Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

Western Conf. Finals 2016: Analyzing OKC’s Stunning Game 1 Road Victory

By Ali Ahmed

May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) congratulates forward Kevin Durant (35) for being fouled during the second quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) congratulates forward Kevin Durant (35) for being fouled during the second quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

If Game 1 was any indication of what is to come in this fierce Western Conference Finals matchup between the Warriors and Thunder, then cash in those sick days because there won’t be much sleep for us basketball junkies. When the buzzer sounded following an impressive 108-102 Game 1 effort by the Thunder, we were all left struggling to not to giggle at the thought that OKC has a real shot at winning this series. The Thunder, who had as bad as a first half as you can think of, managed to stay composed in a rocking Oracle Arena and come back from what seemed to be a lethal 14 point deficit against the Warriors. Oh, and they got the win.

Who are these guys? I don’t recognize them at all. The OKC team, who blew the most fourth quarter leads in the league, suddenly looks like a team who’s matured mentally enough to bang with stupidly good close out teams like the Spurs and Warriors. Just how far have they come, though? The Warriors were 37-0 (including playoffs) after leading by 10+ points after halftime.

Breathe. It’s only one game, but for OKC, the thought of stealing a game in Golden State was purely irresponsible heading into this series.

For those who tragically missed such a great opening date between these two juggernauts, don’t you worry. Here’s a breakdown of OKC’s phenomenal game 1 victory against Golden State.

How Did They Win?

  1. Disrupting Steph’s Routes and Off-Ball Actions – The tandem of Russ and Roberson did an exceptional job of tracking Curry all game and battling through those meticulous Warriors screens. When Curry went 1-on-1 with either defender, there was absolutely no breathing space given to him, resulting in the Warriors playing him off-ball for a good amount of this game. Bumps, slick pulls, momentary holds – the Thunder did everything they could do to ensure Curry didn’t get a lot of easy looks.
  2. Not Allowing Them to Play Your Bigs Off The Floor – OKC’s gritty tandem of Kanter and Adams has been the talk of opposing team video sessions all playoffs long. Their ability to beat you on the glass and extend possessions has been crucial for the Thunder, but heading into this series we knew it would be a different story. Could they replicate those performances against a frontline of Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut?They struggled in the first half, resulting in the Warriors winning the battle on the boards and Kanter nearly finding himself stashed on the bench after being exposed by Green numerous times. Eventually though, Donovan stuck with his guys, and it was Steven Adams who proved to be a key cog offensively and defensively in the Thunder’s come from behind win.
  3. Westbrook Adapting To What’s Needed – It was pretty easy to say that Westbrook needed to facilitate more for the Thunder to outplay the Warriors this series. In reality though, the Thunder needed just the opposite to pose a serious threat. Early on in Game 1, you could see Russ focusing on getting KD, Adams, and Ibaka going and he did a solid job for the most part until things bogged down and OKC found themselves in a bucket for bucket battle with GSW.Westbrook completely flipped the script in the second half going for an absurd 19 points in the third quarter alone. During a stretch where KD looked out of sorts, it was Westbrook who completely threw the team on his back and waited for his guys to follow suit in the closing minutes.
  4. Billy Donovan Managing Better – When you’ve got two of the top five players on the planet on your team, coaching really comes down to managing lineups, timeouts, and flow of the game. Donovan, as a first year head coach and in a pressurized unfamiliar territory, did just that. He seemed a bit confused early on with his lineup combos and simply didn’t have a counter for Golden State’s constant scoring bursts.What Donovan has done well this year however,  is having the ability to calm down his team and keep it simple for them, something seen in the way he advised his guys to keep chipping away in his notable halftime speech. When the Thunder needed a different lineup out there to exploit something or a timeout to draw an ATO play, Donovan was quick on the trigger and right on the money.

Next: Who Has To Step Up Most In This Series?

Things aren’t going get any easier next game, and I fully expect the Warriors to play their absolute best basketball. One thing is for sure, falling 2-0 to this tested and peaking Thunder squad, no matter what type of regular season accolades you’ve racked up, might be a deadly mistake.

Home/Thunder News