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The Spurs are back in the win column again, just in time for a visit from the NBA’s best team (by record), fresh off of their 40th win of the season.
The Spurs have had the Thunder’s number for most of the season, with a 3-1 record against them, but the Thunder finally flipped the tables in the last contest with a 21-point win, and I expect they’ll be out to avenge both their record against San Antonio and the once-building sentiment that they’re in the reigning champs’ collective heads.
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The book is out on how the Spurs can defeat OKC. They must deny penetration and interior scoring, refrain from giving the Thunder any breathing room beyond the arc, and avoid getting sloppy against the team that leads the NBA in points off turnovers.
Rebounding (4th) will assist in denying the Thunder extra possessions and keeping them from getting easy points from an offense that’s spent most of the season in the top 10 for points scored in the paint.
While the Thunder are near the top of the league in Effective Field Goal Percentage (4th) and True Shooting Percentage (3rd), a vulnerability has been exposed by the Spurs in their long-distance shooting.
Oklahoma City sits in the middle of the pack in both three-point percentage (15th) and three-pointers made (15th), and their offense simply does not move anywhere near as fluidly when they’re having difficultly inside.
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It’s possible that this is related to a shortage of distributors, but whether it’s a personnel issue or their ball-movement’s Achilles heel is a matter of debate. That they’re 18th in assists, 28th in assist percentage, and 18th in assist ratio is not. Something goes amiss when they’re denied the interior, suggesting their offense is riding a fine line between team-play and heliocentric distribution.
Offensively, the Spurs will need to push the pace at every opportunity, exercise patience in picking the stingy Thunder defense apart, and make the paint their home. The Thunder are tops in the league in fast break defense and denying points in the paint, but the speed of San Antonio’s guards and Wemby’s length have…
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Publish date : 2026-02-04 08:00:00
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