Jackson has a rap album that will be coming out at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. Durant will be somewhat a part of it.

You mentioned that KD is on the album. How do you kind of stay away from getting grouped in with all of the other NBA players who try their hand at rapping? A lot of people have this and that to say about players who make music, so how do you kind of stand alone on that?

I don’t care, I don’t pay attention to it, I’m me. Who cares what people say? I mean, people’s opinions are like buttholes—everybody has one. I don’t even pay it attention.

So Durant’s kind of nice with it?

Yeah, KD can go, man. I respect him for even getting on the track with me, because a lot of athletes are scared to even get on the same song with me ’cause they feel I’m gonna embarrass them. I’m just happy he took the time to do it, and he really killed the verse so a lot of people are gonna be surprised by it.

via XXLMag.com

It’s good to see Durant not stepping down from the challenge of getting on the same song as Jackson, as intimidating as that may sound.

Durant and Jackson had a little history on the basketball court together in the Western Conference Finals. Jackson was a late pickup for the San Antonio Spurs last season and was great for them in the playoffs, especially against the Thunder, and was matched up with Durant a lot in the series.

Durant’s movie ‘Thunderstruck’ will be hitting theatres Aug. 24 and a new scene from it has been released.

Durant is the man. This movie will be amazing and only because of Durant’s acting skills, which should be all-time.

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.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are waiting to find out who they will play in the NBA Finals after eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals by winning the final four games of that series.

The Western Conference has been playing at a much higher level of basketball in the playoffs than the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs and Thunder matched up as the two best teams in the NBA.

In a perfect world, that would have been the NBA Finals. The feeling for a lot of people was that it was and that now the Thunder will easily win the NBA Finals no matter who they play.

They will be the favorites and have earned that right. They have been playing significantly better than either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics.

But there is one player who could stop the Thunder from winning the NBA title: LeBron James.

LeBron had one of the greatest performances in NBA history last night as the Heat beat the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to force a Game 7.

LeBron had 45 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists and went 19-for-26 from the field in 45 minutes. He single-handedly made sure the Heat were not going to be eliminated in Boston.

This year with this Heat team we are seeing that the only way they will win the title is if LeBron plays at this level – which should be what every fan ever wanted from LeBron.

LeBron won his third MVP this season averaging 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game while shooting .531 percent from the field.

LeBron is averaging 30.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in the playoffs and shooting .512 percent from the field.

LeBron has been even better as the playoffs have gone on. He averaged 30.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game against the Pacers. Against Boston, LeBron is now averaging 34.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists and shooting .542 percent from the floor.

Yikes.

But while LeBron is putting up insane numbers and playing the best basketball of his career, the fact still remains that the Thunder are the better team.

The better team does not always win the championship though. Having the best player in the NBA Finals can often be more important.

LeBron has the potential to be that guy against the Thunder. It won’t be nearly as easy because Kevin Durant will be matched up with him and even the numbers he is putting up now wouldn’t be that much better than Durant’s.

In a sense, the matchup of LeBron and Durant will be the biggest. But it’s not everything. It’s more about if LeBron can do everything for the Heat like he has been.

That would take LeBron to a level worthy of winning a championship. We’re finding out that it’s not just about being the best player in the NBA to win a championship. You have to be the best player you can be to win one, too.

If you hit your potential and are the best player, you’re not losing. That was the ultimate difference in last year’s finals between LeBron and Dirk Nowitzki.

This year’s Finals may very well come down to the same thing. If we see LeBron take a step back down like he did last year, then the Heat certainly aren’t beating the Thunder. If Durant is contained by LeBron and outplayed by him, the Thunder could lose.

It’s a little unfair to break down this potential series to LeBron vs. Durant and that won’t be all it is about. It’ll just be the most important thing.

The key for the Thunder will be to make the series into a LeBron vs. Durant battle. That takes LeBron out of the mode of doing everything for the Heat if he is solely concerned with his matchup with Durant. It will then allow the rest of the Thunder players to play better than the Heat’s, and they will.

That’s why the Thunder should win this series. LeBron will have to focus all of his energy into defending the best offensive player in the world and then try and become the better offensive player on the other end. No one has had so much pressure and responsibility to come through to win a title.

But that’s LeBron’s world. He has all of the talent and thankfully he has to use it all to ever become a champion.

Whether you hate LeBron or love him, NBA fans are in a win-win situation no matter how it all plays out.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

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

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are still playing in the Eastern Conference to determine their representative. The Celtics are currently up 3-2 in the series and will be playing Game 6 on their home floor tonight.

Who would the Thunder rather see in the Finals?

The Thunder went 1-1 against the Heat in the regular season and 2-0 against the Celtics. In either matchup, the Thunder would be favored with home court and based on how much better they have been playing than both of them in the playoffs.

“Whoever we play, (it’s) two great teams,” Kevin Durant said. “We can’t rely 100 percent on our crowd. We’ve just got to come out there and start the game off with a lot of energy. It’s going to be a tough rough for us, and we’re looking forward to that opportunity. It’s a great feeling right now, but tomorrow we’ve just got to get over it and get ready to see who we play.”

The NBA and the world probably wants to see Miami make it to the Finals to play the Thunder. Because then we would get LeBron vs. Durant.

The Heat could be a very tough matchup for the Thunder though. They are similar teams in their makeups and the positions that their stars play and you could argue that Miami’s stars are better and more experienced.

LeBron would make for the toughest possible matchup for Kevin Durant. LeBron has become one of the best defenders in the NBA and would particularly be able to have success against Durant using his size and strength on him. LeBron has also historically outplayed Durant when the two have gone head-to-head.

Beyond Durant and LeBron, the Thunder are a deeper team than Miami. The Heat are thin up front while the Thunder have good size and would win the physicality battle in the series.

But even if the Thunder could have some matchup advantages against the Heat, sometimes talent is a more important factor. The Thunder have advanced to the NBA Finals largely because they have been much more talented than their opponents. That wouldn’t be the case against Miami which could make it a tougher matchup than Boston.

The Thunder will be the lesser experienced team in the NBA Finals no matter who the matchup. The Celtics won a title back in 2008 and the fact that they’ve “been there before” could make them a tough out for the Thunder.

Boston is not very deep though and banged up. The Thunder are perfectly healthy and have a deeper, more consistent rotation than the Celtics.

