A conference semifinal showdown: Spurs-Thunder

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In 2012 and 2014, this was the series of the playoffs. Now, it feels like the undercard — to the Warriors’ spitting fire, to injuries, to LeBron’s melodramatic quest for redemption in Cleveland.

Nope. Thunder-Spurs III is no undercard, especially in the final year of Kevin Durant’s contract, with San Antonio quietly discussing what kind of cap gymnastics it would take to get into the Durant derby, per several league sources. The most interesting series of the entire playoffs might be starting on Saturday.

It’s almost hard to remember, but two years ago, the Thunder’s long-limbed athleticism seemed like Spurs kryptonite. They overwhelmed the 2012 Spurs, fresh off a 20-game streak, with four straight wins that felt cruel and emphatic: We are here, we have figured you geezers out, and we are not leaving. They dominated the Spurs in the regular season after that, and once Serge Ibaka returned from injury for Game 3 of the 2014 conference finals, the Thunder unnerved San Antonio with their speed and bounce.

Those Spurs were anguished after the Thunder evened that series at 2-2, but they found answers. They slid Kawhi Leonard over to Russell Westbrook more, benched Tiago Splitter, and lost themselves in euphoric fits of ball movement. They gave us the ultimate Spurgasm, the best representation of the best version of themselves, and passed-and-cut the Thunder and Heat into weary surrender.

That was the way those Spurs had to play, but they understood it could not be sustained. They reinvented themselves around Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge as a slower, post-heavy meat grinder that minces opponents with perhaps the greatest defense in league history — a unit with size, wheels, smarts and two All-Defense-level wings in Leonard and Danny Green to make life hard for Oklahoma City’s superstars.

Oklahoma City has churned the supporting cast around its central players, but it sometimes seems they haven’t evolved — at least not in the ways that would help them against the very best. Their offense is still predictable, powerful, and low on ball movement. They’ve tweaked their defense, but the changes appear to have made them worse. It’s nearly May, and they still don’t know who should play in crunch time alongside Westbrook and Durant — or if small ball, with Durant at power forward, is even a thing anymore.

Things are about to get real after Oklahoma City’s sneering heel turn against a hobbled and overmatched Dallas team. The Thunder could get away with four minutes of lazy, unfocused defense against Dallas. Not anymore. That is the single biggest question hovering over this series: Can the Thunder, just 12th in points allowed per possession this season, put together 48 minutes of coherent defense against a superteam that gives no quarter?

The Thunder started the season by dialing down their manic defense: Big men sagged into the paint instead of blitzing the pick-and-roll, and the coaching staff set clear rules for help assignments. They wanted to keep the ball in front of them, gamble less, maintain basic defensive integrity, and use their athleticism over smaller distances — to play with calmer frenzy.

So far, they’ve sacrificed some of the crazy that made them dangerous without gaining the stability they sought. Oklahoma City ranked just 27th in forcing turnovers this season, down from 10th in 2014.

Even with the dearth in turnovers, these Thunder generate more fast-break points than the 2014 version — suggesting they run like hell off opponent misses and score with vicious efficiency after the few live-ball turnovers they snag. Those opportunities might dwindle against San Antonio; the Spurs are a slow-poke, low-turnover team obsessed with transition defense. They are built to dictate pace against a Thunder team that wants to zip.

In their base defense, the Thunder are prone to mental lapses — bad bets, botched rotations, and stretches where they just check out mentally.

Westbrook’s performance down the stretch of the Mavs’ Game 2 win was embarrassing — an extreme version of the wild, hazy play that can undo possessions.

Tony Parker isn’t what he was, but relax for a second, and poof — he’s gone:

Parker struggled against Oklahoma City during the regular-season, and he needs his midrange game on point. The Thunder’s defense will present him chances; Westbrook will go under some screens, testing Parker’s jumper, and Parker should be able to get into the middle of the floor for teardrops; the Thunder shooed ball handlers away from the middle on only 38 percent of side pick-and-rolls, the 11th-lowest such mark in the league, according to SportVU data supplied exclusively from Second Spectrum.

Parker-Aldridge was San Antonio’s most-used pick-and-roll combination, per SportVU data from STATS LLC, and it will be interesting to watch Oklahoma City toggle between antidotes. Duck under, and you gift Parker jumpers. Have Westbrook scamper over the screen, and Aldridge feasts on midrange pops. The Thunder have tried to snuff that by having Ibaka, their primary Aldridge matchup, stay attached to Aldridge while hedging out just a hair to bump Parker. Screw that up, and Parker can turn the corner, or Aldridge might slip clean to the rim:

Facing Dirk Nowitzki in the first round was a nice warm-up. Nowitzki rolled hard as Ibaka lunged out, but the Thunder mostly contained him because their centers were always nearby to patrol the rim — just as Enes Kanter is in the above clip.

Nowitzki would then settle into post-ups, and he hurt Ibaka on the block. Aldridge has, too. Aldridge can shoot over Ibaka, and has been determined in bullying him closer to the rim for righty hooks.

Thunder coach Billy Donovan should at …

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