15 points, five assists and eight rebounds while Tony Parker scored 15 points but on 6-of-20 shooting.

The game ended in chippy fashion with an uncharacteristic dirty foul laid on Juan Carlos Navarro by Nicolas Batum. With the game essentially in hand, Batum went at Navarro for an intentional foul and crossed the line, balling his fist and swinging below the belt on Navarro.

Batum was not tossed from the game and in fact remained on the floor. He likely would have received a 5-game suspension in the NBA. Batum was clearly frustrated but the move was very unexpected.

Spain shot 37.5 percent from the field while France was at just 33.8 percent. Spain again struggled from deep shooting 4-for-20. France made 4-of-8 threes to start the game but then made just 3-of-13 to end the game.

Spain has not been sharp in their last few games but rose to the occasion in the fourth really upping their defensive intensity to pull out the gritty win. They’ll take on Russia, who beat them in pool play, in the semifinal on Friday.

Here is a look at the games from yesterday:

Russia 73, China 54

The Russians have been impressive so far and are now 2-0 in pool play. Andrei Kirirlenko was a monster in their first game and good again against China scoring 16 points to go with nine rebounds. Alexey Shved had another good game as well with 14 points and six assists. Yi Jianlian who scored 30 points against Spain on Sunday was held to just 16 against Russia. Russia is looking like they might be the biggest threat to Spain in Pool B.

Spain 82, Australia 70

The final score was closer than the game actually was as Spain led by 21 after three quarters. Spain played without their captain Juan Carlos Navarro who has a case of plantar fasciitis but it did not matter. Pau Gasol led the way with 20 points and Rudy Fernandez scored 17 points and made four threes. Serge Ibaka scored eight points off the bench in 17 minutes. Patty Mills had 11 points for Australia but again struggled from the field going 5-for-16. Spain is a little banged up but it still looks like they should win every game in pool play.

Nigeria 53, Lithuania 72

Nigeria got what probably will be their only win of the Olympics against Tunisia on Sunday. They really struggled against Lithuania shooting 24.2 percent from the field and making just 1-of-16 threes. Lithuania was led by Darius Songaila off the bench with 12 points and Linas Kleiza who scored 11 points. The Lithuanians were disappointing on Sunday when they lost to Argentina by so much but could still make some noise in this tournament as they are capable of beating anyone except maybe the U.S.

Brazil 67, Great Britain 62

The host country gave a great effort in this one led by Luol Deng who played the entire game and scored 12 points to go with seven assists and eight rebounds. It wasn’t enough though as the Brazilians got a great game from Tiago Splitter who scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Marcelinho Huertas played well again for Brazil scoring 13 points to go with eight assists. Great Britain stayed in this game largely due to Brazil struggling from three making just 3-of-22 treys. Brazil and Russia should battle it out for the No. 2 spot in Pool B behind Spain.

Argentina 64, France 71

Argentina looked amazing in their opening game against Lithuania while France was blown out by the U.S. in theirs. France pulled off the upset in this one though led by Tony Parker who had 17 points and five assists. Nando De Colo and Mickael Gelabale both came up big for France as each made three 3-pointers. Manu Ginobili led Argentina with 26 points and Luis Scola had 16. Carlos Delfino who was so great from beyond the arc against Lithuania went very cold vs. France going 0-for-5 on threes and 1-for-8 from the field overall. Argentina still has a chance for the No. 2 seed in Pool A if Lithuania can take down France or if the Argentines upset the U.S.

United States 110, Tunisia 63

This was quite the cakewalk for the U.S. Tunisia is the only team in the field without an NBA player and it showed although they hung around early. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski played the U.S. bench a lot of minutes in this one and they played very well. Kevin Durant scored 13 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists. Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love led the U.S. with 16 points apiece. The U.S. will not be challenged in their next game either as they will play Nigeria. Tunisia likely will not win a game in these Olympics.

Team USA didn’t get off to the best start missing their first six 3-point attempts as France hung around early down just one after the first quarter.

The United States got their act together after that finishing the first half off strong and led 52-36 at the break.

The U.S. went just 8-for-26 on threes in the game but France was much worse hitting just 2-of-23 threes.

LeBron James played the role of facilitator perfectly leading the team with eight assists to go along with nine points.

Tony Parker was held to just 10 points in the game and was 4-for-11 from the field.

Russell Westbrook scored nine points off the bench and James Harden chipped in with five.

France is a team with some potential to go far in these Olympics but really has no chance against the U.S. They are more of an athletic team than the usual international teams you see that have a lot of good shooters on the floor at all times.

The formula for beating Team USA is hitting a lot of threes and beating them on the glass too. France was able to do neither and therefore the U.S. walked away with a pretty easy victory.

There will be no games tomorrow then Team USA will play Tunisia on Tuesday who lost their opening game to Nigeria earlier this morning.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The United States will play their first Olympic Basketball game Sunday, July 29 at 9:30 a.m. EST against France.

The United States prepared for the Olympics with five exhibition games and won them all by an average of 26.6 points.

Kevin Durant averaged 17.6 points per game and shot .552 percent from three in those exhibition games. LeBron James led the team averaging 18.6 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Team USA is the favorite to win the gold medal but France is one of the teams expected to give them a decent game.

France is led by San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker who is coming off one of the best NBA seasons of his career in which he led the Spurs to the best record in the NBA and a Western Conference Finals appearance.

Parker is joined by a few other NBA products in Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, Kevin Seraphin and Nando De Colo who should make up the starting five for them.

France is ranked 12th in the world and the last time they played the U.S. in the Olympics was back in 2000 in Sydney for the gold medal game which the United States won 85-75.

The blatant weakness for Team USA is their lack of size. They start Tyson Chandler at center and then have only two other legit bigs on their bench in Kevin Love and Anthony Davis, each who didn’t play much at all in their exhibition games.

Instead, head coach Mike Krzyzewski has elected to play smaller lineups consisting of LeBron and Durant at power forward and center a lot of times. This has its advantages on offense but disadvantages on defense. The consensus still is that the United States are talented enough that this size disadvantage shouldn’t stop them from winning gold.

France isn’t a particularly big team either so the United States should really have no trouble handling them. Parker will surely be the main point of emphasis for the U.S. defense which should be more than capable of slowing him down with Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams in their backcourt.

In Pool A, France has a good shot at coming out of pool play as the 2-seed. Argentina and Lithuania will be the other two teams competing for that spot. Finishing pool play as the 2-seed would mean avoiding the U.S. in the medal round until a potential gold medal game.

France is often overrated and seems to underachieve in international competition. This will be revealed when they play the U.S. as the game has no business remaining close for too long.

The question only will be which U.S. player steps up and has a big game. We’ve seen Durant and LeBron do it consistently in the exhibition games as well as Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony.

It will also be interesting to see if the U.S. struggles at all if they see any zone from France. That will be the main defensive tactic thrown at the United States by other countries and the U.S. could be contained to some degree playing against a 2-3 zone.

The United States attempted 27.6 threes per game in their five exhibition games so they aren’t shy to toss up treys at will. In the closest of those exhibition games against Brazil, the U.S. went just 6-for-24 on threes and shot just over 40 percent from the field in the game.

A cold shooting night from three is definitely a key ingredient for a potential upset against Team USA. Again though, it really shouldn’t matter against France. The United States are fully prepared to roll to a victory in their first Olympic game of 2012.

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball has finished its exhibition play in preparation for the London Olympics which will begin Friday, July 27. Team USA went 5-0 in their exhibition games beating the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Great Britain, Argentina and Spain.

Team USA will be in Pool A in the Olympics along with Argentina, France, Lithuania, Nigeria and Tunisia. The United States is the favorite to win gold in London but it won’t be a cakewalk.

“All I’m concerned about is how we’re going to get better,” Kevin Durant said when asked who was the favorite in the Olympics. “How we’re going to approach these Games, that’s all I’m worried about. We’ll see what happens at the end.”

The team has been modest at times but also knows there is only one acceptable outcome for them.

The United States will play each team in their pool once before the medal round begins. The top four teams from each pool after the round robin will advance to an 8-team tournament.

Pool B is considered the better all-around pool but there will be some competition in Pool A for Team USA. Here is a preview of each team in the pool:

United States

Team USA is ranked first in the world and rightfully so. They won gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics then won the World Championships two years later. LeBron James has averaged 18.6 points per game to lead the team in its five exhibition games while Durant is averaging 17.6 points per game and went 16-for-29 from beyond the shorter 3-point line.

The weakness for the United States is no secret. They aren’t a big team and have played LeBron, Durant and Carmelo Anthony a lot at the four and five positions. Some teams will have a pretty decent advantage against them inside but it shouldn’t be enough to take them down.

France

France is always a team you expect to be a little better because they have quite a few NBA players. Unfortunately for them they will be without Joakim Noah who would have been huge for them. Tony Parker is playing some of the best basketball of his life though and will be a tough cover for anyone. They also have a few decent athletes at the wing positions led by Nicolas Batum to try and match up with the U.S. Boris Diaw is coming off a great year for the Spurs and has a game made for the international style. Spurs fans will also get a look at Nando De Colo who will be joining the team next year.

France should advance to the medal round and is one of the few teams with a chance to upset the United States but it is pretty unlikely.

Argentina

This is not the same Argentina team that won a gold medal in 2004 and beat the United States. Actually, it pretty much is and that’s the problem. They’ve gotten older and aren’t the heavyweight they used to be. They’re still led by Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino who can all fill it up on any given night, just not as consistently as they used to.

Argentina and France will battle it out for the second seed in Pool A, a spot each will really want to get because then they would avoid the United States until a potential gold medal game.

Lithuania

Lithuania is a small country that absolutely loves hoops and produces some fine NBA-caliber talent. They’ve had some success in the past and have the potential to come out of Pool A as possibly the 2-seed. They have NBA talent in Sarunas Jasikevicius, Linas Kleiza, Darius Songaila and Jonas Valanciunas. They have a lot of size too and could give the U.S. a very good game.

This Lithuania team is the kind that would have probably beaten Team USA in 2004 but this year it should be a different story. Raptors fans will love getting their first look at their 2011 first round lottery pick, Valanciunas.

Nigeria

Nigeria was the last team to qualify for the Olympics making a pretty improbable run to get in. They are led by two NBA talents in Al-Farouq Aminu and Ike Diogu. This is another team with a lot of size but simply not enough talent to be taken seriously. They have an outside chance of advancing to the medal round as the 4-seed but it is pretty unlikely.

Tunisia

Tunisia qualified for the Olympics by winning the African tournament. They aren’t to be feared by anyone though. They are the new Angola and should get blown out in every game in this pool aside from Nigeria.

Tomorrow we will have a preview of Pool B.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs gave NBA fans one heck of a series in the Western Conference Finals this year.

It was a matchup of the two teams in the NBA who were playing far better than anyone else: the Spurs reaching a 20-game win streak after going up 2-0 in the series and the Thunder growing right before our eyes into what looks to be a potential dynasty.