The key matchup would be Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook. They’d be playing the same position but in two totally different ways.

Rondo has proven that even against a team with LeBron James, he can emerge as the best player on the court in any given game and lead his team to victory. He would have a much tougher task having to defend Westbrook on the other end of the court which could make dominating more difficult for him.

Aside from Rondo and Westbrook, the Thunder pretty much have the advantage in every other aspect against the Celtics. Like with the Spurs, it would come down to the Thunder just being more talented. It would seem experience would be the greatest advantage for the Celtics but that hasn’t phased the Thunder yet in these playoffs.

Whoever the Thunder play, if they win the title it will be considered very legitimate. The Heat and Celtics have had their injuries that they’ve dealt with but the road Oklahoma City took through the Western Conference ranks as a 10 in degree of difficulty.

But if it isn’t LeBron and the Heat, an NBA championship would be a little less sweet. If Durant gets the chance to conquer LeBron for a title, it will immediately rank up there as one of the greatest championships in NBA history.

The Thunder don’t care who they play though. They’re just ready to begin the NBA Finals and will come to play every single night like they have been all year. Something the Heat and the Celtics can’t say they have done.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. The Thunder could find out as early as tonight who they will be playing as the Celtics look to close out the Heat at home at 8:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have advanced to the NBA Finals after beating the San Antonio Spurs 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder won Game 6 107-99 despite trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 34 points and 14 rebounds.

The Thunder will await the winner of Miami and Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston leads that series 3-2 with Game 6 tonight in Boston.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant gave NBA fans one of the great performances in NBA history in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

Durant played all 48 minutes of Game 6, scored 34 points to go with 14 rebounds and five assists as the Thunder beat the Spurs 107-99 and advance to the NBA Finals.

But Durant will be the first one to tell you it isn’t about him.

The Thunder won as a team. They beat the Spurs together. This is true. But Durant was nasty.

It wasn’t just that he played the whole game and scored 34 points. It’s that there was no question he was coming out of the game. There was no way.

“I wasn’t going to take him out.” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. “I wasn’t going to take him out I don’t care how many times he looked at me fatigued.”

The Thunder fell behind by 18 points in the first quarter. But anyone who watches the Thunder knew that it wasn’t over. They’re not the Heat. They were going to fight back.

The Thunder were leading 103-99 with 38 seconds to go and the ball. Durant had the ball at the top of the key, got doubled then found Kendrick Perkins wide open down low for the “icing on the cake” dunk.

Timeout Spurs. Durant hugs his mom. The Thunder are going to the NBA Finals. He’s only 23.

“It’s almost like a Hollywood scripts for OKC in a sense,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.

This entire season has been all about the Thunder growing up as a team. Where they failed last season, they succeeded this year.

Since 1998, only three teams from the Western Conference have made it to the NBA Finals: the Mavericks, Lakers and Spurs. The Thunder just beat each of them.

They found their identity. They made it all work. Durant is the reason why.

The Thunder dynasty is just beginning and Durant’s Game 6 will always be remembered.

The Thunder will await the winner of Miami and Boston in the East to see who they play.

The Thunder will have home court regardless of who comes out of the East.

The full schedule for the NBA Finals looks like this:

• Game 1 – Tuesday June 12 – MIA/BOS at Oklahoma City – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 2 – Thursday June 14 – MIA/BOS at Oklahoma City – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 3 – Sunday June 17 – Oklahoma City at MIA/BOS – 8:00PM – ABC
• Game 4 – Tuesday June 19 – Oklahoma City at MIA/BOS – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 5 * – Thursday June 21 – Oklahoma City at MIA/BOS – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 6 * – Sunday June 24 – MIA/BOS at Oklahoma City – 8:00PM – ABC
• Game 7 * – Tuesday June 26 – MIA/BOS at Oklahoma City – 9:00PM – ABC

*if necessary

The Thunder trailed by as much as 18 points in the first half and were down 15 at halftime.

Westbrook and the Thunder never stopped fighting and would overcome the deficit to come out with the win.

Once again, Westbrook didn’t disappoint with his postgame outfit.

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.

So much beloved that a local store in Oklahoma City has remodeled their building to resemble the head of Harden, beard Mohawk and all.

The store is called Ketch Design Center. They specialize in selling wallpaper and window covering products.

Harden truly deserves this. He has been nothing short of spectacular in the playoffs for the Thunder so far most recently draining a huge 3-pointer at the end of Game 5 to help the Thunder go up 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder will look to close out the Spurs tonight and advance to the NBA Finals at home for Game 6, tipping at 9 p.m. EST on TNT.

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.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder broke through last night in the Western Conference Finals winning Game 5 on the road in San Antonio 108-103 to take a 3-2 series advantage.

The Thunder have won the past three games of this series after losing Games 1 and 2 on the road.

The Thunder will have a chance to close out the Spurs at home Wednesday night in Game 6. But what if they don’t? Could they win again in San Antonio in a Game 7?

The Thunder have been playing with their backs against the wall in this series ever since losing the first game. It was an unfamiliar place for this team but they have fought back and bought themselves a little bit of breathing room.

In a sense, they have two chances to win one game. But winning at home seems so much more likely. But then doesn’t it also feel unlikely that the Thunder would beat the Spurs in four straight games essentially sweeping them?

The good news for Thunder fans is that this team doesn’t take games off, ever. They never threw in the towel in a game in the regular season and they’ve proven it in the playoffs as well with impressive comeback victories over Dallas and the Lakers.

We know the Spurs aren’t going to roll over and die either. Game 5 was supposed to be their best shot of coming out and winning again in this series but it didn’t happen.

The Spurs made adjustments that worked somewhat but not enough. They’ll try and figure out the Thunder again on the road in Game 6 but it won’t be easy for them.

The Thunder have the best home crowd and home court advantage in the entire NBA. This is pretty much a fact by now. Role players always play better at home and this is certainly the case with the Thunder’s as well.

Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins played huge roles in the Thunder winning Game 4 of this series. Ibaka went 11-for-11 with 26 points and Perkins added 15 points.

They disappeared somewhat on the road last night. It was Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden that saved the day in Game 5.

The Thunder are their best team at home and that’s what we will see tomorrow night. This series has pitted the two best teams in the league right now playing the best basketball and it has been any basketball fan’s dream come true.

