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Through two games, the Western Conference Finals could not be any more evenly matched. The Thunder have outscored the Spurs by a mere two points, with both contests coming down to the wire. OKC made smart adjustments in Game 2, and now the onus is on Mitch Johnson and the Spurs to counter.
Ultimately, this series will be determined in two areas: the number of turnovers the Thunder force, and the matchup between the bigs down low. It’s a battle of strengths between the two teams, and whoever can impose their will should emerge victorious.
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Let’s start with the turnovers.
The ball is lava!
So far, OKC has forced 44 turnovers to just 25 for San Antonio, and the Thunder have outscored the Spurs 55-27 off those opportunities.
Stephon Castle has become the whipping boy for San Antonio’s turnover issues, and for good reason: he has thrown the ball away 20 times in the first two games, which accounts for over 45% of their total turnovers and is the most by any player in a two-game span in NBA history. It’s quite evident that his issues have been exacerbated by the Spurs’ depleted backcourt depth, as the sophomore guard has been overburdened by having to be the primary ballhandler with Fox injured and Harper missing at least half of Game 2. If one or both of them are out for Game 3 and beyond, San Antonio will need to put the ball in the hands of Jordan McLaughlin and their wings more often, while being very selective with the types of plays they’ll run in the halfcourt.
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One option is to set high screens and attack with speed. This would force the Thunder’s point of attack defender to worry more about getting over screens or switching than going for steals, while also giving the ballhandler an open runway to the paint. Using Wemby as one of the screeners could force OKC’s bigs out of the paint, and even if one of Chet/Hartenstein is still roaming down low, they’ll be forced to rotate and make it easier to throw the Alien a lob.
The following drive from Harper is a perfect example. San Antonio needs to create advantages using simple plays that get the defense scrambling, thus…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spurs-vs-thunder-game-2-130030668.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-22 13:00:00
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