The Spurs were the best team in the NBA. They hadn’t lost in the playoffs and not since April 11 when the series began. Their offense did not feature a top individual scorer in the league but instead a cast of players that knew their exact roles.

They played perfect basketball. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon. This wasn’t the boring, grind it out Spurs team of old but a fun, up-and-down team that wowed with the extra pass.

And in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals it looked like they were going to put the young Thunder back in their place. They outclassed them in a basketball sense and unintentionally mocked their style of play.

They appeared unbeatable until the inevitable started to happen: the changing of the guard in the Western Conference. The Thunder began to realize their potential.

OKC ran the Spurs out of the gym in Game 3, made them look old. Then in Game 4, Kevin Durant gave us one of the playoffs’ best gems, dropping 18 in the fourth quarter including 16 in a row for the Thunder. He struggled in the series somewhat until then, finally showing us just how godly he can appear.

Game 5 was the true test for the up-and-comers. On the road in San Antonio, you knew the Spurs would be ready after losing two-straight. The Thunder were not intimidated in the slightest. They stuck to their game plan and survived a furious Spurs comeback thanks to individual prowess in shot making.

The Spurs did not die right away in Game 6 in OKC, racing out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter. Tony Parker was brilliant but then the Thunder started to come back. Aided by the best crowd in the NBA, there was no stopping what was coming. The future became the present.

For the first time since 1998, a team not named the Mavericks, Lakers or Spurs would be representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. And the Thunder beat all three of those franchises in these playoffs.

This series will be and should be remembered for a lot of things that made it so great. But we’ll always remember most that it was the moment the Thunder came into their own, realized their potential and took that next step toward becoming a champion.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-99 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 34 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and played the entire game.

The Thunder lost the first two games of this series on the road before winning the final four games. They become just the 15th team in NBA history to come back from 0-2 to win a series.

Russell Westbrook poured in a nice night as well scoring 25 points to go with five assists and eight rebounds.

James Harden scored just eight points in the first three quarters but finished with 16 points including two huge threes in the fourth quarter.

The Thunder weathered a furious start to the game by the Spurs and Tony Parker in particular. Parker scored 17 points in the first quarter and finished with 29 and 12 assists.

Tim Duncan had a throwback game for him with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

The Thunder trailed by 18 points in the first quarter and for most of the first half. Durant made a very difficult 3-pointer at the end of the first half to cut the halftime deficit to 63-48.

The Thunder outscored the Spurs 32-18 in the third quarter and had all of the momentum headed into the fourth.

This was once again the passing of the guard. The Thunder will be the first team not named the Mavericks, Lakers or Spurs to represent the West in the NBA Finals since 1998.

Oklahoam City will await the winner of Boston and Miami in the East. The Celtics lead that series 3-2 with Game 6 in Boston tipping tomorrow night.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will play the biggest game in franchise history Wednesday night. This has been the case for the last three games too though.

The Thunder are one win away from a trip to the NBA Finals and get a chance to win that game at home for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

This series has completely changed from the way it started.

The Spurs won the first two games at home and looked magnificent in doing so. They reached a 20-game winning streak after Game 2, the third longest in NBA history.

The Thunder were down 0-2. A spot where only 14 teams have come back to win a series from in this league. They looked like the old Thunder. The team too young to overcome a bunch of crafty veterans who “have been there before.”

The Thunder hadn’t been there before but everyone has to get there somehow.

The Thunder made adjustments for Game 3. Thabo Sefolosha started guarding Tony Parker, they went small more with Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook started distributing. It worked and the Spurs had no answer.

The fact of the matter is that the Thunder are the more talented team. They have more talent than any team in the NBA for that matter. They appeared that way in the first two rounds but not at the start of this series.

Talent always wins out in the NBA. This once again feels like the passing of the guard in the Western Conference. Except the Thunder grow up faster than anyone could have imagined and do so without allowing us to blink.

Kevin Durant parallels the team maturation. He has taken his game to new, well-rounded levels becoming a distributor for the first three quarters of Game 4 before scoring 18 points to close out the Spurs in the fourth.

Durant made just one field goal in the first half of Game 5 on the road then couldn’t miss in the second half.

There was supposed to be another team that “has been there before” who would slow this Thunder team down this year. The Spurs looked like they may have been just that but who pictures them winning in Oklahoma City tonight?

The Thunder have simply become too good. But their greatest test is still ahead.

The Spurs will not roll over and die. They have something to fight for too. They’re playing for one last shot at a title. This Thunder team just doesn’t care though.

The best part about this Thunder team is that they come to play every night. If you expect them to lighten up in Game 6 now that they are up in the series, you simply haven’t seen them play much this year.

They don’t know how to do that.

We keep looking for signature moments of when the Thunder finally turned into a championship team. We have seen some and we will see some more in Game 6.

They don’t care about that either though. The only moment that will matter for them will be when they beat a team for the fourth time in the NBA Finals.

That’s why they won’t lose Wednesday night.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

It’s easy to look at Russell Westbrook’s box scores against the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals and say he has been struggling.

That is true to some extent. He is averaging 16.8 points per game and shooting .351 percent from the field.

But that’s not the whole story.

Westbrook and the Thunder as a team struggled against the Spurs at the start of this series. They lost the first two games while San Antonio was off looking like the best team in the league.

Westbrook averaged 22.0 points per game in those losses but was severely outplayed by Tony Parker on the other end especially in Game 2 when Parker scored 34 points.

The Thunder made adjustments when they went home. Scott Brooks slid Thabo Sefolosha over onto Parker on defense, allowing Westbrook to play more comfortably off the ball and roam the passing lanes.

This helped the Thunder team in general and was the most noticeable adjustment but Westbrook changed his offensive mindset as well.

Westbrook averaged 23.6 points per game this season for the Thunder, fifth best in the NBA. That’s a lot for a point guard as many will criticize but it was necessary for this Thunder team. Having him as a scorer who sometimes shoots more than Kevin Durant is what their formula was to win.

The best part about Westbrook’s improved offensive game became his deadly pull-up midrange jumper. When he was hitting that, he looked as good as any player in the league. When he wasn’t though, he morphed into a reckless rim attacker, out of control and ugly.

The jump shot was not falling for Westbrook to begin this series. So he did what Westbrook does. He started attacking and doing so in an uncalculated manner. It was not working for the Thunder.

The jump shot has never started falling but the Thunder have started winning. Westbrook started playing like more of a point guard.

His drives became directed at setting up teammates rather than looking to score. Westbrook has averaged 7.8 assists per game in this series after averaging just 5.6 per game in the regular season and just over four per game in the first two rounds.

Westbrook had maybe his best game in Game 5 scoring 23 points but also dishing out 12 assists.

A huge key to the Thunder winning Game 4 was the performances by the Thunder bigs. Serge Ibaka made all 11 of his shots and finished with 26 points. Thank Westbrook some for that.

All year we have talked about the growing up and maturation of this Thunder team. They do it at an incredible rate and we are seeing it again in this series.

Young teams don’t usually make adjustments like this in the middle of a series against a team with a 20-game winning streak and live to tell about it. The Thunder are within one win of an NBA Finals appearance.

They are proving that they are the most talented team in the NBA. Durant might be the most talented player in the league.

But its Westbrook too who is responsible for this run. His ability to change his game this series, sacrifice his role. He’s growing up right along with the rest of this team and it isn’t good news for the rest of the league.

Manu Ginobili has been one of the Spurs’ best players in this series against the Thunder. Will Popovich consider starting him?

Ginobili is averaging 16.8 points per game, shooting .541 percent from the field and .467 from three in this series. He averaged 23.0 points per game in the first two games and only 10.5 in Oklahoma City.

Changing the starting lineup would be a pretty dramatic adjustment but one that could work.

The Thunder adjusted in the last two games switching Thabo Sefolosha on to Tony Parker on defense. Sefolosha has done a much better job than Russell Westbrook on Parker and it has freed Westbrook to play off the ball on Danny Green and rove the passing lanes.

If Ginobili were inserted into the starting lineup, Westbrook or Sefolosha would obviously have to guard him.

The Spurs would be giving up what has been a pretty big advantage with their second unit against the Thunder. James Harden would have a greater chance to go off with Ginobili not on the floor against him and this move could hurt the Spurs in that sense.

If Popovich does decide to make this adjustment then credit the Thunder. They did their job winning at home, making adjustments and putting their opponent into a position where they felt they needed to adjust (even though that team had won 20 games in a row before Game 3).

Tonight is the pivotal Game 5 that will likely decide the series. It is in San Antonio and will tip at 9 p.m. EST on TNT.

Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder did their job at home and have tied up the Western Conference Finals series at 2-2.

The Thunder will return to San Antonio for Game 5 where it will get tougher to continue the great play they demonstrated at home.

The Thunder made adjustments after the first two games of this series though. They made major adjustments to their rotation and on defense and it worked. Heading back to San Antonio they are not the same team that lost the first two games of this series.

Kevin Durant is prime to perform at a high level as well. He had been holding back from a potentially huge performance until the fourth quarter of Game 4 when he scored 18 points to help lead the Thunder to victory.

Durant is not the whole team or was not solely responsible for the Game 4 win, but role players dim on the road while stars continue to shine. Durant may need to assume the larger role he took on at the end of Game 4 for the Thunder to take the lead in this series.

Russell Westbrook has been quiet in the Thunder’s two wins at home. He scored only 17 points in the last three games but did make an impact on defense and as a playmaker. He cannot forget that he is a player capable of leading the Thunder as a scorer.

If the Spurs come out of the gate strong back at home in Game 5, it may be up to Westbrook to lead the Thunder back. He has been the guy who has done it all year for them when they have fallen behind in games and he might have to remember that Monday night.

Tony Parker averaged just 14 points per game in two games in Oklahoma City after dominating the Thunder in the first two games. Thabo Sefolosha has drawn the duties of containing Parker and risen to the occasion.

Parker and the Spurs will have to figure out the Thunder’s new approach to defending their pick-and-roll to give themselves a good shot of winning Game 5.

At the end of the day it comes down to the role players. At home, the Spurs’ should be better. The Thunder got an 11-for-11 night from Serge Ibaka in Game 4 as well as 15 points from Kendrick Perkins. If those disappear and Danny Green and Boris Diaw step up, the Spurs will be in good position to start winning again.

The Thunder dictate this series though. They have total control in every game. If they play their best, they will not lose. They know what they have to do to stop the Spurs and beat them. It will be tougher on the road but it is the next step for them.

Will they take it?

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant scored 18 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs to help the Thunder even the series at 2-2 with a 109-103 win.

Durant had scored 18 points in the first three quarters for Oklahoma City and then completely took over in the fourth scoring 16-straight points for the Thunder in one stretch.

Durant had only scored 10 points in the fourth quarters of Games 1-3 combined heading into Game 4 and was just 1-for-5 from the field as well.

The Thunder found something that worked and they went to it the rest of the game. Scott Brooks will do this a lot in the fourth quarters of games.