The Spurs will give it their best shot too. What will that add up to? The Thunder have proven they are the more talented team with the higher ceiling when playing well.

And they don’t lose at home.

Westbrook had 23 points to go with 12 assists in the game.

Then he didn’t disappoint after the game. Another gem from Westbrook with his wardrobe choice. After Game 4 it was teddy bears. Now it’s … well, I’m not even sure.

Enjoy.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

This is what it looks right before the start of a dynasty.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been growing and learning all year long. They’ve taken the next step and then they’ve taken the one after that.

This was yet another “next step” for them.

The Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals Monday night to go up 3-2 in the series.

The Thunder lost the first two games of this series before winning the next two at home and then Game 5 on the road.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting.

James Harden hit the biggest shot of the night though draining a stepback 3-pointer over Kawhi Leonard with 32 seconds left to put the Thunder ahead 106-101.

Harden made a 3-pointer and was fouled for a 4-point play with 5:17 left that gave Oklahoma City a 101-88 lead.

The Spurs would score the next 11 points to cut their deficit to just two with 1:54 left in the game.

The Thunder did not execute perfectly down the stretch. They did not get many stops. They simply won because of their superior talent.

Russell Westbrook finally ended the Spurs’ run nailing a jumper with 1:40 left to put the Thunder up 103-99.

Westbrook finished with 23 points in the game but his 12 assists were by far the most impressive stat he had.

The Thunder had 22 assists as a team as they have continually improved with their ball movement in this series.

Manu Ginobili scored 34 points to lead the Spurs. He started the game for the first time in the series and was really the only player giving the Thunder fits.

The Thunder knew it was going to be tougher on the road. It was. Serge Ibaka picked up two quick fouls and only played 20 minutes in the game. The Spurs started making shots that they weren’t in Games 3 and 4.

But a soon-to-be champion wins a game like this. The best part about watching the Thunder is seeing them grow. This has been the best example of that yet.

The work for Oklahoma City is far from over though. The Spurs will not quit. The Thunder get a chance to close out this series at home Wednesday night in Game 6.

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.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant added to his increasing list of clutch moments with his fourth quarter performance in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals vs. San Antonio Saturday night.

Durant scored 18 points in that quarter including a stretch of 16 in a row. He was unstoppable and the Thunder needed every one of those shots too.

Durant is now well on his way to becoming the best closer in the league.

“I’m not where I want to be, but I’m going to keep growing in those situations,” Durant said. “I think those tough times are going to help me get better.”

Before this series, Durant made three game-winning shots in the first two rounds of the playoffs, most notably his fadeaway in Game 1 against Dallas.

Durant has been known as one of the best offensive players in the league ever since he came into the NBA. He has led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons.

But becoming a closer takes more than a well-rounded offensive arsenal. It’s about wanting the ball, demanding the ball and knowing that if you fail, the blame is on you.

You want a closer to have the right attitude and you want him to have the talent. We always knew Durant had the game but the mental side wasn’t always there.

The Thunder have done a great job this year putting him in position to take his closing role to another level.

The Thunder were criticized last season for not being able to get Durant the ball late in games and he often would be pushed way beyond the 3-point line before receiving a pass.

The Thunder have changed that this season and nowhere was it more noticeable than the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Spurs.

Scott Brooks finds something that works and he sticks to it. It was a simple offensive play that got Durant the ball every time in a spot he was very comfortable in and spaced the floor to his left and right with Russell Westbrook and James Harden to help avoid doubles.

“His ability to make shots under pressure is great,” Brooks said. “But I like the fact this year he’s really stepped up on making plays and making the right play.”

The Thunder were able to tie up this series after losing the first two on the road. They have simply done what they were supposed to winning at home.

While Durant was spectacular closing out Game 4, the role players really played a huge role in why the Thunder won the past two games. It’s no secret that role players often shrink on the road and for the Thunder to withstand that, another big game from Durant will be necessary.

We found out what we probably already knew was true at the end of Game 4: the Spurs can’t match up with Kevin Durant. The Thunder will need to again take advantage of this in Game 5 to go up in this series and get in position to advance to the NBA Finals.

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?

Lil Wayne tweeted before Game 3 how he was not allowed into the game. The reason was because he did not have a ticket.

“That’s not the point, though,” he told The Associated Press in an interview Friday night. “It’s the players stepping up but of course the players aren’t white. I don’t want to be sitting there on behalf of you and I’m sitting next to a (person) that’s like `I don’t want this (guy) sitting next to me.’ (Forget) you … I’m in Forbes.”

The Thunder organization said that Lil Wayne was requesting “front row tickets only” for Game 3.

Lil Wayne sent a text message to ESPN saying: “They denied me the tix. Didnt want me in their arena. They also said if I do come, I can only sit behind the bench, not on the floor & that I wouldn’t be able to get any special escort nor entrance. They said its the ‘Oklahoma way’.”

The team responded: “We are completely sold out, had nothing available at all. We would love to have him at our game, but he needs a ticket.”

Kevin Durant and James Harden reached out to Lil Wayne after Game 3 and offered him tickets for Game 4.

Lil Wayne said he always feels welcome in other arenas. He said that he likes to think he energizes the players since most are fans of his music.

“That’s like me going on stage and … seeing LeBron (James) in the crowd with his hand up,” Lil Wayne said. “I’m going to perform a little bit harder.”

It seems there was a lot of poor communication by everyone regarding Lil Wayne’s hopes of attending the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City.

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.

Westbrook only had 7 points on 2-of-10 shooting in Game 4 but the amount of Polo teddy bears definitely made up for that in some sense.

The series is now tied at 2-2 with it heading back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Monday.

We’ll look forward to what Westbrook brings us after Game 5.

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.

Lil Wayne didn’t have a ticket.

The reason was at first unknown why he couldn’t get into the game but for it to be something as simple as not being able to get a ticket is pretty funny.

Lil Wayne’s tweet made it seem like it could have been something else and he finished the tweet saying “Go Spurs.”

Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney said: “We’d love to have him at a game, but like anyone else, he needs a ticket.”

“Lil Wayne, that’s my guy,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. “I took a picture with him at All-Star break.”

Westbrook is going for hipster but might be closer to nerd with some of his looks.

Here is what he wore after Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals Thursday night.

Yes, he killed it again.

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.

Lil Wayne is often seen courtside for NBA games usually in Miami or Los Angeles.

