OKC, Spurs brace for Game 5: Things to know

An NBA series follows a format. There’s the opening Game 1, the crucial Game 2, the “pivotal” Game 3 where the series usually turns, the “must-win” Game 4 for whoever is down (either 2-1 or 3-0), followed by either “the decisive” or once again “pivotal” Game 5. In this case, Game 5 will be the latter for the Spurs and Thunder before what will be a “desperation” Game 6.

After more than 10 days covering what has become an incredible semifinals series, here are 10 things you should know before Game 5 Tuesday night.

1. Four Games In, Still No Edge. There is no such thing as momentum in this series. Heading into Game 5, it doesn’t feel like there’s been any swing. It can be 2-2 with the road team still having won Game 4 and yet feel like the higher seed has momentum. That’s not the case with the Spurs, nor is it the case that the Thunder have figured anything out.

The Spurs led the entire game until the fourth quarter of Game 4, and had kicked off a previous run to tie. They seemed to have an answer for everything, which held the sandbags in place, until OKC finally flooded the gates with its flurry from Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Randy Foye and Dion Waiters. They just overwhelmed San Antonio’s defenses, but with two more left in the Spurs’ Terrordome (and if you go to that arena it’s what it feels like), there’s every reason to believe they can outlast OKC.

The Spurs are the better team, but the Thunder are giving themselves a chance to flip the series. They need to land one huge punch to the Spurs to rattle them, and yes, the Spurs can get rattled — see 2012 and 2013 vs. the Thunder — but they’ll have to land the blow on the road.

2. Big Trouble. We have entered a bizarre world when the San Antonio Spurs are short on playable bigs … but here we are.

Tim Duncan is a shell of himself and that was apparent from Game 1 on. Gregg Popovich has been pretty open about Timmy’s limitations; the man is 40 and this happens. When the Thunder were going through pre-game intros for Game 4 Sunday, Duncan stood at the free-throw line facing the other half of the court, and just stood there, staring into space. He looked ridiculously focused and I was prepared for a monster performance from him.

Nope. Just 12 minutes, three shots and a minus-5 for the future Hall of Famer, and more and more it seems like he is simply unplayable in this series. Here’s what’s weird though. It does feel like Duncan’s struggling, and it does feel like the Spurs can’t manage with him on the court.

And yet, here’s the reality. The Thunder are grabbing 40 percent more offensive rebounds (28.4 percent) with Duncan off the court. OKC is scoring 14 points more per 100 possessions with Duncan on the bench. Everything defense-related suffers when the Spurs go small, which they did for the entirety of Game 4 while their lead bled.

It’s not just what Duncan does or doesn’t do, it’s the options. With Duncan in foul trouble, Popovich turned to David West and Boris Diaw. Again, on the eye test, this worked great. West was cooking from mid-range and Diaw took Enes Kanter into the post repeatedly to start the fourth.

But eventually, that lineup was outmatched by the sheer size of the Steven Adams/Enes Kanter pairing. The two started landing offensive rebounds, or holding up two guys for Westbrook to get free, and when that started happening, it gave life to OKC’s offense.

If Popovich doesn’t feel Duncan can play over 25 minutes a game, which again, just feels wrong, then the move may be to turn to rookie sensation Boban Marjanovic when LaMarcus Aldridge is off the floor. In Game 3, the Thunder tried to go small with Durant at four and Kanter at five and it was a disaster. In Game 4, the Spurs tried to go small with Diaw and West, and similarly were wiped out.

This series is the antithesis of how the league has trended these past three years. It’s about who can get bigger faster.

3. The Foye Adjustment. Having covered Foye in Denver, I knew he’d been playing well this year. His 3-point percentages were terrible, but with Foye, they come in streaks, and his good stretches come when he’s not having to create offense, but just spot-up.

After Cameron Payne’s Game 2 performance I suggested the Thunder might want to get Foye some minutes on our podcast. After Game 3 I was screaming it to anyone who would listen. Foye didn’t run point in Game 4 during his crucial stretch between the third and fourth quarters when OKC made its run. Instead, he just spotted up in the corner. But there are a few significant things with his play.

First, Foye is a veteran, so the defense is going to respect him more. Patty Mills and Tony Parker more or less stayed home on Foye, vs. the abject abandonment of the corner they employed with Payne and Andre Roberson. They would duck in to help on the drive, but there was space for Westbrook, Waiters and Durant to …

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