Brooks did this with James Harden in the fourth quarter of Game 4 vs. the Mavericks in the first round. He did it with the Russell Westbrook and Durant pick-and-roll back in January against the Warriors too.

The Thunder ran the same exact play on 10-consecutive half court possessions in the fourth quarter beginning at the 7:25 mark with the Thunder ahead 86-80 and ending with 1:04 left and the Thunder leading 105-96.

It’s a simple play that the Thunder have run many times before and is very effective because it involves Durant, Westbrook and Harden.

Westbrook brings the ball up and waits for Harden to come off two screens on the baseline and pop out to the left wing. After Westbrook passes to Harden, he goes and sets a downscreen on Durant’s man on the right block. Durant then pops up to the top of the key and Westbrook flattens out to the right corner.

The play worked against the Spurs last night in every way possible. When Durant got the ball at the top of the key, he scored nearly every time in an isolation situation. When the Spurs switched the screen and had Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili on Durant, he took advantage and scored going to the rim.

The Thunder even got Harden two wide open 3-point looks from the set when Kendrick Perkins would come up to set a back pick on Harden’s man after Durant made the catch.

This set is nothing special for the Thunder but you don’t have to be special with your play-calling with the Thunder. It works because it spaces the floor nicely and puts Durant in an area where he is very comfortable going to work.

The Thunder hadn’t found a go-to play yet against the Spurs in fourth quarters. They had go-to plays against the Mavericks and Lakers and now look to have found something for San Antonio.

With the series headed back to San Antonio for Game 5 Monday night, the Thunder can expect a much tougher effort from the Spurs than they saw in Oklahoma City. Role players aren’t as good on the road so more of the burden will lie with Durant.

Durant is ready for this though especially after his 18-point fourth quarter in Game 4.

Matthew Emmonsj-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant scored 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-103 in game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to even the series at 2-2.

Durant finished with 36 points, eight assists and six rebounds and at one point had scored 16 straight points for the Thunder in the fourth quarter.

Durant got some help in the game from the Thunder bigs especially Serge Ibaka who didn’t miss a shot making all 11 of his shots and scoring a career-high 26 points to go with three blocks.

Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins really made the difference early for Oklahoma City as Perkins scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half.

The Thunder shot 56.4 percent from the field in the game and had 27 assists as a team. The Spurs shot 50.0 percent and if not for Durant taking over could have easily stolen this game.

Russell Westbrook again didn’t need to be a scorer for the Thunder with just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.

James Harden came out of the gates slow but made a few big threes late and finished with 11 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Tony Parker, who dominated in the first two games of this series, scored just 12 points in Game 4 and averaged only 14.0 per game in Oklahoma City.

The adjustments the Thunder made in Game 3 and in the end of Game 2 have carried over into Game 4 and the Thunder now look to have control of this series.

The Spurs knew what was coming in Game 4 and could not counter well enough to get the win.

As we’ve seen in this series, playing on your home floor is a big deal. While the Thunder seem to have changed their style effectively to give them the advantage in this series, the Spurs have a chance to do the same as the series shifts back to San Antonio for Game 5 Monday night.

Role players always play better at home and that’s why Durant closing out the game in such a dominant fashion is so important for the Thunder. He hadn’t really had it going in this series and no on the heels of a big game, might carry that over to the road and really give the Thunder a great shot to win Game 5.

Game 5 will tip at 9:00 p.m. EST on TNT Monday night.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a chance tonight to even their series with the San Antonio Spurs at 2-2 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder lost the first two games of the series before winning Game 3 at home 102-82.

The Spurs and especially their offense looked unstoppable in the first two games but the Thunder adjusted in Game 3 and it really worked.

Thabo Sefolosha was the biggest change as he guarded Tony Parker for most of the game and put together his best game of the year with 19 points and six steals.

The Thunder continued with their small look that began being effective in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and they now look like they could have the upper hand in this series.

Kevin Durant has averaged 26.7 points per game so far in the series but still has yet to have a big game by his standards.

Russell Westbrook has been the quietest of the Thunder big three and scored just 10 points in the Game 3 win. He did play a very well-rounded game however also dishing out nine dimes.

Westbrook did not have to chase Parker around in Game 3 and tonight will probably not again and should start to find better rhythm offensively.

James Harden has also come on strong after a slow start to the series and is again the relentless attacker of the rim for the Thunder second unit. At home, Harden is always at his best and will have to be again for the Thunder to even this series.

The Thunder made adjustments and they worked in Game 3. The Spurs will try and do the same tonight. If they are going to win it will have to be with great ball movement and shot making because the Thunder know that their defensive strategy is working and they have the athletes to dictate the results of the matchup.

The game will tip a little earlier tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t going to get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. You knew they’d be better at home and they were Thursday night in Game 3 as they impressively won 102-82.

The Spurs looked unbeatable in the first two games which lengthened their winning streak to 20 games in the process. It would be understandable for them to lose a game to the Thunder who are an extremely talented team.

But they lost by 20. The Thunder made significant adjustments and they worked. That’s a bigger deal.

The Thunder changed their rotation from Games 1 and 2. They played Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha much more than they had been and it changed everything.

Sefolosha really took advantage having one of his best games of the year scoring 19 points, making six steals and making four threes.

It was on the defensive side that the Thunder really improved. The Spurs torched the Thunder in Game 2 and in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and it led to Scott Brooks changing the way the Thunder defended the Spurs’ pick-and-roll.

The Thunder went with a small lineup more often in Game 3 and in the fourth quarter of Game 2. They started switching everything and playing with a sense of desperation that was absent before.

Sefolosha took on the task of guarding Tony Parker in Game 3. Parker scored 34 points on 16-of-21 shooting in Game 2 but was held much more intact in Game 3 with just 16 points.

Sefolosha is one of the best defenders in the league and clearly relished the challenge of defending Parker but the rest of the Thunder defense stepped up as well.

Russell Westbrook seemed much more comfortable playing defense off the ball more rather than chasing Parker around pick-and-rolls. He could more freely roam and disrupt passing lanes and later in the game swarmed Manu Ginobili so much on a possession, the Spurs couldn’t even pass him the ball.

Kendrick Perkins, who was somewhat called out for his inability to defend the pick-and-roll, looked like a different player last night. His activity and movement in general was much better and he even stopped Parker and Ginobili from scoring when he switched out on them in one-on-one situations.

A loss might be just one loss but the Thunder team that lost the first two games of this series in San Antonio is no more. The Thunder team we saw in Game 3 is closer to the one we will see for the rest of this series.

The Spurs know what they are and who they are. They will play that way every night. The Thunder are still growing and after losing the first two games had a sort of luxury to adjust and improve.

The Spurs will get that chance for Game 4 too Saturday night in Oklahoma City at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder were in a must-win situation. They came though.

The Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 102-82 to win Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals and make the series 2-1.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 22 points, five assists and six rebounds.

Thabo Sefolosha was the difference in this game as he was the second-leading scorer for the Thunder with 19 points. He also had six steals and held Tony Parker to just 16 points.

The Thunder trailed by two after the first quarter but really turned it up in the second quarter to take control of the game. The Thunder made adjustments by playing Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka more against the second unit of San Antonio and it worked great.

James Harden scored 15 points off the bench for the Thunder while Manu Ginobili scored just eight points.

Russell Westbrook became a point guard for a night dishing out nine assists to go with 10 points and was plus-29 in 33 minutes.

In the first two games of this series, the Thunder played the wrong lineups and the Spurs took advantage winning both at home. The Thunder changed that in Game 3 and may have changed the series.

The Thunder are the more talented team in this series and when they play to their potential, they won’t be beat.

It wasn’t just that the Thunder made adjustments tonight. It’s that the adjustments they made worked. That changes a series. They didn’t simply finally win a game.

This game felt different than the first two because the Thunder adjusted. The Spurs will have the chance to do that in Game 4.

The Thunder will host the Spurs for Game 4 Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the San Antonio Spurs 54-41 at the half of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

Kevin Durant leads the Thunder with 16 points.

James Harden has scored 11 points off the bench and Russell Westbrook has eight points.

Tony Parker leads the Spurs with 11 points.

The Thunder have held the Spurs to 40.0 percent shooting from the field and have forced 13 turnovers so far.

The Thunder look better in Game 3 and the rotation Scott Brooks is using has worked better.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are down 0-2 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals but get a chance to bounce back in the series at home tonight for Game 3.

The Thunder have always played much better at home than on the road and that has a lot to do with how great their fans and home crowd always is.

The Thunder can use all the help they can get as they are up against the hottest team in the NBA right now. The Spurs haven’t lost since April 11 and have won 20 straight games, tied for the third longest streak in NBA history.

The Spurs traditionally made their championship runs behind a great defense but this year it’s their offense that is leading the way, especially in this series. The Spurs have shot 60.2 percent in the last five quarters of this series and the Thunder haven’t had an answer for them.

OKC showed a small glimpse of how to stop the Spurs’ offense as they furiously tried to come back in the fourth quarter of Game 2. The Thunder played a small lineup switching every pick-and-roll and forced a lot of deflections and tougher shots than the Spurs were used to.

The Thunder will have to bottle up that energy for most of a game if they want to slow down the Spurs’ offense.

But Scott Brooks elected to play Derek Fisher with that small lineup instead of Thabo Sefolosha and it really held the Thunder back. If Fisher continues to get bigger minutes than Sefolosha, the Thunder will continue to not reach their potential in this series.

The other worry is that the Thunder big three played pretty well in Game 2 and they still lost. Kevin Durant scored 31, Russell Westbrook scored 27 and James Harden scored 30. It wasn’t enough.

Durant has put up huge overall numbers but has been quiet in the fourth quarter scoring just a total of 10 points so far in the two games. He’s not LeBron so it’s not that big of a deal though.

Westbrook will be the key in Game 3 though as Durant and Harden have figured out how to be efficient, Westbrook has yet to.

Westbrook will need to be aggressive taking his midrange pull-up jump shot. He hasn’t been hitting it so far in this series and it has turned him into the reckless rim attacker that OKC doesn’t want to see.

The Spurs are defending the pick-and-roll in a way to allow for the midrange pull-up to be available too. Harden adjusted in Game 2 and it resulted in a big game for him. Westbrook needs to do the same to help the Thunder turn the tide in this series.

The Thunder will continue to play small and do so with Serge Ibaka. That was an adjustment in Game 2 that was obvious and worked better than when the Thunder went small in Game 1 with Kendrick Perkins instead of Ibaka.

Perkins is not made for this series. The Thunder traded for him last year to get by the Lakers. Against the Spurs, the Thunder would be better off with Jeff Green since they are playing small ball.

Perkins is the Thunder’s best post defender but the Spurs aren’t even posting up. They’ve taken just seven shots on post-ups so far in this series and made only two.

The Spurs are doing almost nothing but pick-and-rolls and that’s where Perkins struggles because he doesn’t move well laterally. The Spurs have made 23-of-37 shots in the pick-and-roll in the first two games. Ibaka and Nick Collison do a much better job than Perkins defending those plays.