Was going to go to the Thunder game tonight but was denied by the team to be in their arena. Wow. Smh. Go Spurs!

— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) May 31, 2012

It should be mentioned that James Harden dates Lil Wayne’s ex-girlfriend, Trina. Maybe this is why.

Did The Beard deny Lil Wayne access to Chesapeake Arena?

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a do or die situation tonight for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Thunder are down 0-2 in the series and only 14 teams in the history of the NBA have come back from that deficit to win a playoff series. Zero teams have come back from down 0-3.

Durant is ready to “pull a Rondo” tonight if that’s what it’s going to take for the Thunder to win.

“I could play two games in one day,” Durant said.

That won’t be necessary but Durant will certainly play big minutes tonight. He is averaging 41.5 minutes per game so far in this series and 29.0 points.

The Thunder seem to struggle whenever Manu Ginobili and the Spurs’ second unit comes in. The Thunder reserves just can’t match them and keeping Durant or Russell Westbrook on the court at all times might be a good idea.

Durant played the entire second half in Game 1 and it seemed to wear him down. He was fouled a lot in the fourth quarter too and forced to go one-on-one a lot of times which didn’t help either.

Durant shouldn’t need to play the whole game. The Thunder just need to maximize him as much as possible when he is out there. Letting him isolate doesn’t accomplish this. Running Durant off screens and posting him up would.

The Thunder were down 0-2 two years ago against the Lakers in the first round and went on to win the next two at home and even up the series. They will play better and with more energy with their home crowd behind them but they will need more help than just that to beat the Spurs.

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.

Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook were linked via trade talks at the beginning of this season that envisioned the Celtics and Thunder swapping their point guards.

Rondo had more trade rumors surrounding his name than Westbrook but the thought of the two being traded was an interesting prospective.

The two obviously stayed put and helped lead their teams to the Conference Finals. The Celtics and Thunder are both down 0-2 now. Would this be the case if Rondo were on OKC and Westbrook a Celtic?

Rondo is just coming off perhaps the best game of his career in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami. He played all 53 minutes of an overtime loss, scored a career-high 44 points to go with 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals.

Westbrook is back to receiving the same criticism that he did last year in the playoffs. The Thunder have lost two in a row to the Spurs and he is shooting more than Kevin Durant.

Rondo and Westbrook are both very different players who would completely change the other’s team if they were traded for each other.

Would the Thunder be better overall with Rondo instead of Westbrook?

Rondo would help Durant reach his potential as an offensive player quicker than Westbrook is helping him. Rondo has led the league in assists the past two seasons and is one of the best in the league at getting great shooters great looks.

Durant would thrive playing with Rondo and you could envision him scoring well over 30 points per game.

Rondo would also be able to extract the most out of Oklahoma City’s offensively challenged bigs. Kendrick Perkins might not become an offensive stud but Serge Ibaka might really take off alongside Rondo.

Ibaka possesses a very formidable midrange game and is one of the best athletes in the league. Looking at what Rondo does with Brandon Bass, he and Ibaka could become very deadly together.

James Harden would also probably get better overall with Rondo. Harden would even make more sense as a starter with Rondo instead of Westbrook since Rondo isn’t someone who needs to shoot even at all to be effective.

Harden has some Paul Pierce in his DNA and is a pretty good spot-up shooter so he would definitely fit right in next to Rondo running the show.

The Thunder would lose one of the true offensive studs in the league right now in Westbrook. Westbrook does so many things for this team and at times becomes the best player on the floor, even better than Durant.

The Thunder are better when Westbrook shoots more than Durant given their current roster and style of play. It can be criticized but it has worked.

But if the Thunder becoming a championship team means Durant needs to reach new heights, Westbrook could be holding him back in a sense while Rondo would aid Durant in his ascension to legend status.

Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka is only 90 years old. They will keep improving. Durant and Westbrook may coexist well enough to eventually win a title.

Westbrook will get the blame if they don’t and all we’ll be able to do is wonder if Rondo could have made a difference.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant is thus far playing a pretty pedestrian series by his standards against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

Durant is averaging 29.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals in 42.5 minutes per game so far in this series. He’s shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three and 95.0 percent from the line.

Well, those are pretty good numbers I guess?

But the Thunder are down 0-2 in the series nonetheless and an eventual outcome of the Thunder advancing to the NBA Finals seems very bleak.

Durant has given the Thunder a lot but they need more to get past the Spurs this year with these teams. The more needs to start coming in the post for Durant.

The knock on Oklahoma City all year was that they don’t have someone to throw the ball into in the post when they need a bucket and the jumpers aren’t falling. That’s not true. They have someone they just don’t post him up enough.

Durant is efficient enough at scoring in the post and against the Spurs especially when Kawhi Leonard is usually covering him. Durant is 3-for-5 on post shots so far in the series, every time with Leonard on him.

While five shots is a small sample size, it does show that Durant is at least able to score down low. He just needs more touches down there.

This wasn’t Oklahoma City’s identity this season though. They would be changing what they’ve done all season long to get to this point by posting up Durant late in games.

But they definitely need to.

Durant has put up big numbers overall in the series but not so much in the fourth quarter. He has scored just 10 points so far in the fourth quarter combined in the first two games and that’s because he’s unable to get a lot of good touches.

The Spurs have done a good job denying him out on the perimeter and converging on him when he drives. Getting into the post would immediately increase Durant’s fourth quarter shot attempts.

Isn’t it obvious that the Thunder won’t be winning a title until they start doing this? Didn’t we see and say the same thing with Dirk Nowitzki?

There’s no reason the Thunder shouldn’t be doing this now especially because it would work. The Thunder have no problem trying to get Durant post touches in the first quarter but in the fourth he ends up running off a screen, not getting separation from his defender and basically posting up from the 3-point line.

Durant is the one who needs to demand this too. That’s part of what is so important about your best player posting up. You demand the ball in the post and you want your best player to demand the ball.

The title still feels so close to this Thunder team and that’s why it’s hard to simply say that they’re a year or two away and need to learn from their mistakes this year before they can win.

They have the talent now. They just need to make the necessary adjustments.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden had an uncharacteristically bad showing in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals as the Thunder lost 101-98 to the Spurs.

Harden scored 19 points in that game and was 7-for-17 from the field but did not attempt a single free throw for the first time this year.

