Film Room: 3 good and bad things from Game 4
By Shawn Woods
3 BAD THINGS
1. Dre can’t play. As the biggest Andre Roberson fan outside of his family and friends, it isn’t easy to admit that he can’t play big minutes in this series. The Spurs are too smart on defense and too efficient on offense for the Thunder to hide Roberson on that end.
The degree to which Manu Ginobili can gamble when guarding Roberson is outstanding. He is able to leave Roberson alone in the corner and double a driving Durant because the worst thing that can happen is Durant finds Roberson in the corner. If Roberson gets the ball in the corner, he’ll probably just pump fake until Durant is able to get open, allowing Ginobili to recover.
Foye has been disappointing for most of his time in Oklahoma City, but he has the reputation of a decent shooter. A Roberson corner 3 doesn’t warrant the same type of closeout as a Randy Foye corner 3, and there is a threat of Foye making it.
2. Too slow. This is a trend throughout the Thunder tenure with Durant and Westbrook, but it’s one that isn’t recommended when playing the Spurs.
Notice the shot clock in the lower right hand corner. With 10 seconds left on the clock, the Thunder hadn’t gotten the ball below the top of the key, and the possession ends in a desperate heave from Roberson, which ends as you would expect.
Different possession with similar results. Westbrook getting below the 3-point line is the first time the Thunder got below the 3-point line in this possession, and it ends with a difficult shot. Adams grabbed the rebound and got to the free throw line, but the results don’t justify the process.
3. Open 3s
Every defense has breakdowns, but good ones don’t allow open 3s in the corner. Durant starts on Tony Parker in this possession, but through a series of switches, Adams and Ibaka leave him open. Parker isn’t the best 3-point shooter, so leaving him open isn’t the end of the world (although not ideal from the corner).
Leaving Patty Mills open from the corner is inexcusable. Westbrook gambles to stop a lob to Aldridge, but abandons Mills in the process. Westbrook’s defense has been bad for some time now, but plays like these will kill the Thunder defense over the long haul.
There are many more positive things the Thunder did Sunday night than negative things, but in order for the Thunder to do the unthinkable, they’ll need to play perfectly for 2 of the next 3 games.