Tony Parker torched the Thunder in the pick-and-roll in Game 2 scoring 34 points on 16-for-21 shooting.

The Thunder have too slowly been making adjustments in this series and that’s part of why they are down 0-2. Coming back home should help but they need a complete game every night to comeback in this series.

The Thunder can’t afford to take a step back on offense and need to play better defensively. It wasn’t going to be easy to beat the Spurs but now it feels closer to impossible.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-111 Tuesday night to go up 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs led by 16 entering the fourth and survived a furious Thunder comeback attempt to hold on for the win.

The Thunder cut the deficit down to six with 5:39 left in the game but that would be as close as they got.

The Spurs scored 37 points in the third quarter and led by as many as 22 points. The Thunder would turn to a hack-a-Splitter at the end of the third which helped them start to comeback.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 31 points to go with five assists and five rebounds. Durant had just four points in the fourth quarter though.

James Harden had a nice bounce-back game with 30 off the bench and was 10-of-13 from the field and the line.

Russell Westbrook struggled again for the most part shooting and containing Tony Parker. He would finish with 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and improved his defense on Parker in the fourth quarter.

Parker was the catalyst for San Antonio with 34 points and eight assists and was 16-of-21 from the field.

The Spurs shot 55.1 percent from the field in the game while the Thunder only shot 42.0 percent. The Thunder attempted 36 free throws in the game, had 16 offensive rebounds and had 26 fast break points.

The Thunder went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 112-105 with 1:52 to play before Manu Ginobili stepped up and made a huge three on the next possession.

Ginobili scored 20 points off the bench and was again a really tough cover for Harden.

The Thunder did play small again in the second half but did it with Serge Ibaka on the floor. Ibaka was absent for the final 16 minutes of Game 1 but played a big role in this game with eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

Ibaka played better defense on Tim Duncan than he did in the first game and allowed the Thunder to go to a defense where they could switch on almost every pick-and-roll.

When the Thunder turned up their defensive intensity, they once again gave their fans a glimpse of their potential and showed everyone why they have the highest ceiling in the league.

The Thunder have made huge strides this season but the Spurs are reminding them that their journey for a championship isn’t complete yet.

This series is far from over however heading back to Oklahoma City for Games 3 and 4. The Thunder have shown signs of how to beat the Spurs and if they can put an entire game together they could turn this series right around.

Game 3 will be Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. EST on TNT.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder led 71-62 after three quarters in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio. They had a great chance to steal one on the road and blew it.

The Spurs outscored the Thunder 39-27 in the fourth as they made a ton of their field goals at the rim.

Serge Ibaka only played 22 minutes in the game and didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. Scott Brooks decided to go small more than usual and it ended up costing the Thunder the game.

The obvious adjustment as the Spurs were coming back in the fourth was to bring Ibaka back in. When the other team is relentlessly getting shots at the rim, you bring in the best shot blocker in the NBA.

The Thunder defense is much worse when they go small with Kevin Durant at the four. The only reason Brooks likes to go small is that he feels their offense improves with Durant at the four but that wasn’t the case last night either.

The Thunder became stagnant down the stretch as Russell Westbrook and James Harden did not have it going. The offense turned into nothing but isolation for Durant and while he was forced to play the entire second half and try and be the guy rotating over all the time on defense it just became too much.

The Thunder also had nine offensive rebounds in the first half and none in the second. As they weren’t hitting their shots, another reason to come back with Ibaka would have been to help crash the glass.

One of the possible reasons why Brooks elected to remain with the small lineup may have been because San Antonio was playing small with a lineup of Parker-Neal-Ginobili-Jackson-Duncan. That means Ibaka would have had to match up with a spot-up shooter, either Neal or Jackson, and Brooks maybe didn’t like the idea of that.

In a series, when one team is dictating lineup decisions or style of play, it always bodes well for that team. It would have been tough to cover all of the shooters with Ibaka on the floor with Kendrick Perkins but the Spurs would have had to adjust on the other end of the floor too. The Thunder were going to sacrifice something in this matchup no matter what.

People are going to point to Perkins being on the floor instead of Ibaka but that really wasn’t the problem. Perkins is a better post defender than Ibaka and that’s why Brooks had him out there instead.

Nick Collison may have been a better choice than Perkins to some as well but they give up a lot of rebounding when Collison is in so that totally would not have solved their problem either.

Derek Fisher and Thabo Sefolosha were the ones getting run instead of Ibaka. Fisher and Sefolosha both had good nights and that is also possibly why Brooks was okay staying with them.

The Thunder’s best lineup to close games is one we rarely see. It’s the obvious Durant-Westbrook-Harden trio with Ibaka and Collison. Instead, the Thunder are usually either small with Fisher or Perkins instead of Collison.

The Spurs run more pick-and-rolls than almost anyone and having the best pick-and-roll defenders on the floor is really important if the Thunder are going to win this series. Collison is the best at defending the pick-and-roll and Ibaka is the best at coming over for weak side blocks.

The Thunder are capable of winning this series but last night we didn’t really see the Thunder. That’s why it’s hard to take this Game 1 completely serious. Sure, the Spurs executed great down the stretch but we knew they would. It’s all about how the Thunder combat the Spurs’ offense.

They dropped the ball in Game 1 remaining small and it cost them an extremely important game. Without home court, the Thunder will have to win at least one in San Antonio to win the series.

If they can steal Game 2 then they’d need to win three straight against the Spurs if they also plan to protect home court. The Spurs have now won a franchise-best 19 straight games and haven’t lost since April 11.

It’s easy to overreact after one game in a series and it’s easy to have a hard time imagining a team adjusting well enough to win right after a loss.

The Thunder have the tools though. This team has surprised all year long with their growing maturity and path toward becoming a champion. Winning Game 2 in San Antonio is part of them taking the next step.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio Spurs erased a nine-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to come back and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-98 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Sunday night.

The Spurs scored 39 points in the fourth quarter after trailing 71-62 after three quarters.

Manu Ginobili spearheaded the comeback and Spurs’ offense in general with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting off the bench.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points and 10 rebounds but didn’t make a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden didn’t have it going on the night and that really cost the Thunder down the stretch as they became very one-dimensional and isolation-heavy.

Westbrook scored 17 points with five rebounds and five assists in the game but was 7-for-21 from the field and just 1-of-2 at the free throw line.

Harden uncharacteristically didn’t attempt any free throws in the game and finished with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting.

The Thunder decided to go small a lot in the game and overall did not have much success doing so aside from a short stretch to finish the third quarter.

The Spurs were able to take advantage of the Thunder’s weakened help side defense in the paint when they were small and really attacked the rim with a lot of success.

The Thunder got out to a slow start in the game but got back into it behind a lot of energy on defense. They forced 14 turnovers in the first half and just two in the second.

Tony Parker had a quiet night for San Antonio with just 18 points and six assists but hit a few big shots late.

The Spurs went 8-for-24 on threes in the game and credit the Thunder defense for actively contesting a lot of those attempts.

The Spurs outrebounded the Thunder 50-43 in the game. The Thunder had nine offensive rebounds in the first half and none in the second.

Game 2 will be Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. EST on TNT.

The Thunder and Spurs have both waited nearly a week to get back on the basketball court while the Eastern Conference figured out who would be in their conference finals.

The Spurs are widely considered the favorites to win this series as they have home court, swept the first two rounds of the playoffs and haven’t lost in general since April 11.

The Thunder are not to be overlooked though as they too are playing their best basketball of the season and present plenty of matchup problems for the Spurs. Here at Thunderous Intentions you can see our individual matchup previews of James Harden-Mani Ginobili, Russell Westbrook-Tony Parker and Kevin Durant-Tim Duncan.

The series isn’t only about the big three’s of each team. The Thunder and Spurs are the two best teams in the league right now because they are complete teams.

Here is how the Thunder offense stacks up against the Spurs defense based on their postseason play.

The pick-and-roll game will define this series maybe more than anything else. Both teams run pick-and-roll a ton and do it very well.

Both teams were running pick-and-roll right around 22-23 percent of the time in the regular season and have each upped that percentile to around 28 here in the playoffs which is expected as half court basketball is more prevalent now.

The Thunder get most of their production from their big three while the Spurs are more balance this year.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each have been fantastic in the pick-and-roll so far in the playoffs. Durant has a PPP of 0.98 and Westbrook 0.99.

James Harden, who is normally the Thunder’s best pick-and-roll player, has actually dropped down from a PPP of 1.06 in the regular season to 0.78 in the playoffs. Harden still is a monster in the pick-and-roll and while he may be underperforming in that area in the first two rounds, this matchup with the Spurs should see Harden improve that number.

The Thunder’s ability to be effective in the pick-and-roll is a big deal when playing the Spurs who were 29th in the league in defending the pick-and-roll in the regular season and only two teams have been worse than them at it in the playoffs.

Now the Spurs have also been very good on offense relying on the pick-and-roll but the Thunder have been great at defending it, second-best among playoff teams.

In the regular season, Tony Parker had a lot of success against the Thunder including a 42-point night and became much more of a scorer the way OKC defended him. Westbrook’s defense on Parker and defensive strategy in the pick-and-roll will be interesting to look at early in Game 1.

The Spurs really get a lot of offense from spot-up shooting. Great passing teams like San Antonio that love to find open looks for not any particular player do this.

The Spurs get over 21 percent of their offense from spot-up shooting and that’s how they maximize the production of their role players.

Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Gary Neal and Boris Diaw have all significantly increased their PPP on spot-up shots in the playoffs and that has had a lot to do with how dominant San Antonio was in the first two rounds.

The Thunder aren’t the greatest either at allowing open spot-up looks despite how athletic they are on defense. Oklahoma City has improved their overall defensive intensity in the playoffs and when both teams are bearing down the Thunder should be able to do a good job getting out and contesting on the Spurs’ spot-up shooters.

Discipline on the Thunder’s part will be huge in this series. If they get behind early and are in a sort of panic mode trying to come back in a game the Spurs will feast on them on offense.

This is where everyone is picking the Spurs. They have been there before and we know they are going to come out and execute very well.

The Thunder have the chance to implode, or at least that’s what people think. But the Thunder have come a long way this season and look like a team ready to take yet another step toward a championship this postseason.

Beating this Spurs team is the next step. They have the talent and are looking the part but it won’t be easy. It shouldn’t though and that’s what’s going to make this series so great.

1. The Spurs have seemingly played perfect basketball in the playoffs sweeping two inferior teams. Could this in any way be something that hasn’t prepared them for a team like the Thunder?

I don’t think so. As a Spurs fan (and I am a tad biased), I don’t see why we should give too much credence to the notion that playoff teams need to have a couple of close games under their belts to be considered legitimate. What’s so wrong about winning eight consecutive playoff games by an average of 13.8 points? How can we possibly find faults in a basketball team that dominated their opponents in such a way that left them emaciated and unwilling to continue? Isn’t winning eight consecutive games by 13.8 points more impressive than consistently edging out close wins? I think so. Plus, if you are really set on taking that approach to demean the Spurs’ accomplishments then look no further than their 24-point comeback against the Clippers in Game 3. That, more than anything, shows the moxie of this San Antonio team.