Harden did not look himself as the Spurs’ game plan to defend the Thunder in the pick-and-roll worked very well.

The Spurs basically let the Thunder ball handler come off the screen with no pressure and gave them space, playing to defend the drive.

For Harden, this seemed to work especially well. Harden’s game is simple when you look at where he attacks the defense. He either shoots threes or attacks the rim and does very little in between.

Harden hit a few threes in the game but couldn’t get anything going toward the rim. The Spurs were ready for him and contested without fouling and also drew two charges on him.

The midrange pull-up jump shot was the look San Antonio was conceding Harden and he rarely took it. Harden rarely takes midrange shots in general, attempting just 1.1 shots per game this season from between 10-to-15 feet.

In Game 2, we saw Harden adjust.

Here we see Harden confidently take three midrange jump shots and make all of them. This helped to open up the rest of Harden’s offensive game as well.

Harden scored 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and from the free throw line. Harden only attempted one 3-pointer in the game too.

Having Harden play well is vitally important for the Thunder and while Oklahoma City is still down 0-2 in the series, it would feel a lot worse if Harden had played two poor games as well.

Expect Harden along with Durant and Westbrook to play a little better when they are at home for Games 3 and 4 and get this series back even at 2-2.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have found themselves in a tough spot. Being down 0-2 in an NBA Playoff series is not a good place to be.

In the history of the NBA, only 14 teams have comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series. Three times it happened in the NBA Finals, three times it happened in the Conference Finals and three times it happened in a 5-game series.

The Thunder will have to do just that against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals if they don’t want their season to end.

The problem is that the Spurs are playing like the best team in the NBA right now. They’ve won 20-straight games, which is tied for the third most ever in the NBA, and haven’t lost since April 11.

But it has happened before and if there is one thing you can say about the Thunder it is that they never give up and stop fighting.

How do teams come back from a 0-2 deficit? What usually happens?

The Thunder can look at a couple of teams that may show them a possible blue print.

2007 ECF: Cavaliers beat the Pistons 4-2

LeBron James and Cleveland lose the first two games 79-76 each time in Detroit. Those weren’t fun games to watch.

Then LeBron makes the leap. He has the memorable 48-point game five and it feels like the NBA will never be the same because LeBron is becoming the most unstoppable force ever.

The Cavaliers would lose to the Spurs in the NBA Finals but LeBron gave us a glimpse of just how talented he could become.

Kevin Durant has a chance to do exactly what LeBron did in 2007 in this series. It’s time for him to step up and have a huge playoff series. Only once in his career has he averaged more than 30 per game in a playoff series.

Durant may need to suddenly jump to another level of greatness for the Thunder to win.

2006 Finals: Heat beat Mavericks 4-2

Dallas proves why they are a much better team than Miami in Games 1 and 2 then Dwyane Wade and the referees take over the rest of the series.

Wade shoots 739 free throws in the final four games of the series and puts up historic NBA Finals numbers.

The Thunder are a team with a ton of bogus-foul calls potential. Couldn’t you see Durant, Westbrook and Harden start flailing their bodies into the Spurs over the next four games and getting every call?

Doesn’t David Stern and the NBA want to see LeBron vs. Durant in the Finals? Let’s make this happen.

1993 ECF: Bulls beat Knicks 4-2

The Thunder are reminiscent in many ways of the late-80’s, early-90’s Chicago Bulls teams. They may not have a Michael Jordan but overall they look comparable from time to time.

The Bulls lost the first two games on the road to the Knicks in this 1993 series. Those games were physical and the Bulls were not in their usual rhythm until they returned home and showed why the more talented team won the series.

The Thunder and Spurs games haven’t been especially physical but the Thunder have been out of rhythm so far in the series and haven’t been playing to their potential yet.

There is a ton of potential for this series to look a lot different when it gets to OKC on Thursday and that could propel a Thunder comeback.

Conclusion

It is possible but very unlikely for an NBA team to come back from a 0-2 deficit in a playoff series. It is even harder when you are playing a team as good as the Spurs.

But if you were going to pick a team to do this wouldn’t it be a team like this Thunder team? A team on the rise who shows tons of potential but not all the time? A team with the best player in this series who is on the verge of “making the leap?”

There’s still hope.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have fallen 0-2 in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs, most recently losing 120-111 Tuesday night.

Durant scored 31 points to go with five rebounds and five assists in the game but scored only four points in the fourth quarter.

“We lost,” Durant said. “There’s no moral victories for us. We’re upset about the loss.”

The Thunder trailed by as many as 22 points in the third quarter while the Spurs were simply putting on an offensive clinic.

The Thunder finally came alive in the fourth quarter especially on defense and would cut the deficit to as little as six points.

The Thunder showed in the fourth quarter of Game 2 how they can beat the Spurs and they showed in the first three quarters of Game 1. Those are good things but not good enough for this team.

“We’re not here to try to make it a close game or make it a good fight,” said Russell Westbrook who scored 27 points to go with eight assists and seven rebounds in Game 2. “We’re here to win.”

The formula that worked for the Thunder in Game 2 was a small lineup consisting of Westbrook-Fisher-Harden-Durant-Ibaka. It’s what brought them back but you still felt like Scott Brooks could have made one more adjustment to play Thabo Sefolosha instead of Derek Fisher.

Fisher has a history of hitting big shots and truthfully has been big for the Thunder in the playoffs but he was 2-for-11 from the field in Game 2 and the Thunder could have used another athletic wing like Sefolosha on the floor at the end.

The Thunder also went small in Game 1 in the fourth quarter only without Serge Ibaka. The Spurs scored 16 of their 39 fourth quarter points in the paint in Game 1 and afterwards Brooks said he regretted not playing Ibaka down the stretch.

The Thunder have shown signs of how to beat the Spurs but they will need to put together a full game to pull off a win in this series. The Spurs are just that good.

During the game however, there was a pretty embarrassing incident in the stands with fans of both the Spurs and Thunder fighting.

Obviously, there is no place for this at an NBA game. It’s a pretty ugly incident and I guess we’re all lucky that Metta World Peace did not attend this game.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook brought the ball up the court with 58 seconds left and the Oklahoma City Thunder trailing the San Antonio Spurs 115-107 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Westbrook proceeded to do what Westbrook does.

