Welcome to the Thunderdome
Here we are. The “best team in the history of basketball” is facing elimination and a 3–1 series deficit to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Always the dark horse to the San Antonion/Golden State two-horse race for supremacy this season the Thunder are looking like a championship contender and dare I say favourite.
Before we get to the narrative of “how hurt is Steph Curry” (while also avoiding that Steven Adams has taken an MMA amount of punishment this series) let’s entertain the crazy idea of giving credit to the Thunder and to Billy Donovan for out-coaching possibly two best head coaches in the NBA and Steve Kerr (top 5–8) then let’s discuss that Curry may be hurt. But then again, let’s consider (based on some of his outbursts that he isn’t).
Golden State rode through the season like chariot on fire, a gladiator after a winning fight cruising around for applause. They laughed, the jested, they shimmied in front of opponents benches without consequence. For all intents and purposes the team was untouchable. OKC meanwhile worked on its rhythm, worked through injuries and watched a rookie NBA coach get adjusted to the pace of the game in the big leagues.
Donovan entered the series having faced off against the #2 and the #1 head coaches in the league prior, and against the Spurs he has shown that he knows his team and is willing to make the right adjustments where necessary. The Thunder went after the Warriors in the paint, stifling a lot of their fast break opportunities. There is a luxury of having Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams in that they can really jump the PnR play and deny quick hit buckets that the Warriors are so used to while not giving up size when it comes to the inside play. Overall, the whole OKC squad has been defensively on-point throughout. They’re jumping screens, staying in front of their men and remaining aggressive. Kevin Durant is using his length, Russ is using his explosiveness and Dion Waiters is actually pretending to play defence for stretches of time. The Thunder use their speed and aggressiveness to deny GSW all the easy threes they’re so used to and then using their athleticism to recover on blow-bys and to force Warriors into tough situations at the rim.
Offensively, it obviously pays to have 2 of the top 5 active players. KD has always been a biological phenomenon that’s more like a cross of a jelly fish with an orangutang than a human being. His limbs are just that long and he can contort them in every which way. Russell Westbrook is a human typhoon, plain and simple. As he gets going you’re either out of his way or he goes through you. But it’s all the other players filling out the roles that worked so well for OKC.
Dion Waiters has finally recouping all of the property listings on Waiters Island. He is hitting threes and is a good alternative ballhandler when needed. Andre Roberson has turned his weakness (shitty shooter) into a strength (decent shooter) while staying aggressive and punishing his man for leaving him open with hard cuts to the rim. The biggest adjustment the Thunder have made is using Roberson as a screen man, forcing Curry to switch onto the ball handler (either Russell or KD) and not letting him rest. While Steph is basically the human version of Cthulhu on offence his defence has been suspect throughout, and having him chase a human atomic bomb around the court isn’t exactly good on his bad knees and ankles. The Thunder are still prone to occasional stiff possessions consisting of dribble outs and long twos, but with Adams and Ibaka they will normally get the ball back for another try and rarely make the same mistake twice.
Golden State on the other hand looks a shell, with Klay the only one showing signs of life to occasionally try to wrestle the momentum back from from the death grip that is the Thunder. Curry looks not himself and it’s clear that he is working too hard on both ends, without being able to hide or get off easy buckets. Both Russ’ aggressiveness and KD’s length are bothering him. Draymond Green, the focal point of the GSW offence has not been himself since the testicle-gate of 2016. Since then he has played some of the worst basketball of his career. Kerr has gone away from using him as the primary ball handler and passer in lieu of trying to create through his guards, but that disrupts flow in GSW’s offence as neither Curry nor Klay are big enough to consistently make plays over the long limbs of OKC (as demonstrated by numerous errand passes throughout games 3 and 4). For a team with all of that offensive firepower GSW suddenly look without many options.
All year people have been saying that you need both the perfect gameplan and the perfect execution to make these Warrior’s sweat and the Thunder brought both. They’ve done well to exploit the Warrior holes on defence, Steph in particular, and have managed to put pressure on offence by turning liabilities on their roster into dangerous assets. Honey, pack your bags, we’re moving to Waiters Island!
Take care out there.
