The Oklahoma City Thunder lost game one of the NBA’s Western Conference Final to the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 122-105. While many are quick to point out that it’s only one game, there’s more to it than just that.
OKC suffered severly without the presence of their big man, Serge Ibaka. The three starters not named Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook combined for 5 combined. The Thunder also surrendered 66 points in the paint including 40 in the first half. Tim Duncan was responsible for 21 of those first half points torching an OKC defense with a much slower, less fundamentally sound player in Nick Collinson guarding Duncan. The night was so bad for OKC that they stuck Durant on Duncan for the second half where he played very little.
The duo of Durant and Westbrook combined for 53 points, and that is just not good enough to beat the San Antonio Spurs. There was a stretch though where the duo scored 18 straight for OKC and gave them a 76-75 lead over San Antonio, though it quickly evaporated after a 45-27 run by the Spurs to close the game. In that stretch, Manu Ginobili took over the game with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter, where he scored 15 of his 18 total points. Before the series, I predicted the X-Factor in this series would be Ginobli, and for all intents and purposes, he won the game for the Spurs at a time when it looked as if OKC was right back in it.
San Antonio averaged 41.3 PPG in the paint in the previous twelve meetings between the clubs, 10 of which were OKC victories. The absence of Serge Ibaka (SportsInjuryAlert Profile) was most responsible for the destruction the Spurs did in the paint, and I believe his absence ultimately will cost OKC this series.
Coach Scott Brooks said, “We are a no excuse team, Serge (Ibaka) isn’t coming back he’s not coming through those doors.”
Many other members of the Thunder commented before and after the game about Ibaka’s absence, and they all more or less confirmed he was not coming back at all and they would have to adjust.
This whole Ibaka injury is getting really fishy. The second any media source mentioned Ibaka’s absence, Thunder players and coaches were quick to mention that there is no way he will be back. What are the odds of a Ibaka return in Game 3 in Oklahoma City when the series delays four days? I say Ibaka might at least give a few minutes in this series and that might mess up the Spurs flow. It might be too little, too late, but rushing him back may become a necessity.
I still pick the Spurs in 6 and I don’t see anything stopping them from advancing. No matter what rotations or switches Scott Brooks may use on San Antonio, the Spurs will leave this series with hardly any damage done to them morally or physically; especially because Duncan and Tony Parker got good rest in this game. This Spurs team has been motivated from training camp to get to this moment and they will not fold especially with all the veterans on the roster.
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