He hoisted a 25-foot 3-pointer that did not go in, effectively ending any chances of the Thunder completing a remarkable comeback.

*Queue Twitter killing Westbrook for this*

Westbrook is back in the playoffs and so are his haters. This time, it took until the Western Conference Finals for them to come out because, well, there was nothing wrong with Westbrook in the first two rounds.

You’re going to hear today:

“Westbrook shouldn’t be shooting more than Durant.”
“Russell Westbrook is not a true point guard.”
“The Thunder will never win a title with Westbrook as their point guard.”

Fact: if you have watched the Thunder play basketball this season and not overwhelmingly felt like they were on the verge of becoming the next NBA dynasty, you are a complete idiot.

The Thunder will start winning NBA titles one day. It might be this year or it might not be for another year or two. Russell Westbrook will be there for those titles.

If you watch the Thunder play and not just look at the box score, you know how good Westbrook is and how important he is to this team. They aren’t playing in the Western Conference Finals without him.

Kevin Durant is the best player on the Thunder but Westbrook is a close second and there are nights when he is better than Durant. He does more things than Durant can. He does the things that Durant cannot.

Westbrook does Westbrook.

The Thunder made a decision to let Westbrook be himself. When it works, it’s awesome. When it doesn’t, it can be ugly.

Learning to win a title is all about discovering your identity as a team when you have the talent (and the Thunder do). This is what we’re seeing right now with them. It’s a process and the Thunder having to beat a team like San Antonio that knows their identity better than anyone is part of the path.

Maybe the Thunder figure out how to overcome San Antonio in this series or maybe it takes another year.

It will happen one day and Westbrook will be a huge part of it.

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.

Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs are leading the Oklahoma City Thunder 55-44 at half time of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs shot 57.9 percent from the field in the first half while the Thunder shot just 36.2 percent.

The Spurs are doing their thing on offense moving the ball perfectly while the Thunder have been unable to slow them down and match them on the other end.

Kevin Durant and James Harden lead the Thunder with 14 points each.

Tony Parker leads the Spurs with 17 points and five assists.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will get another chance to steal a game in San Antonio tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST on TNT.

The Thunder blew a golden opportunity in Game 1 as they could not hold on to a nine-point lead after three quarters.

The Spurs came roaring back finally looking like the offensive juggernaught they have been all season in that final quarter scoring 39 points including 16 inside the paint.

The Thunder lost any rhythm they had in that final period as Russell Westbrook and James Harden completely deferred to Kevin Durant on offense and the Thunder’s small unit was ineffective on both ends of the floor.

Westbrook and Harden know they have to step up tonight for the Thunder to have a chance and they all know that ball movement must improve against a team like the Spurs to win.

Brooks also has said he regretted not bringing Serge Ibaka back into the game in the fourth quarter to help protect the paint that San Antonio so easily penetrated to.

The Thunder showed in the first three quarters how to beat the Spurs. They played great defense and contested the spot-up outside looks San Antonio got. The Spurs were 9-for-23 on spot-up shots in the game and 5-for-14 on spot-up threes.

The Thunder then got out on the break and did some damage and were 8-of-14 on transition shots in the game. They were unable to score at all on the fast break in the fourth quarter and that had mostly to do with an inability to get stops or force turnovers.

The Thunder had nine offensive rebounds in the first half and none in the second. They became more isolation-heavy in the second half and combine that with going small and it won’t result in many second-chance opportunities for any team.

The Thunder need to continue to commit on defense and they should but the offense needs to be better too starting with Westbrook and Harden.

Westbrook became an erratic attacker in Game 1 as his jump shot was not always falling. He needs to be more under control in Game 2 and after a game of seeing how the Spurs guarded him, he should do a better job of this tonight.

Harden was out of it in Game 1 as he became frustrated that his shots were not falling. He did not attempt a free throw for this first time all season in that game and committed two uncharacteristic charges as well.

If Harden can get his offense going like usual it will help rejuvenate him on defense too which is very important since he will again find himself matched up with Manu Ginobili who had a big Game 1.

Tonight feels like a must-win for the Thunder. You need to win once on the road to win the series and going down 0-2 is a tough hole even for the Thunder.

You can always count on the Thunder this season to play hard every night. They will give it their best shot tonight and if that is not enough, winning the series will get tougher but won’t be impossible.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant is quickly becoming one of the best players in the NBA. He finished second in the MVP race for the second time in his career this season and also took home his third straight scoring title.

Durant led the Thunder into the playoffs this year and into the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Thunder now find themselves trailing in a series for the first time this postseason after losing 101-98 in Game 1 in San Antonio. Durant had 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 43 minutes in the loss but it wasn’t enough.

You can point fingers at Russell Westbrook and James Harden for their poor shooting nights or Scott Brooks for not playing Serge Ibaka but maybe it’s Durant who needs to step up.

This Spurs team shouldn’t be able to contain him. It’s time for Durant to start taking over.

Durant is only averaging 26.7 points per game this postseason which is less than he averaged in the regular season. Durant is playing more minutes in the playoffs and his production really should be rising rather than dropping.

The Spurs should be afraid that Durant is going to drop 40 or 50 on them in every game if they don’t bring their best stuff. That’s how teams felt when they played Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant in a series and that’s the next step for Durant, to become like how they were.

There isn’t a feeling surrounding Durant that he will go off like that and average 35 points per game in a series. It’s kind of surprising too when you think about it that Durant doesn’t have more huge scoring nights.

Durant has averaged 27.4 points per game in his playoff career and only once in a series did he average more than 30 per game, against Denver in the first round last year. Isn’t it a little surprising that Durant doesn’t routinely average more than 30 points per game in a playoff series?

He’s due for a big series and what better time than now? The Spurs don’t necessarily have one guy who can shut him down so the opportunity is sitting there for Durant to start taking over this series.

Durant becoming the unquestionable alpha dog on this team is the Thunder’s next step toward becoming a champion. The Thunder are still a great team when Westbrook or Harden can be their best player but they won’t become a champion until every night Durant is that guy.

The Spurs outscored the Thunder 39-27 in the final period easily erasing the nine-point deficit after three. The Spurs did this by getting into the paint and scoring 16 points there as the Thunder played small ball.

“I think every decision you make, if it doesn’t work out, you say, ‘Why’d you do that?’ and I’m right (there) with you on that,” Scott Brooks said on Monday. “I wish I would have played Serge last night.”

