It’s amazing that it took until about the time the Thunder knocked off the Spurs in the second round for most people to consider them real threats to the Warriors, but here we are. With a game in the books, OKC has taken back home-court advantage and delivered a stinging jab in what promises to be a heavyweight fight of a Conference Final.
Thank goodness.
The Thunder didn’t just steal Game 1 on the road, they won with 33 percent shooting from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. They didn’t play out of their minds; they once again proved they’re a deeper and more stout defensive team since the playoffs began a month ago. All of that should be enough to give Warriors fans the heebie jeebies, but it still doesn’t make their team a sudden and shocking underdog.
Golden State may be feeling the strain of gunning for 73 wins rather than resting their starters, but there are concrete reasons to believe that their best basketball in this series is ahead of them.
First of all, the Warriors guards weren’t exactly pictures of efficiency. If the Thunder stars’ lines mean there’s room for improvement, then the 44 percent shooting that the Splash Brothers managed in Game 1 also stands to rise. Steph Curry is likely still hobbled from the knee injury he suffered in Round 1, but much like with Andrew Bogut’s adductor strain, it wouldn’t be surprising if the three off days between Games 2 and 3 give Curry a boost for the rest of the series. As for Thompson, he worked his tail off to penetrate in the first game, and any increased effectiveness from Curry will help ease Klay’s load.
Secondly, it was clear that Steve Kerr was tinkering with how best to defend such an imbalanced team as the Thunder. With both team’s starters on the floor, Draymond Green was covering non-threat Andre Roberson, ostensibly to free him up to help elsewhere on the court. It’s an interesting idea, but Dray is one of the best on-ball defenders the Warriors have against matchups of any size, and such cross-matching plays right into the Thunder’s already-sizable rebounding advantage. We wouldn’t be surprised if that look gets scrapped going forward.
For all the deserved plaudits the Thunder reserves have received in the past week or so, the Warriors reserves they outplayed were just as well-regarded heading into this series. Shaun Livingston went 2-of-7 in Game 1, and Andre Iguodala led all reserves with six points. They’d acquit themselves better simply by doing their typically stellar work on the defensive end, but the NBA Finals MVP is destined to have a larger impact over the balance of this series.
It should surprise no one that the team with arguably two of the best five players in the NBA is a serious threat to make the NBA Finals, no matter who they have to get through. But just as easy as it was to forget how good the Thunder could be, it’s equally easy to overreact to a Thunder victory without peak Durant or Westbrook.
The Warriors didn’t get to 73-9 by accident, and they still have moves to make to swing this series – even after a disappointing performance in Game 1.
