In January, mid-way through the regular season, a large part of the NBA fan base was convinced that the Western Conference Finals would be a match-up between the defending champions Golden State Warriors and the retooled San Antonio Spurs.
And rightfully so, both teams were rolling in the regular season with the Warriors breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record of 72 wins and the Spurs setting their franchise record for wins with 67. Having said that, Golden State won three of the four head to head match-ups during the season comfortably, winning the first one by a margin of 30 points.
So if you put the regular season records aside and study just the match-ups in the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder made the Warriors work harder for their wins than the Spurs ever did. Although Golden State swept the season series with OKC, the contests were competitive, grueling and had an intense Playoff atmosphere in every game.
While many consider the Thunder’s win over the Spurs as an upset, the fact of the matter remains that the OKC-GSW Conference Finals match-up promises to be no disappointment, at least going by their head to head contest during the season.
Here are the top 5 players to impact this series the most:
5) Andre Roberson
At the 2016 All-Star Game, the Warriors (3) and Thunder (2) were well represented with five total players but one of those players does not make this list. That makes a place for OKC’s starting shooting guard Andre Roberson, the difference maker in Game 6 of the Conference Semis against the Spurs.
Everybody knows how good of a defender Roberson is. He is undoubtedly among the top perimeter defenders in the league. He does so by getting into the player’s face, contesting hard without fouling and bodying his man up. Most probably he will be the player to guard Stephen Curry unless OKC believes his defence is required elsewhere.
Roberson is the X-factor in this series. It’s Roberson’s offence that makes him lethal, despite having none.
If he can string together a couple or three games in this series where he shoots the ball efficiently, the Warriors will have to give some attention, which makes life a lot easier for OKC’s superstars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
If his offence fails him and his team, the Warriors are far too smart to not react. They would double team off of him, stagnating and choking the volatile Thunder offence. It would force the Thunder Head Coach Billy Donovan to sit Roberson, forcing the load on both ends of the floor on to Durant and Westbrook.
4) Draymond Green
Curry’s superhuman performances have stolen the spotlight off Draymond Green’s all round contribution so many times, that people now just give the Warriors two spotlights while marveling their wins. His multifaceted game at his height of 6’7” allows the Warriors to play their feared death line-up and play a style of ball other teams fail to compete with.
Green's game is such that it will not suffer from a bad shooting night but it would when he, for some reason, fails to contribute to the other box score numbers like rebounds, assists, blocks and so forth.
The Warriors depend on a lot on Green’s decision making because he is the player making the final decision in a 4 on 3 scenario after the opponents double team Curry on the pick and roll with him.
Almost every dominant game that we have witnessed from the Warriors, Green has always filled up the stat sheet and has been more than happy if it goes unnoticed due to the MVP’s shooting or his numbers.
Against the OKC, it's Green’s rebounding and not passing that is going to be key. The Thunder are among the top rebounding teams in the league and whether the Warriors are playing small or a traditional line-up, Green’s rebounding plays a huge role in the advantage Golden State can exercise in the series.
3) Kevin Durant
If there is anybody in the league who could compete with Curry in a shootout, it’s got to be Kevin Durant and if he gets going the Warriors are going to have their hands full on defense. Their best defenders Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes easily give away a couple of inches while guarding Durant, making things slightly easier for the 2014 NBA league MVP.
However, an important factor in Durant’s impact on the series is Westbrook. The Thunder are not known to be a team that runs plays on offence and to be effective Durant needs to be given the ball at crucial stages at easy spots on the floor so that he can help OKC have the upper hand but that depends a lot on Westbrook’s vision and decision making.
Having said that, it’s key for the Thunder that Durant finds his groove offensively in this series. OKC will simply fall apart against an opponent like the Warriors if Durant has a historically off shooting night like he did in Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round.
Through the Thunder and Warriors three regular season match-ups, it was quite clear that Durant’s shooting at his length does give the defending champions some problems on defence. OKC must capitalise on the extra attention Durant will receive from the Warriors defence.
2) Russell Westbrook
Being OKC’s primary ball handler, Russell Westbrook pretty much does everything for the team. He runs plays, well sort off, finds open teammates off pick and rolls, drives aggressively to the basket and is ranked the highest rebounding guard in the league.
This is not to say that Westbrook is more valuable to the Thunder and the series than Westbrook. It’s just a known fact that you can expect a certain level of positive consistency from Durant, no so much from the reigning 2 time NBA All-Star Game MVP.
If and when Westbrook’s relentless beast mode is activated during the series, the Warriors’ reaction will be key to deciding whether Westbrook will be able to take control of the series or not. The problem lies in the fact that his beast mode has often times hurt his own team, as he takes some ill-advised shots and commits nasty turnovers at inopportune times.
On the flip side, if his aggressiveness pays off, Westbrook might be the most important player in the series.
It’s important for OKC and their fans that Westbrook understands his own strengths and weaknesses, and does not try to play a style that is unlike him. The last thing the Thunder needs is for Westbrook to get into a rash, fast-paced shootout with Curry.
1) Stephen Curry
When you are the reigning two-time league MVP and the first ever unanimous choice, you are without a debate the most impactful player in the series, for that matter in any series. Given how Stephen Curry’s 2015-16 season transpired he should have been legitimately in the race for the Most Improved Player Award.
Other than extending the range of his shooting, Curry also seems to have mastered the art of balancing his scoring and getting his teammates involved over the course of this season. His shooting craves so much attention from the opponent’s defence that it gravitates the defence towards him, leaving his teammates wide open for good shots.
Curry can hurt an opponent in a number of ways and restricting him is going to be a lot tougher for OKC than just assigning their best defender in Roberson to guard him. He is always looking to score whether it’s with his own shot or by dishing it out to an open teammate for a better look, so OKC will have to dig in defensively if they have any intentions of being competitive in this series.
It’s his improved shooting that has made the Curry-Green pick and roll absolutely unstoppable. Almost any trick you use against that play, the Warriors seem to have the advantage anyway. OKC must find a way to combat that otherwise they will find themselves playing catch-up all the time.
Guess the Lakers players!