The adjustment to play Ibaka instead of Kendrick Perkins or next to Perkins is not only obvious now but was also during the game when the Spurs were making their run.

But Brooks likes going small probably because he likes the idea of Kevin Durant playing the four. The only problem was that while both teams were playing small, the advantage of Durant at the four was nullified while Stephen Jackson remained matched up with him on defense.

“We’ve done it in the past and have had a lot of success, so you can’t really look back and beat yourself up too much … but I will,” Brooks said. “It was nothing against what Serge did. I thought we would be able to close out the game. Hindsight, looking back now, I wish obviously I wouldn’t have done that.”

This is good news for the Thunder that Brooks is on board with not trying to match the Spurs’ lineup and instead have them try and match up with them.

The Thunder played good enough to beat the Spurs for three quarters in Game 1 and it wasn’t enough. They will need a full game tonight to win as the Spurs also did not play their best overall game in Game 1.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the San Antonio Spurs 71-62 after three quarters and looked well on their way toward stealing Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on the road.

Then the Spurs came back. Their offense came alive and the Thunder’s became stagnant, looking like the isolation-heavy late-game offense they’ve been criticized for in the past.

The Thunder losing the game mostly had to do with allowing 39 points in the fourth quarter. But they weren’t playing their best defensive lineup as Serge Ibaka sat the entire fourth and they still could have won the game or kept it closer had they executed down the stretch themselves.

The Thunder started the fourth small and finished it the same way with Kevin Durant playing the four. They begin the fourth with Fisher-Harden-Cook-Durant-Collison. So basically, no chance against the Spurs’ pick-and-roll as Durant and Harden really don’t enjoy rotating over.

The Thunder begin the quarter trying to get Harden going who was struggling up to this point. They run his pick-and-roll play from the right wing on the first two possessions. He makes a pull-up jumper on the first then on a very similar situation, tries to drive at Tiago Splitter and picks up a charge on the next play.

The Spurs are defending the pick-and-roll by allowing the ball handler to freely come off the pick and sagging into the paint to prevent them getting a good angle to attack the rim. The Thunder did not see this kind of defense against the pick-and-roll in the first round and weren’t sure what to do at times it seemed.

Harden found himself open for a lot of midrange jumpers, a shot he rarely takes. Harden only attempted 1.1 shots per game from between 10-to-23 feet in the regular season. This helped result in Harden pressing and forcing contested layups over prepared bigs.

On the next possession, the Thunder post-up Durant on the left side about 12-feet out. This is the only time they would do this in the quarter. Durant finds Collison cutting in the paint here but Collison misses a tough shot at the rim.

Stephen Jackson was guarding Durant the entire fourth quarter and is getting a lot of credit for the way he defended him. It was a lot like how he defended Dirk Nowitzki back in 2007 when the Warriors knocked of the Mavericks in the first round. He was getting up into him closely and allowing Durant to attempt to drive left.

Durant is much worse driving left when he is looking to attack the rim. He always prefers to drive right to get a layup. When Durant goes left, he is much more efficient going for a pull-up or stepback jump shot.

Russell Westbrook now checks in for Daequan Cook as the Spurs are now within five points.

Westbrook has also been relatively struggling at this point in the game. They run a play where Durant comes up from a downscreen to pick for Westbrook at the top of the key. This usually leaves room for Westbrook to look to attack on this play but Tony Parker defends it well and contests a Westbrook pull-up that he misses.

The Thunder try and get Westbrook going again on the next possession and let him isolate at the top of the key. He misses a wild runner going to his left. Westbrook is always better when able to play on offense under control and look for his pull-up. The Spurs enticed him to attack the rim a lot in Game 1 and he became out of control and inefficient.

The Thunder get a rare second half transition opportunity next but Harden doesn’t take advantage and charges on Gary Neal. Harden didn’t have a ton of room here and it was clear Neal was prepared for Harden to eurostep to his left. He anticipated it to draw the charge. Harden was out of rhythm all game and should have seen to eurostep to his right and would have finished the layup.

On the next possession, Westbrook misses another erratic layup attempt going to his left. The Thunder decide here to try and go back to Harden some in the pick-and-roll.

Harden runs a pick-and-pop with Durant and passes Durant which he almost always does on this play. Harden is pretty much never looking to drive when he runs the pick-and-pop with Durant. He may not like the angles he gets because Durant never really sets a solid screen and just pops.

Durant ends up having to isolate again with Jackson doing a good job of crowding him beyond the 3-point line. Durant tries to clear some space and catches Jackson with an elbow and the foul is called on Durant.

The Thunder do not go to Harden as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls the rest of the game now with 7:41 left and the score tied at 73.

The Thunder try Westbrook getting a pick from Durant at the top of the key twice more over the next three possessions. Westbrook is in driving mode now and the Thunder do end up scoring twice off his passes.

The Thunder then have two possessions where the play turns into a Durant isolation when that wasn’t totally the design of the play. This is when the standing around and lack of ball movement really begins.

Durant isn’t even inefficient when this happens and he got fouled a lot in the quarter which isn’t all bad but it seemed to affect the Thunder offense in that they were now just standing around watching. Westbrook and Harden knew they didn’t have it and were completely deferring to Durant.

The Thunder were forced into nothing but half court offense down the stretch and with Harden not playing well, it became a huge issue. They weren’t getting stops so they weren’t getting fast break opportunities and since they were playing so small, they weren’t getting any offensive rebounds either.

This is when people say the Thunder hurt because they don’t have someone to post-up. It’s not that they don’t have someone, it’s that they don’t go to him in the post. Durant had an advantage over Jackson inside and they only posted him up once. Jackson was doing a nice job on Durant but fouled him four times in the quarter.

The Thunder should have posted up Durant even though he’s not totally comfortable down there yet and that isn’t their identity yet. It was an adjustment that would have countered the way Jackson was defending Durant and could have gotten Durant a few more trips to the line and kept the game within striking distance.

The Thunder did not adjust though in the fourth quarter whether it was posting Durant up or bringing back Ibaka. The adjustments will have to wait for Game 2 and if they don’t come then, this series could end up being a short one for OKC.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost 101-98 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio Sunday night.

The Thunder led 71-62 after three quarters but quickly saw that lead evaporate in the fourth and they would fall behind by as many as 10 points.

