The Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to come out in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs and show that they’ve made adjustments since getting blown out in their first meeting in Game 1.
Instead, they tried to go one-on-one possession after possession, failed to complete defensive plays by allowing offensive rebounds, and ultimately suffered an embarrassing 112-77 loss – their most lopsided defeat of the season. The Thunder had only lost two games this season by more than 20 points: a 23-point loss against the Dallas Mavericks and a 21-point loss against the Miami Heat.
Naturally, plenty of the focus and blame will go on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The league’s MVP scored just 15 points on six-of-16 shooting. Westbrook was much worse, scoring 15 points on a paltry seven-of-24 shooting from the field. Their shot selection may have been questionable at times, but at what point do you put the blame on the coach – Scott Brooks – for such a poor offensive scheme? The Thunder rarely have off-ball movement if the initial play off of a screen fails, and Durant or Westbrook is forced to create something out of nothing. That strategy is going to be tough to win with against such a polished team like the Spurs, and it hasn’t even come close in the first two games.
With Serge Ibaka out of the equation, the lineup suffers badly from a lack of offensive weapons. A combination of Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha in the starting lineup screams “we can’t score!”, and it has put too much pressure on the Thunder’s two stars to make something happen on every single possession.
During half time, Charles Barkley said Durant and Westbrook must make their teammates better. While the importance of playing together and making teammates better should be the ultimate goal in becoming a great team, an argument can be made that Brooks isn’t and hasn’t necessarily put in any kind of system to help his stars achieve that goal. What it has allowed is for Durant and Westbrook to be great scorers on most nights – something far different than having a great team – and because those two are so good at what they do, it has been good enough for them to be a dominant team on most nights. But again, it’s much harder to do when you’re missing a legitimate third option and an outlet like Ibaka.
In the case of Westbrook, you’re always going to have to take the good with the bad. Most of the time, his relentless attacking style opens things up for his teammates while putting immense pressure on the opposition’s defense. On nights like Wednesday when he settles for shots despite the fact that they’re not falling, heavy blame will fall on him. Former NBA point guard Kenny Anderson saw Westbrook’s play and had the following to say:
Westbrook take the bitter with the sweet!
— Kenny Anderson (@chibbs_1) May 22, 2014
In the future they probably going to have to move Westbrook to the two guard ,let him play like A.I. !
— Kenny Anderson (@chibbs_1) May 22, 2014
Pt guard suppose to make your teammates better !
— Kenny Anderson (@chibbs_1) May 22, 2014
It’s true that a point guard is supposed to set up his teammates and put them in the best position to score. However, it’s also important that actual plays are being run on a consistent basis in order for that to happen – something Brooks has failed to accomplish. Watch the breakdown of Game 1 by coach Nick of Bballbreakdown, and it’s not hard to see that the Thunder’s offense is incredible stagnant.
That Westbrook sometimes goes rogue and pulls up for shots out of nowhere says he, indeed, lacks discipline. Discipline has to come from somewhere, though, and it all starts with the coach and his philosophies. To be fair, though, the Spurs have a way of exposing your weaknesses to the max, and they have the ability to make great teams look absolutely silly at times.
The bottom line is this: if things continue to go this way for the Thunder, it will be next to impossible for them to win this series even if all the shots that Westbrook and Durant take are falling an an efficient rate because at the end of the day, it’s simply two players going up against a team with about eight players that can go off in any given game. Without Ibaka’s presence on both ends of the floor, they just may not have enough talent – something they rely heavily on – to overcome the giant hurdle standing in their path.
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.