OKC Thunder: 5 keys to victory over the San Antonio Spurs

OKC Thunder chalkboard note 4:  Clean the offensive glass

The fundamental team-first approach and success of that culture are why most franchises have tried to emulate the Spurs for the past two decades. And, hey when it comes to trends, Gregg Popovich has created and tweaked more than the cumulative majority of coaches in the association.

I direct you to the symphonic era of ball and player movement that the Spurs beat the Heatles with and arguably should have beat them twice in a row! This iteration of the Spurs ranks ninth in assists with 25.5 per game.

In spite of the Spurs players having high I.Q.’s and playing to these fundamentals, there are weaknesses the Thunder can exploit.

For example the offensive glass. Although the Thunder doesn’t necessarily excel on the glass, neither do the Spurs. This is one of their main weaknesses. They rank 18th in offensive rebounding with 9.3 per game.

Those boards lead to second-chance points and the Spurs give those up in droves. San Antonio ranks 26th in opponent second-chance points allowing 14.1 per game.

This iteration of the OKC Thunder is committed to positionless ball so everyone needs to be laser-focused and cleaning the glass. If DeRozan is out (as reported) they’ll be more emphasis on Thunder Killer – LaMarcus Aldridge which means he’ll be active and need to have a body on him at all times.

That could present an opportunity for Al Horford to shine. But, Darius Bazley, Isaiah Roby, and the whole team need to crash the glass to reap the rewards.