The Western Conference showdown between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs begins tonight. Deemed to be their toughest series yet this postseason. After sweeping the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.
San Antonio was the team with the most success against the Thunder in the regular season, adding another interesting storyline to this matchup. With these being the two most talented teams in the league, Oklahoma City is the more experienced team and should have a few ways to leverage that to its advantage.
3 Keys to Thunder Beating San Antonio In Their First Playoff Showdown
Stretching Wembanyama out of the Paint
While the rhythm of the Thunder’s double-big lineup of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein has flowed much more smoothly this season than last, OKC may have to pull back a bit from the double-bigs, as their best lineups could feature players who can stretch the floor in the series against the Spurs.
Victor Wembanyama is undoubtedly the best shot-blocker and rim protector in the league, utilizing his eight-foot wingspan to not only block shots at an unspeakable rate but also alter shots and prevent teams from generating shots at the rim effectively. If he’s playing against a big that can’t stretch the floor, it allows him to swarm and camp around the paint to provide rim protection.
The numbers from San Antonio playoff opponents showed the defensive dominance, as the Portland Trail Blazers shot 121-for-252 (48.0%) and the Minnesota Timberwolves shot 154-for-343 (44.9%) from inside the arc in their series against the Spurs.
With Wembanyama on the floor, the Spurs have held playoff opponents to 54.0% at the rim, compared to 69.1% when he’s off the floor.
Hartenstein is likely to continue starting and making a major impact in areas that aren’t recognized in the stat sheet. However, playing Holmgren and Jaylin Williams at the five could be the Thunder’s best path to drawing Wemby out of the paint, as both can stretch the floor.
When Hartenstein is out on the floor, he’ll need to take advantage of his physicality by creating space and quality looks on the perimeter through his screen-setting.
Generate High-Quality & Converting Perimeter Shots
As discussed above, Wembanyama’s presence and impact in the interior make his play style unprecedented.
Given Oklahoma City’s inconsistencies on their perimeter shooting, generating high-quality offensive looks on the perimeter, mainly through drive-and-kicks, and converting those looks, is going to be pivotal to the Thunder’s success.
This postseason, OKC has been hitting its shots — converting on 38.4% from three (ranking 4th among playoff teams) on 36.5 attempts (ranking 5th among playoff teams).
Converting perimeter shots could be the deciding factor in whether OKC wins the series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Playing Like the MVP
While Wembanyama had an MVP-caliber season in his own right, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an even better season than last year. Earning him his second MVP, going back-to-back.
The Spurs present quite the defensive unit: the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, and an elite perimeter defender, Stephon Castle. There’s no talent gap between the two teams, and this is where the best players come into play.
The Spurs have yet to face a player as well-rounded offensively as SGA. He averaged over 30 points per game on over 50% shooting from the floor for a fourth consecutive season through the regular season, joining only Michael Jordan as the only guard to operate at that level of efficiency.
The Phoenix series showed the type of damage the back-to-back MVP can do playing SGA in 1-on-1 coverage, averaging 33.7 points and 8 assists per game on 55.1% shooting from the floor.
San Antonio could follow the Lakers’ blueprint by aggressively sending doubles and limiting its touches, forcing players like Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Chet Holmgren, and others to beat them.
Ultimately, the series will come down to star play, and obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will play a pivotal role in the Thunder’s success.
Main Image: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