2. The Spurs’ offense is what makes them great while their defense isn’t the best. Is their defense good enough to win a championship?

Yes. It’s a big misconception to devalue the Spurs’ defense on account of their offense. In fact, it’s been the defense that has attributed to their winning streak as much, if not more, than the offense. I could go all nerdy on you but I’ll limit my sample size to their last eight games (ie: the playoffs). The San Antonio defense allowed 88.8 points per game against the Jazz and Clippers. Both teams ranked in the top seven in offensive rating. The Thunder allowed 91.9 points against the Mavericks and Lakers. They ranked 10th and 22nd in offensive rating, respectively. Of course, this trend goes farther than the playoffs when their defense started picking up steam in late-March but you get the point. Defense will not be the reason why the Spurs will not win a championships (I’m betting they do).

3. Normally depth and role players go by the wayside somewhat when the playoffs start. This hasn’t been the case for the Spurs so far. Will their depth and role players stop being such a strength at any point in the playoffs?

Nope. Their role players aren’t merely “role players” in the sense that they are expected to fill one specified role. A lot of these guys can fill many holes while still being effective. Plus, there are just so many guys that Pop can throw out there without missing a beat. They will always make an impact although sometimes it’s pretty subtle.

4. People talk about how difficult it is for the Thunder to contain the Spurs’ offense. How will the Spurs contain Durant, Westbrook and Harden?

A lot of praying and avoiding ladders. It’s going to be incredibly difficult and Oklahoma City will score 100 points multiple times in this series just because their talent warrants that amount of scoring. I just can’t get over their reliance on isolations; they represent 13.1% of the offense. That’s a lot. For context, their 0.87 PPP on isolations is only marginally more efficient than the Charlotte Bobcats recorded on screens away from the ball (0.85) and Charlotte ranked 21st in that category. Until they redistribute their possessions, I can still cling to some hope.

5. Predict the outcome of the series.

Spurs in five. My blood pressure doesn’t like the sound of a seven-game series and my gut doesn’t feel think closing out a Game 6 in Oklahoma City is a realistic possibility. Five is a little low, admittedly, but it just feels right in this instance. I’m not overly confident in this prediction.

Westbrook and Parker are drawing a lot of attention in this series. Both of them had great seasons and were named to the All-NBA Second Team.

Within this matchup Westbrook is the wild card. Parker is more reliable and Westbrook has the potential to be the best player on the floor or a very destructive force.

Here is a look at how well Westbrook shot the ball from each area of the floor this season via Kirk Goldsberry’s CourtVision.

It’s not surprise to see the clusters around the top of the key and that midrange area where Westbrook loves to go to his pull-up. How Westbrook is doing on that shot will be a significant factor in this series.

Note too how much better Westbrook is on the straight on shots and how his percentage drops in the wing areas. So much of Westbrook’s jump shot relies on how well he squares his body to the hoop and his form in general. It is much easier for him to do this in the middle of the floor and that’s why he shoots a better mark from those areas.

Westbrook is probably at his best on the left elbow. He loves dribbling left to right with the final dribble coming with his right hand before lifting for his jump shot. He often gets this look with a screen and will almost always use a screen to get going to his right.

The Spurs know this because they know everything. Westbrook has had a relatively easy time so far in the playoffs getting his shot but the Spurs should do a better job than the Mavericks and Lakers in taking away that look.

The main thing will be the difference in how San Antonio plays the pick-and-roll. They will undoubtedly hedge out and double the ball handler almost every time whether it is Westbrook, Kevin Durant or James Harden. They are going to want to take the ball out of their hands and sacrifice a four on three and make the Thunder pass well to beat them.

This strategy has worked to some degree against the Thunder this season most notably when they played Houston and Miami. In the playoffs so far we have seen the Thunder big three and Westbrook especially coming off ball screens with space to create and get any shot.

With the Spurs big men overplaying Westbrook coming off picks it will become tougher for him to get into rhythm and calmly go to his comfortable pull-up. This will lead to Westbrook doing other things more mainly penetrating which could be good or bad.

Another advantage the Thunder should have against the Spurs is that they will be able to go small and play Nick Collison a lot of minutes. This should make the Thunder better at being able to attack San Antonio’s pick-and-roll defense.

While the strategy and game plan by San Antonio will be sound and could be very effective at containing Westbrook, there is also a small potential of it backfiring and it opening up many more opportunities for the explosive Thunder offense.

Westbrook’s aggressiveness if harnessed and under control with a clear purpose it could become the difference maker in this series. The chemistry shown by the Thunder in the playoffs so far has been impressive and if they are able to quickly figure out the Spurs on defense they will be well on their way to stealing at least one of the first two games in San Antonio.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will present each other with many interesting matchups in the Western Conference Finals beginning Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. EST.

The most interesting matchup may be the point guard battle between Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker.

Westbrook and Parker as point guards are the two players that really make their respective offenses go and each had great seasons this year as they were both recently named to the All-NBA Second Team.

Westbrook averaged 23.6 points and 5.5 assists in the regular season while shooting a career-high .457 percent from the field. In the playoffs, Westbrook is averaging 24.1 points and 4.4 assists and shooting .472 percent from the floor.

Parker had an MVP-like campaign with the Spurs averaging 18.3 points and 7.7 assists. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 19.1 points and 7.1 assists.

Westbrook has the better numbers overall and is the more complete player but Parker will be an extremely tough matchup for Westbrook. Against the Thunder in the regular season, Parker averaged 23.7 points and 7.7 assists including a 42-point night.

Westbrook isn’t a true point and Parker is. Veteran point guards like Parker or Chris Paul are the points who have given Westbrook the most trouble this season.

Westbrook has the tools to be a great defender but doesn’t always use them the right way especially against someone like Parker who is so great in pick-and-rolls. Westbrook tends to over anticipate and gamble too much allowing Parker to assess and attack the best possible spot.

That was the regular season though. Westbrook has turned it up in the playoffs most notably with his defense against Jason Terry in the first round. Granted, Terry isn’t the same type of player as Parker but Westbrook still showed an ability to totally commit his athleticism on defense to completely take away another player.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

This will also be Westbrook’s number one priority against Parker and the Spurs. If Parker can be contained and Westbrook can win that battle, the Thunder will be in prime position to take the series.

With all of the talk surrounding the Spurs’ offense, few people are mentioning the problem San Antonio will have matching up with Westbrook’s offensive arsenal.

Westbrook averaged 22.3 points and 5.7 assists against the Spurs in the regular season and should be able to up those numbers in this series.

Parker simply can’t handle Westbrook. That’s ok to an extent because the Spurs are such a great team and will rely on all five players to lockdown Westbrook but that puts the Thunder at a huge advantage.

The players that give Westbrook the most trouble are bigger defenders. When Westbrook doesn’t feel his defender is near his athletic equal, he will think it’s time to abuse that defender and more often than not does just that.

The first thing Westbrook will look to do in every game is get his midrange pull-up jump shot going. He looks for this in transition and occasionally in the half court.

The Spurs can game plan all they want to stop this but the results are always controlled by Westbrook. He can get to any spot on the court because he is a superior athlete to all and the elevation on his jumper makes a contest basically irrelevant.

If Westbrook finds a rhythm, San Antonio is in trouble. If the Spurs can get lucky and have Westbrook not hitting his jump shot, he goes into attack mode where he is less efficient and that gives the Spurs more of an advantage, although he may be able to have more success attacking against San Antonio than he did against the Lakers.

Both Westbrook and Parker will look to establish their pace and their rhythm early in Game 1. With the game on the road it becomes even more important for Westbrook to find his if the Thunder are going to steal one of the first two in San Antonio.

The Spurs offense, thankfully, doesn’t conform to the league accepted policy of bludgeoning the defense into submission, recklessly and artlessly. Their offense predicates on ball movement, misdirections, multiple options, floor spacing, perimeter shooting and cohesiveness. Most teams don’t have enough technically intelligent and willing basketball players to replicate the Spurs’ system. Another important thing in their favor is continuity. Continuity allows the Spurs to continue plodding, dominating opposing teams without sacrificing offensive variance.

Variance is key. Variance keeps the defense guessing. Variance invariably leads to defensive mishaps, the likes of which are very favorable to the Spurs’ offense. Variance makes other options more effective by default. Defenders can’t expect a certain event to occur; they can only make educated guesses based on probability. A lot of teams fall into a repetitive pattern, making defense a lot easier.

A typical Spurs possession can either have A) pick-and-roll action with Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and, less likely, Gary Neal, B) weakside action that frees up Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard for forays to the rim, C) Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter, both effective roll man, taking advantage of soft interior defense, D) the aforementioned Green and Leonard spotting up, E) post-ups for Duncan, F) Boris Diaw utilizing his passing gits, etc etc. A lot of teams have the potential of offensive success but likely they succumb to isolations and poor execution. The Spurs aren’t one of those teams. Not only do they have a lot of options but these options are generally above-average options in terms of efficiency.

This is my favorite part, as a Spurs fan, to look for every night. We are treated to a surprise every night. There are the usual contributors but the Spurs are almost always receive unheralded contributions from a few rotation players. It could be Green knocking down open 3′s, Diaw grabbing rebounds and shooting 7-7 from the field, Leonard scoring in double-figures, Gary Neal and Matt Bonner stretching the defense and so on. The Spurs are unpredictable. (Hence my overemphasis on variance earlier).

Their only weakness is on post-ups. San Antonio scores 0.76 points per possession on post-ups, putting them 26th in the league. Duncan tends to dominate this possession type and even a player of his stature doesn’t produce at an average mark. 9.2% of San Antonio’s possessions come from post-ups which is a little high given their lack of success. But that’s nitpicking.

Pick-and-rolls are very important in the Motion “Weak” offense. Parker and Ginobili are adept at making the right play — Parker has made a lot of strides in this department — and the big man simply take advantage of the lack of attention. DeJuan Blair and Tiago Splitter aren’t players you can rely on to create for themselves but within the confines of the pick-and-roll they excel. Splitter averaged 1.31 PPP as the roll man in the pick-and-roll, a number that is only bested by four players in the entire league. Blair isn’t too far behind with a 1.17 PPP that puts him in the top 20. Not too shabby.

Spot-ups come as a direct result from pick-and-rolls and action off the ball. San Antonio is adroit at freeing up space for their shooters as their 1.02 PPP suggests. Spot-ups represent an abnormally high percentage of the Spurs’ offensive distribution (22.8%). This gives credence to the notion that building an offense around the perimeter isn’t so bad.

I could go on and on about this Spurs offense, including their transition offense, cutting ability and surprisingly reliable isolations, although isolations only represent 7.1% of their distribution. But that would be overkill.

The moral of the story? The Spurs are an elite offensive team and their offensive tendencies are unprecedented.

