5 Things to Watch in Warriors-OKC Thunder Western Conference Finals

After a season spent waiting for the inevitable Golden State Warriors-San Antonio Spurs playoff clash, the Oklahoma City Thunder—and not those Spurs—will face the 73-win defending champs with an NBA Finals berth at stake.

Go figure.

The Dubs and Thunder met three times this year, and Golden State took all three contests. So…preview over, right? OKC is cooked.

Not quite.

If Stephen Curry hadn’t buried this (or any of the 11 other threes he nailed) in a 121-118 overtime win on Feb. 27, the Thunder would be a more respectable 1-2 in the season series:

Share Tweet

And if Oklahoma City hadn’t squandered a fourth-quarter lead March 3, things would get even more interesting.

Russell Westbrook said to ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard his team was “very confident” Thursday, and it should be after destroying a 67-win juggernaut. Though the Thunder have yet to beat the Warriors this season, they are, by far, the most formidable foe the Dubs have faced in the playoffs.

This’ll be good, but it’ll be even better if you know what to watch for.

 

Curry’s Health

Duh.

The key angles in this series don’t matter if the best player on the planet isn’t himself. Ankle and knee sprains in Round 1 cost Curry a couple of weeks, and the version of the MVP who returned wasn’t quite the same as the regular-season edition.

Yes, Curry won Golden State a pair of games against the Portland Trail Blazers with late outbursts, but he was ever so subtly diminished before those eruptions—slightly less shifty, not quite on balance when shooting from deep and perhaps a half-step slower on straight-line drives. It didn’t end up mattering because Curry found his best self when it mattered, but if he’s not full-go in the conference finals, Golden State could struggle.

Here’s an obligatory reminder: The Warriors’ net rating was plus-18.3 with Curry on the floor in the regular season and minus-3.7 when he sat.

In this series, Curry’s fitness will be of unique importance.

The MVP never stops moving on offense, darting around screens and drifting into space whenever his defender blinks. Russell Westbrook is many things, but an attentive one-on-one defender is not one of them:

Share Tweet

Losing contact with Curry is not an option, but the Thunder are more likely to survive Westbrook’s sporadic snoozing if the Warriors’ best player isn’t quite healthy enough to take advantage. Fortunately for Golden State, those late-game surges against Portland suggest Curry is getting closer to full strength.

But he’s not out of the woods entirely, per Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group:

Curry said his knee remains fine. A little sore, but he’s OK.

— Jimmy Durkin (@Jimmy_Durkin) May 12, 2016

 

The Thunder’s Biggest Weakness

Westbrook’s defensive issues are a microcosm of his team’s overall defensive vulnerability.

The Thunder ranked 12th in the league in defensive rating this year—an underwhelming spot in light of the team’s overall athleticism and individual stopping power. Communication was a key issue, as were lapses in focus, and the Warriors are outfitted to capitalize on both.

OKC looked stouter on defense against the Spurs because San Antonio gradually stopped moving the ball and attacked in isolation far too often. That’s no way to exploit a defense that, when stretched, tends to come apart at the seams. The Spurs averaged just 16.7 assists in their last three games against the Thunder, a far cry from the 24.5 they posted during the regular season.

Golden State won’t stagnate so easily.

Share Tweet

The Warriors are currently moving the ball better than anyone, leading all postseason teams with 336.9 passes per game. They only ranked seventh in that category during the regular season, but they topped the NBA in secondary assists, potential assists and points created via assists.

Oklahoma City won’t have …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com