James Harden did not have his best game severely struggling from the field and was unable to get to the free throw line even once for the first time all season.

Harden finished with 17 points and was 7-for-17 from the field but made two threes in the final minute when the game was already decided to inflate those numbers.

Harden is maybe the most important player for the Thunder and their championship hopes. When he raises his game, the Thunder take on another level of awesome. We saw it in Game 4 against Dallas and we saw it twice in the Lakers series.

Coming into this series the pick-and-roll game for both teams was going to be a crucial point. Harden is the Thunder’s best pick-and-roll offensive player but last night the Spurs did a great job of containing him.

The Spurs’ plan of attack was to allow the Thunder ball handler to get around the screen and not hedge out. The big man, either Tim Duncan or Tiago Splitter, would then allow space for the Thunder ball handler luring them often to drive out of control at the rim.

The Spurs’ big men did a great job of not fouling and you could tell Harden, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were not ready for this and thus did not find any rhythm in these spots.

Harden especially was less than his usual self in the pick-and-roll game. He was looking to draw contact and get to the line early on like he did against Dallas and the Lakers but he was not getting calls and deservedly so as the Spurs were in great position and ready for Harden’s moves.

Harden likes going left the most and the Spurs know this. When Harden was in spots where he was looking to get to the rim you saw the Spurs defenders shadowing him and anticipating his eurostep to the left.

Harden said after the game that the Spurs didn’t do anything special on defense to take him away. He said he just was missing layups and that was it.

There is some truth to that for not just Harden but the entire Thunder team. They were missing shots they normally get more often than usual and that eventually led to the entire offense getting out of rhythm and turning so isolation heavy.

The Spurs won Game 1 and won the battle within the game taking the Thunder out of their rhythm. But Oklahoma City knows what to expect now and they should adjust accordingly for Game 2 and have a better offensive game at least.

Harden will continue to be the most important player in this series for the Thunder. If he can return to the form he was in the first two rounds the Thunder will win this series.

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.

The Thunder and Spurs are playing better than anyone in the NBA and will provide fans with some fantastic matchups. Here at Thunderous Intentions we’ve already previewed the James Harden-Manu Ginobili matchup and Russell Westbrook-Tony Parker matchup.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and Tim Duncan round out the teams’ big three’s and how they compare in this series will also be very important in deciding the outcome.

Durant and Duncan won’t guard each other but the production of each and what it means to their teams are similar. Both teams rely on Durant and Duncan as their two most established stars for their consistency and ability to take over at times (in different ways now).

Durant had a near MVP-season this year if it wasn’t for LeBron James. He led the league in scoring for the third straight season averaging 28.0 points per game and also averaged a career-high 8.0 rebounds per game.

Durant didn’t score the most he ever has but part of that was that he didn’t need to score as much as his team improved around him and he did up his shooting numbers posting a career-high .610 true shooting percentage.

Duncan is past his prime. This is no secret. But his play this season and especially lately still leaves him as one of the best big men in the game. He averaged 15.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this season in just 28.2 minutes per game.

Duncan has picked up his game in the playoffs now averaging 17.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks as the Spurs are 8-0 so far in the postseason.

If either Durant or Duncan is playing less than their averages in this series, the other team is suddenly in a great position. Durant’s level of play is easier to tell with numbers while Duncan’s impact doesn’t show up as much in those ways.

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In three games against the Spurs this season, Durant only averaged 22.7 points per game and shot .468 percent from the field. That is well below par for Durant but don’t expect to see those numbers in this series.

The Thunder didn’t play very well against the Spurs this season overall. This Thunder team is much better now with how they are playing in the playoffs and are doing a better job of getting Durant into rhythm.

Despite Durant’s overall lower numbers against San Antonio this year, the Spurs aren’t going to have an easy job containing him. Durant got many open looks against the Spurs in those three games and has the ability to get those looks on catch-and-shoots and post-ups.

The Spurs play great team defense but Durant is a huge mismatch problem for them. The Thunder have gone to Durant in the post more in the postseason although didn’t too much in the Lakers series because of Metta World Peace. Against San Antonio they will be able to and a “playoff-level engaged” Durant should be able to produce down there.

Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Stephen Jackson should draw the assignment of sticking Durant for most of this series. They are all fine defenders in their own right but Durant is much taller than either of them and they aren’t necessarily the physical type either that can cause Durant to struggle.

Expect easy looks for Durant or at least easier looks than what he got against the Lakers in this series.

If the Spurs go zone, and they probably will some, that’s only a good thing for Durant. The Thunder are one of the best teams in the NBA at attacking a zone and Durant is probably the best zone offensive player in the league because of his ability to easily shoot over one.

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While Durant’s greatest impacts will come on offense, Duncan is more about his defense and the way he defends the Thunder’s pick-and-roll game will be critical.

The Thunder run Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Durant in pick-and-rolls all of the time. This means Duncan will have a lot of responsibility coming out hedging and defending those three.

If the Thunder get into a good offensive flow they will be able to attack the Spurs’ defense and Duncan in particular with greater ease. If Duncan is very active and able to effectively force the Thunder ball handlers out of their rhythm then advantage Spurs.

Duncan is also pretty much the lone rim protector for San Antonio. He is one of the great shot blockers of all-time but it will be as hard as ever protecting the rim against this Thunder team.

Durant and Harden will certainly have moments throughout the series where they are able to get into the lane and score and it will be up to Duncan to make those looks tough ones.

On offense, Duncan will have to deal with Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka mostly. Duncan won’t be asked to post-up as much as he used to but the Spurs will still certainly go to it some.

The Thunder have some of the best post defense in the NBA and Duncan struggled from the field against the Thunder in the regular season and shot just .357 percent against them and averaged 13.3 points.

Durant and Duncan will not be matched up much if at all in this series but keep an eye on how each is playing in comparison to see which team has the upper hand. If either of them has a poor series then that will be devastating for their team.

Duncan has shown to still have the potential for “throwback Duncan” games these playoffs and if he’s throwing up 20-14-5 games then OKC will have a very tough time winning.

Durant is still sort of yet to have that breakout playoff series where he just simply goes off. It may be his time now as the Spurs aren’t totally equipped to make it too difficult for him. If we’re looking at 37-9-5 nights from Durant then the Thunder will not be losing many games, definitely not four.

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.