Can you name another NBA team that incorporates every player into the offense as effortlessly as San Antonio?

Durant has now been on the All-NBA First Team for the past three seasons. Durant led the league averaging 28.0 points per game this season to go with 8.0 rebounds. He also had a career-high .610 true shooting percentage this year as well as tying his career-high with a 26.2 PER.

Durant received 117 First Team votes, just one less than LeBron who had more than anyone. There were a possible 120 votes so a few people who voted don’t watch basketball and didn’t think LeBron or Durant deserved to be on the First Team.

Russell Westbrook made the Second Team with Tony Parker, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Andrew Bynum.

Westbrook makes the Second Team for the second straight season. Westbrook would have been available for the “Rose Rule” salary bump because he made an All-NBA team but he waived it in his extension.

Westbrook averaged a career-high 23.6 points per game this season but his assists per game dropped to 5.5 from 8.2 a season ago. He did shoot a career-high .457 percent from the field this year.

Westbrook finished the voting with just one more point than Wade who made the Third Team. Westbrook also had five First Team votes while wade had just one.

The All-NBA Third Team consists of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Rajon Rondo and Tyson Chandler.

Here is how the voting went:

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will begin the Western Conference Finals this coming Sunday. The series is highly anticipated by itself but it’s starting to heat up some more now.

Tony Parker said that Russell Westbrook hasn’t had to guard a point guard like him yet in the playoffs. Parker said it’s not going to be like Dallas or the Lakers who have point guards that aren’t very aggressive.

Westbrook will have a bigger challenge in this series of course. Parker had one of the best seasons of his career and was even in the discussion for MVP.

But it’s not like Westbrook isn’t up for the challenge or know what is in store.

This is the biggest misconception with the Thunder right now. While all the talk is surrounding the Spurs and how great they have been playing lately, the Thunder are flying under the radar like they too haven’t made some huge improvements in these playoffs.

Parker torched the Thunder in the regular season including a 42-point game. He made Westbrook look bad. Westbrook had those moments in the regular season. Games where he was disinterested on defense and veteran point guards were able to take advantage of his over-anxiousness.

Westbrook and the entire Thunder team is much more locked in now in the playoffs. Remember when Westbrook had that shooting slump at the end of the regular season? That’s completely gone now and has everything to do with his focus because it’s the playoffs.

Westbrook has turned it up on defense too most notably shutting down Jason Terry in the first round. Now, Terry isn’t Parker but Westbrook literally didn’t let him touch the ball on possessions.

Westbrook has the tools to be one of the best defenders in the NBA and he is poised to become that as soon as this series. He knows his number one job will be containing Parker. The best athlete in the NBA is capable of doing it.

If Parker wants to say Westbrook hasn’t seen a point guard like him yet, the same goes the other way too. Parker has had to deal with Chris Paul but Westbrook is a different animal. The league has literally never seen a point guard like him before and he’s playing the best ball of his career right now.

At the end of the day, the Thunder and Spurs are going to have issues containing the other’s point guard.

The Spurs may be special but there are a few things that always happen for the Thunder. When Westbrook plays well, they win. He will against the Spurs and that’s going to be just as important as anything in this series.

Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James had one of the best games of his career Sunday as the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 101-93 to tie the series at 2-2.

LeBron played 44 minutes and scored 40 points to go with 18 rebounds and nine assists. He was 14-of-27 from the field, 12-of-16 at the line and also had two steals and two blocks. He did this in a must-win game for the Heat where they were without Chris Bosh and the performance also seemed to wake Dwyane Wade.

No one in the NBA is capable of filling up the stat sheet like LeBron is. But we’re not going to see LeBron doing this if the Heat make it to the NBA Finals.

LeBron and the Heat are probably the best team in the Eastern Conference right now and they should be very thankful that is the conference they play in. With the way the Heat have played this season and in the playoffs so far they may not have made it out of the first round if they were in the West.

That may be a little unfair since LeBron and the Heat tend to play to their competition. We haven’t seen the best of the Heat yet because they haven’t needed to show it.

But like the Heat found out last year in the NBA Finals, it isn’t that easy to suddenly flip the switch when your backs are against the wall. They were able to yesterday but let’s not forget who they are playing. Indiana is a nice team and a decent matchup against Miami but they really shouldn’t be winning this series even with Bosh out.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

Waiting for the Heat this year in the NBA Finals won’t be Dallas and Dirk but most likely San Antonio or Oklahoma City.

The Spurs are the best team in the NBA by far and especially lately. They haven’t lost since April 11 and they have the championship experience in their best players and head coach necessary to continue playing at this level.

The Thunder are the most talented team in the NBA right now with the highest ceiling. When they play to their potential which they are fully in control of and doing a lot in the playoffs, they will beat anyone.

The Spurs and Thunder would also each have home court if they play the Heat in the Finals. This actually does matter since the Heat haven’t been great on the road this season and the Spurs and especially the Thunder are nearly unbeatable at home.

Watching the Western Conference makes it frustrating to hear the talk surrounding the Heat and LeBron: “After yesterday’s game, the Heat are now back as one of the title contenders and possibly the favorite. If LeBron can play like he did yesterday for the rest of the playoffs, no one’s beating them.”

That’s not fair because LeBron doesn’t always play that way and certainly won’t against the Spurs or Thunder.

It is becoming evident that the Miami Heat this year would need LeBron to play like he did yesterday for an entire series if they are going to win the championship and that still could possibly not be enough.

It isn’t quite clear yet whether the Spurs or Thunder would be the toughest matchup for Miami, only that either should beat them.

San Antonio, very much like Dallas last year, would kill Miami with their ball movement and perimeter shooting. Tony Parker would have a field day as most point guards do against Miami and Tim Duncan would likely continue his “throwback” play against them.

The Spurs wouldn’t be the best at making things difficult on LeBron and Wade though. Their wings are nice and have really bought into defense but LeBron and Wade could have big series against them.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder would be able to do a much better job of containing LeBron and Wade. Kevin Durant is showing growth on defense and is underratedly becoming the best possible player to have guard LeBron. He shut down Kobe in crunch time of Game 4 against the Lakers and did a very nice job against LeBron in the regular season.

The worry for OKC would be their offensive efficiency against Miami’s defense. The Thunder can be up and down in this area but thanks to James Harden are making significant strides on offense these playoffs.

The Thunder would also have a huge advantage inside with Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison and would be the more physical team all series long.

The point is: good for you LeBron and Heat for showing up yesterday with a great game. It should never have come to this. They should have had the best record in the NBA this season and should never be trailing in any series with a team from the East.

Let’s not lose perspective of what is really happening in the playoffs right now. The NBA Finals will truly start in a few days when the Spurs and Thunder begin their series.

The Spurs trailed the Clippers 33-11 after the first quarter and it looked as if they would finally lose in these playoffs.

The Spurs went on a 24-0 run in the third quarter and outscored Los Angeles 26-8 in the third quarter to get back in the game, take the lead and eventually win the game.

San Antonio is now up 3-0 in their series with the Clippers and still yet to lose in the playoffs.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and 10 assists while Tim Duncan also had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Chris Paul was very quiet again scoring just 12 points with 11 assists and was 5-for-17 from the field. Paul is averaging 9.3 points, 8.7 assists and shooting .308 percent from the field in the series.

The Spurs haven’t lost a game since April 11 and continue to look and play like the best team in the NBA.

Up 3-0 in this series they are almost certainly advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they will play either Oklahoma City or the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Thunder and Lakers will play Game 4 tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST with the Thunder up 2-1 in that series.

You can also download the podcast here.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Indiana Pacers have surprised a lot of people this season. Last night, they beat Miami at home 78-75 to even the series at a game apiece.

The Miami Heat were without Chris Bosh for the game and may not get him back for the rest of the series. They did seem to miss him as Bosh was someone who was going to be a tough matchup for the Pacers.

LeBron James scored 28 points to go with nine rebounds, five assists and six steals in the game but was not the one head coach Erik Spoelstra was designing the plays down the stretch for.

Dwyane Wade was that guy and finished the game with 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting. Wade had a chance to tie the game with 16 seconds to play and missed a driving layup with George Hill covering him.

Neither team played exceptionally well again with the low scoring but you have to credit Indiana for pulling this one out and playing great defense.

The Pacers outrebounded the Heat 50-40 in the game and took advantage running the floor to with 13 fast break points.

Indiana is closer to even with the Heat now that Bosh is out but the Heat could still win this series. It just got a lot tougher and if they don’t improve from Game 2, the Pacers could easily pull off the upset.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio Spurs once again looked like the best team in basketball last night beating the Los Angeles Clippers 108-92 in Game 1 of their series.

Tim Duncan had another throwback game scoring 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocks.

The Spurs play the best basketball in the NBA and have the personnel to pull it off with fantastic ball movement, perimeter shooting and decision-making in general.

The matchup between Chris Paul and Tony Parker was highly anticipated but didn’t live up to much in Game 1 with Paul scoring six points with 10 assists and Parker seven points with 11 assists.

The Spurs shot 48.8 percent from the field in the game and made 13-of-25 3-pointers. Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Manu Ginobili each connected on three treys.

Offense seemed easier to come by for the Clippers early on compared to their series vs. Memphis but they couldn’t stop the Spurs on the other end and it just became too much to handle.

The groups were announced yesterday and nine countries have already qualified. Two more teams will join Team USA’s group.

Group B consists so far of Australia, Brazil, China, Great Britain and Spain.

Spain is being touted as Team USA’s greatest competition. They will have Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon on their roster. Ricky Rubio will miss the Olympics because of the torn ACL he suffered this season.

We’ve seen Tony Parker of France take his game to another level this season in the NBA. He has also taken a larger role in Team France for these Olympics but for whatever reason, France never does too well in the Olympics despite a decent cast of NBA talent.

With the injuries to Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard, a few roster spots have opened up for Team USA. Russell Westbrook who was on the bubble in terms of making the roster will now likely be chosen to the team.

Kevin Durant was the star of Team USA’s world championship run two years ago and will likely be a starter and key contributor in the Olympics a few months from now.

I look back at the games from the weekend and give my thoughts on all the series. I look at the Miami Heat and their now easier path to the NBA Finals and I explain why the Spurs should be the favorites to win the NBA title and how the Thunder could beat them.

You can also download the podcast here.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio looked like the best team in the league today. And they might really be just that.

The Spurs won Game 1 at home against the Utah Jazz 106-91 Sunday.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 28 points and eight assists and looked like the MVP-candidate he became this season.

The Spurs are just so fun to watch and play such perfect basketball. Now, they have a great offense this year and their matchup against Utah is a good one since Utah has the worst defense among playoff teams.

Every single player knows their exact role for the Spurs and today they all executed seemingly perfect.

Tim Duncan had a nice throwback game with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Every possession has so much purpose for this team and unless Utah is going to play their very best basketball, the Spurs will win every game in this series.

They should be considered the favorite to win the NBA title right now. They won’t be though and that’s how they like it.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Andrew Bynum recorded a triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-88.

Bynum scored 10 points to go with 13 rebounds and 10 blocks. The size of the Lakers’ bigs was just too much for the Nuggets to handle today.

Denver was fine beating their defenders off the dribble but with Bynum and Pau Gasol waiting for them they could not capitalize. The Lakers had 15 blocks as a team and held Denver to 35.6 percent field goal shooting.

If Denver is ever able to dictate the pace and tempo of a game against the Lakers they can win but the Lakers’ style is closer to what we always see in the playoffs so don’t expect that to happen enough for the Nuggets to have a real shot.

The Lakers know their identity and while the Nuggets do too to an extent, they don’t have the same kind of talent to execute their game plan well enough.

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and Gasol had 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

Denver is overmatched in this series and the Lakers should easily move on but they are known for being kind of “out of it” now and then so the series may still go six.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City had the toughest time winning their first playoff game of the top three seeds in the West.

But the Thunder are matched up with the defending champion Dallas Mavericks who looked like just that last night.

Kevin Durant’s heroics have been the best part of the playoffs so far but hopefully for the Thunder, they will not need to rely on that to get by the Mavericks in this series.

Assuming Oklahoma City does advance, San Antonio still looks like by far their toughest potential matchup. The Spurs played great in the regular season against the Thunder and have been great overall of late and today.

The way that the Thunder turned up their defense in the fourth quarter tonight is a really good sign though. If Russell Westbrook can play the kind of defense he did last night on Jason Terry for the rest of the playoffs, then the Thunder are looking pretty good.

The Lakers’ weakness of giving up dribble penetration is not an issue against Denver but if they plan Oklahoma City in Round 2, the Thunder will be able to make Los Angeles pay.

The Thunder will play Game 2 at home against the Mavericks tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Head on over to Air Alamo and Lake Show Life for FanSided’s coverage on the Spurs and Lakers.

You can also download the podcast here.

In the first ever FanSided NBA Podcast I interview our very own editor of Sir Charles in Charge Chris Walder. Chris came on to give his thoughts on Dwight Howard and his fallout with the Orlando Magic, the chances of Boston and New York making playoff runs, who the MVP of the NBA is so far this season and who the favorites are to win the NBA title.

Be sure to listen to the podcast here or you can also download the podcast.

Follow Chris on Twitter @WalderSports

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the second-best record in the NBA this season at 39-12. They are the favorite to come out of the Western Conference and play in the NBA Finals. They are doing this despite their four best players being 23 or 22 years old.

The Thunder have been one of the more impressive teams to watch in the NBA this season. Every game they play in is filled with athletic highlights and incredible shot making. It is hard not to love this team and how they are put together.

But are the Thunder built for winning a title? Do the pieces really fit?

The criticism when it comes to the Thunder is usually directed at point guard Russell Westbrook and how he is not a point guard and how he shoots too much. I’ve made the argument that he is of course not a true point guard and is called on to do much more for the Thunder as a scorer as well, resulting in his high shot totals.

The real thing to note about the Thunder is how top heavy they are when it comes to usage rate. Usage percentage rates how much a player uses his team’s possessions counting field goal, free throw attempts and turnovers. This is a good way to help see how efficient a player really is.

I went back to 1980 and took a look at every team that won the title and what each of their player’s usage rates were in the playoffs for that championship run.

In the 1980’s, the teams that won were much more balanced and didn’t really on one star to carry much of the load. In 1985 the Lakers actually had five players with a usage rate of 20.0 or higher. Larry Bird had usage rates of 23.2, 25.9 and 23.3 in his championship years.

Things changed in the 1990’s and mainly because of Michael Jordan. Jordan has the highest usage rate of all-time in the NBA and his playoff usage rates were no exception. He recorded the highest playoff usage rate in 1993 at 38.0. During the Bulls’ title run from 1996-98, Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc averaged usage rates around 35-23-19, respectively.

When the Lakers started winning titles in the 2000’s, the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal duo became probably the best duo ever and their usage rates represented this for how close they were and how high too. Kobe averaged a 28.9 usage rate from 2000-02 and Shaq a 31.6. In 2001 they were the only teammates ever to both have usage rates above 30.0.

In fact, not that many players have usage rates over 30 on championship teams. Take a look at the players that did: Dirk, Kobe, Wade, Duncan, Shaq, Jordan, Olajuwon, Vinnie Johnson and Andrew Toney. So if you are going to shoot a lot, you better be one of the best players ever.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

This is where the Thunder come in. Westbrook and Durant both have usage rates over 30.0 this season. Westbrook has a higher usage rate than any point guard to ever start on a championship team. Not only that, but the trio of Durant-Westbrook-Harden’s combined usage rate this season is 85.2, higher than any other trio ever.

Last season in the playoffs when Westbrook received all of the heat for shooting too much, he had a usage rate of 34.4 while Durant was at only 29.0 and Harden 17.1. Again, not all of the blame should go to Westbrook here but that formula definitely isn’t going to work.

This regular season has Westbrook leading the Thunder at 32.7 with Durant at 31.0, Harden 21.5 and Serge Ibaka just 15.3.

I’ve said before that the sort of model the Thunder will need to follow to win a championship is that of the San Antonio Spurs’. They had a high-volume point guard in Tony Parker along with Manu Ginobili who is so similar to James Harden and Tim Duncan who had similar usage rates to Durant’s.

Parker had the highest usage rate ever by a point guard in 2007 at 29.2 when the Spurs won the title. Westbrook would probably need to get around that number for the Thunder to improve their title chances. If he does that it will mean more balance for the Thunder and probably a rise in production from Harden and Ibaka.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The more you look at this Thunder the more you think they probably are one year away still. For Westbrook to get his usage rate down, it’s really just going to take Harden upping his and he is only in his third season this year and if he continues improving next season, this may very well happen. We have already seen instances this season when Harden becomes the primary ball-handler even with Westbrook on the floor.

The other thing that will probably start to happen next year is a growing of Westbrook as a playmaker. His assists are way down this season and that may be because he has become such a dominant athlete and scorer this year. Next year he should learn to better balance that with playmaking helping get Ibaka better involved as well as more looks for Durant and Harden off his passes.

The one thing the Thunder have working for them in terms of winning this season is that their biggest competition in the Eastern Conference, Miami and Chicago, also have issues with their usage rates.

The Heat have a similar top heavy big three in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who are combining for 87.3 usage rate, even higher than Oklahoma City’s big three. James and Wade are both over 30.0 which is something that only happened once in a playoff run with Kobe and Shaq. The highest usage rates for Jordan-Pippen was in 1993 when Jordan was 38.0 and Pippen 26.2.

An interesting thing happened for the Heat last year in the playoffs with James’ usage rate decreasing from his 2011 regular season mark of 31.5 to 26.9 with Wade’s remaining about the same over 30.0. This is the whole alpha dog issue with the Heat and what LeBron should do in the playoffs. You wouldn’t expect his usage to drop below 30 this postseason and really it should be higher than Wade’s. But we’ve never seen a team win a title with two perimeter players having such high usage rates.

As for the Chicago Bulls, it is no secret that they may rely too heavily on Derrick Rose to make every play on offense. Rose had a usage rate of 35.2 in the playoffs last season, higher than any other player and will likely have to carry a similar load this season, although Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer have improved some.

The toughest test for the Thunder may be the Spurs though. They haven’t shown any signs that they will be able to beat them in a playoff series and the Spurs added some pieces in Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw that will improve their team even more come playoff time. This may not be the year the Thunder win it all but that really isn’t the end of the world. Next year should be their prime time but they still may be able to steal a title this season.

Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Yesterday Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and Tim Legler talked about the Oklahoma City Thunder and their chances at winning the NBA title this season.

The Thunder have the second-best record in the league right now behind only the Chicago Bulls. The current title favorite, Miami, would have to win road playoff games in Chicago and in Oklahoma City if the playoffs started today.

The Thunder are playing the best basketball they have all season right now. Kevin Durant has been his usual efficient self and Russell Westbrook has also elevated his game to another level, especially shooting the ball.

Then there’s James Harden who is turning into the guy everyone is starting to point at as the difference maker for the Thunder this season.

But there are still of course some pretty big concerns regarding the Thunder’s title chances.

Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook shooting more than Kevin Durant

There are games and stretches of games where Westbrook is shooting more than Durant. In the Thunder’s last game, Westbrook had a stretch where he shot six straight times. Bayless and many others point to this as a problem for the Thunder.

Everyone loves Durant so much and doesn’t quite feel the same way about Westbrook. It’s clear that Durant is the best player and people always want him shooting more than Westbrook. One thing that can’t be ignored is just how good Westbrook is becoming.

There are moments especially during this regular season where he has such a mismatch that he comes right up the court and goes one-on-one to get his own shot. This wouldn’t be ideal is he wasn’t shooting 47 percent from the field this season.

Westbrook has elevated his game this season and isn’t just the starting point guard for the Thunder. He is also their second-leading scorer and needs to play that role from time to time. The concern shouldn’t be if Westbrook shoots more than Durant. There will be times when he needs to. The question is if Westbrook and Durant are going to know exactly when to take turns in the playoffs. Will Westbrook know to defer to Durant at the right moment or get lost in himself going one-on-one?

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

No interior scoring

Every championship team has some reliable form of interior scoring. The Thunder essentially do not. Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins aren’t bigs that you can throw the ball into and let them go to work. Durant and Westbrook are still in the early stages of developing post games and it is safe to say that they won’t be going to that too much in the playoffs.

While the lack of interior scoring is something we’ve never seen before from a championship team, so is the weapons that the Thunder have. They might be one of the best isolation scoring teams of all-time with Durant, Westbrook and Harden. How many teams before them had three players that could score like them?

Will that be enough to make up for their lack of scoring from the post though? Part of what makes scoring from the post so valuable is that it usually leads to more free throw shooting as well. The Thunder don’t exactly have an issue getting to the line and they are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league as well.

The current Thunder makeup doesn’t fit exactly into the formula of previous champions but that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to work. Of the other contenders this season, how many really have reliable post-scoring options? The Lakers and the Mavericks are the best at this but Oklahoma City definitely has the potential to get by either.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs may be the sneakiest of things in the way of a Thunder trip to the NBA Finals this season. The last two times the Thunder played the Spurs they lost by 11 and 9 points. The Thunder have been completely unable to contain Tony Parker in the pick-and-roll and the Spurs have also quietly made some recent moves that will make them a better team with the additions of Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw.

The Spurs also have depth which is a great asset in this regular season but will be diminished somewhat in the playoffs. It’s all about your best eight guys in the playoffs and the Thunder should have an edge there over San Antonio. And in the battle of the future versus the past, the future always wins out eventually.

The Thunder competing for a title this season really should be looked at as gravy for their fans. Durant and Westbrook are 23, Harden and Ibaka are 22. They have time. They just got to the top so quick the expectations will follow no matter how old they are.

If the Thunder do win a title they will do it in a fashion that hasn’t been seen exactly before. That’s not saying there’s no way they will do it but maybe they have some more work ahead of them than appears.

The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t exercise their demons against the Spurs Friday night losing 114-105.

The Thunder got off to one of their signature slow starts and couldn’t amount enough of a comeback to get the victory at home against the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

Russell Westbrook kept the Thunder afloat like he so often does and led the team with 36 points. Kevin Durant scored 25 points in 43 minutes. James Harden had 19 points off the bench to go along with five assists and seven rebounds.

Tony Parker lit up the Thunder for 42 points in the teams’ last meeting and was effective again last night scoring 25 points to along with seven assists.

The big problem for Oklahoma City was Danny Green and DeJuan Blair combining for 43 points for the Spurs. The Thunder simply aren’t going to beat San Antonio allowing that kind of production from their role players.

The Thunder allowed the Spurs to shoot nearly 52 percent from the field last night and that’s something that obviously can’t happen in the playoffs. The Spurs who will add Manu Ginobili and Stephen Jackson to their cast that topped the Thunder last night are suddenly appearing as the legit two-seed that can challenge the Thunder for a spot in the NBA Finals.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (1-game winning streak)
106.7 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.5 Defensive Efficiency (11th)
95.9 Pace (4th)
56.9 True Shooting % (1st)
51.3 Rebound Rate (5th)

Spurs (2-game winning streak)
105.6 Offensive Efficiency (4th)
101.6 Defensive Efficiency (16th)
94.0 Pace (16th)
54.7 True Shooting % (4th)
49.9 Rebound Rate (17th)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off an impressive 103-90 win last night over the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder made a season-high 12 three-pointers in the game.

Yesterday was the NBA trade deadline and while the Thunder stood pat with their roster, San Antonio did not trading away Richard Jefferson and a first-round pick to Golden State for Stephen Jackson.

Jackson previously played for San Antonio from 2001-03 and won the title with the team in the 2002-03 season. Jackson will bring some added offense to the Spurs who currently sit second in the West in terms of record behind only the Thunder.

The last time these two teams played Tony Parker put on a clinic scoring 42 points and dishing out nine assists. The Thunder had no chance in that game being played in San Antonio.

Tonight the Thunder will look for payback at home only this time the Spurs will also be with Manu Ginobili who has returned from injury and continuing his fine season.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder also have a player back from injury in Thabo Sefolosha who played his first game last night after missing the previous 23. Sefolosha brings back some athleticism and defense to the starting lineup and allows for the Thunder to return to their original rotation from earlier this season bringing Daequan Cook off the bench.

Kevin Durant did not play very well against the Spurs last time scoring only 22 points and neither did Russell Westbrook who scored 18.

The game was only kind of close because of the Thunder bench which made runs with Parker out and kept the score respectable.

The Thunder have been prone to slow starts this season and can’t afford that against a quality team like the Spurs.

It is unlikely that Jackson will play tonight but the return of Ginobili should present a bigger challenge for the Thunder tonight. They are going to need to be clicking on all cylinders to make sure they come away with a victory.

Westbrook should be motivated to take on the challenge against Parker tonight and hopefully that results in a good thing for the Thunder.

James Harden went 0-for-3from three against the Spurs last time but hit four threes last night. The Thunder will need Harden and the rest of the second-unit to play well as the Spurs get a lot of production from their bench.

The game will tip at 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Below are the questions I asked Quixem:

AK: What is the confidence level for Spurs fans right now with this team? Another impressive regular season as a top-2 seed in the West currently but it feels like no one is giving them too much credit and that probably has a lot to do with the first round loss last season. Do you feel like the legit 2-seed in the West?

QR: No one ever gives the Spurs credit. As a progressive fan base, we’ve accepted that. Embraced that. And yes, I’d say there is definitely an aura of confidence among Spurs fans. There is some (and I include myself to an extent) that are a little wary of proclaiming this team a contender. That stems from our 61-21 record last year and the subsequent disappointment we endured after the Spurs were ousted from the playoffs in six games — to an eight seed. The Grizzlies were an impossibly unfortunate matchup for the Spurs so keep that in mind.

The emergence of Tiago Splitter, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green give me hope that this team will not have the same fate as last years squad. Although we aren’t going to have the same winning percentage as last year, I feel like we’ll have more playoff success. Just my gut.

AK: Thought on the Stephen Jackson trade? How does this help the Spurs? How might it hurt them?

QR: I don’t know how to approach the Stephen Jackson trade. Part of me really likes the deal and part of me feels indifferent. Defensively, this trades a wash. RJ was never able to improve defensively as a Spur but, even so, it was pretty apparent that he gave a crap. I always appreciated that. He approached his demotion — check out his tenure with New Jersey, he was electric — with humility and grace. He came to the Spurs as an athletic, uber confident player. His first year wasn’t good for his self-confidence. It took awhile to adjust, but give him credit for embracing his new role as a spot up shooter (he was decidedly below average until recently).

That being said, I was ready for RJ to leave. A recurring theme was his propensity to disappear. When he’s aggressive, the Spurs are always better. When he’s not, he’s just a waste of space. Stephen Jackson has a reputation for being a bad teammate but Tim Duncan swears that he was a great teammate. I believe him. Jackson will bring a lot of energy and heart to the team. Who cares if he’s an inefficient scorer at this stage of his career?

AK: The Spurs beat the Thunder last time with Parker scoring 42. Do the Spurs feel like an underdog against the Thunder or are they confident they can beat the Thunder in a series?

QR: The Thunder are an amazing team. I can only imagine the excitement of the Thunder fan base. They’re so young, so talented, ripe with potential. That being said, I don’t think the Spurs feel like an underdog against the Thunder (I think the Spurs are 7-1 in their last 8 against OKC but I could be wrong). We specialize on beating teams down with execution and sound fundamentals. I think, in those two areas, the Thunder leave something to be desired. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Spurs beat the Thunder in a seven game playoff series.

AK: What would be the worst playoff matchup for the Spurs?

QR: I’m still a little better so I don’t want to play Memphis. It would be nice to kick their ass though. Any team with legitimate size can pose a threat to our team. The general consensus among Spurs fans is that we need another big man (either a defensive minded center or power forward that can guard stretch 4′s and stronger 4′s). I wouldn’t want to see the Lakers either. Bynum and Gasol are tough. Plus, Jordan Hill gives them some frontcourt depth.

AK: A healthy Manu Ginobili is one of a kind. If Ginobili is 100 percent in the playoffs does that make the Spurs a real title contender?

QR: Definitely. Absolutely yes. Prior to his injury, Manu was playing at a LeBron James level (small sample size but his PER was higher than LeBron’s). Manu is the ultimate X-factor. He is an adept passer off pick-and-rolls, has a genuine sense of the moment and can change the tenor of a game by himself. Now that Tony Parker is playing at an MVP level and Timmy is still producing well on a per-minute basis, the Spurs are definitely a title contender.

Just please stay healthy Manu. Please.

Head over to Air Alamo to see the questions I asnwered about the Oklahoma City Thunder and follow Quixem on Twitter @LWM_sucks.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden’s rookie contract will be up after the 2013-14 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder of course plan to re-sign he and Serge Ibaka at this point. This could become tricky considering that in 2015 Harden will be the best shooting guard in the NBA.

This past week we saw Harden play some of the best basketball of his career with games scoring 30 then 33 points, both career-highs at the time. Right now Harden is coming off the bench averaging 17.2 points per game with a 21.4 PER. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award in the first week of the season.

In terms of PER, Harden is only behind Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Many Ginobili as far as shooting guards are concerned. I’ve said before that Ginobili is the type of player Harden is turning into.

Three years from now those three are going to decline considerably and Harden will be all of just 25 years old. There aren’t many other shooting guards out there who are going to be challenging Harden as the best at their position in the league.

Let’s go through the contenders assuming to not count anyone who is not yet in the league since they would only have been in the league for two years anyway by 2015.

Eric Gordon, Monta Ellis, Paul George and MarShon Brooks are Harden’s competition. They all have at least an outside shot of passing Harden but it is unlikely especially considering their current playing situations.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder are going to have a chance to have on their team in 2015 the best small forward in the league (Durant), a top three point guard (Westbrook) and the best shooting guard (Harden) and maybe even the best low-post defender (Ibaka). That is crazy to think about how good this team’s future looks.

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s kind of important to have a good two-guard if you’re interested in winning championships.

In the last 12 years, the best two-guard on the team that won the NBA title scored an average of 22.5 points per game, significantly higher than any other position. Having a shooting guard who can fill it up is an essential ingredient toward winning championships.

People love to salivate over the all-around small forward but having your best player be a “jack of all trades” type doesn’t seem to necessarily result in championships as much.

Since 2000, only Paul Pierce has averaged over 13.3 points per game as the starting small forward of a championship team. Usually teams that win the title have a defensive stopper as their small forward.

Kevin Durant is obviously the small forward of the future for Oklahoma City and will always be their leading scorer. The direction Durant is headed as an offensive player is (hopefully) closer to the player that Dirk Nowitzki became in the playoffs last season (back to basket scorer).

The future makeup of the Thunder is starting to remind me more and more of the Spurs of the last decade. Durant is the Tim Duncan of the team as the reliable post-up scorer. Russell Westbrook is the lightning quick point guard who is score-first like Tony Parker. And James Harden is of course the Ginobili coming off the bench.

Before I sometimes questioned the makeup of the Thunder team in terms of where they got their offense from and if it could work in winning a championship. But the more you watch them grow together and try to project their future makeup it really makes you see just how good they are going to become.

The key to all of it is going to be Harden flying under the radar and becoming the best two-guard on the planet.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook was named to the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve on TNT Thursday night. This is Westbrook’s second All-Star selection of his career.

Westbrook is averaging 22.3 points per game, 5.9 assists per game and 4.8 rebounds per game this season and shooting a career-high 45.9 percent from the field. Westbrook is also third among point guards in the West with a 22.56 PER.

Westbrook was pretty much a sure thing for the selection and joins Kevin Durant as the only two Thunder players to make the team. James Harden, however, did not make the cut.

Harden is second in the West in PER among shooting guards behind only Kobe Bryant this season. Harden is averaging 16.8 points, 3.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 87 percent from the line.

Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki both made the All-Star team, while both possibly less deserving than Harden.

Parker has come on late for the Spurs and has a 21.95 PER but was the fourth point guard selected onto the team. If a backup center must be chosen than why is selecting a backup shooting guard not also mandatory?

That being said, Monta Ellis who is averaging 22.6 points and 6.3 assist per game may have been the most deserving not selected to the team.

Harden does still have a chance to make the squad if one of the West players is injured between now and the game. So let’s have the entire Thunder nation rise and one and root for injuries until then.

The rest of the Western Conference reserves are: Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Steve Nash and Marc Gasol.

Andrew Kennedy is the Lead Editor of Thunderous Intentions and the Editorial Director of the NBA Division at FanSided. Follow him on Twitter or read more of his work at True Hoop Drew.