NBA - 713 San Antonio Spurs @ 714 Oklahoma City Thunder
Projected line: pk line
I have to give some props to Scott Brooks for his great managerial stuff in the Game 3 because he pulled the right strings while the Spurs and Popovich weren’t able to make the right in-game counter move. Scott Brooks and his coaching staff adjusted by moving SG Thabo Sefolosha onto Parker instead of Westbrook while the Thunder would edge harder every pick n roll that Parker wanted to run and as a result, look at the Spurs game by game performance in P&R ball handler plays:
Game 1: 7-12 FG, 1.11PPP
Game 2: 10-12 FG, 1.1PPP
Game 3: 2-12 FG, 0.3PPP
Not only the Spurs struggled to score in this, play but they also turned over 35% of the times, with a total of 7 TO’s in total 20 P&R ball handler plays! The Thunder decided to pack the line while giving more space on the outside. The Spurs had a nice 11-26 3pts shooting mark, but the Thunder's decision was a winner because San Antonio shot an awful 10-21 FG at the rim mark!
For tonight, Brooks might make some tweaks on his strategy, but I don’t think that they will change a lot, after all the Thunder crushed the Spurs by 20 points so the onus goes to Popovich…
Obviously the first adjustment will be related to Parker’s defensive pressure that he will likely suffer again tonight. My first thought is that he wasn’t aggressive enough, as he is still faster than Sefolosha so attempting just 2 FT’s was a great testament of the lack of aggressiveness from Parker in the last game. The Spurs will have to react faster and make sharper passes, everything has a trade off and the Thunder will be giving too much space on the outside and the Spurs must capitalize that with good perimeter shooting.
On the defensive end, everything has to start by not committing turnovers on offense. The 21 turnovers that the Spurs committed resulted in 20 points off turnovers from Oklahoma City! The Thunder shot10-14 FG in transition, so by cutting down the turnovers, not only the Spurs will be better on the offensive end, but it will cut one of the edges that OKC have on offense!
I expect this contest to be tight, I think that the Spurs will win, but in a tight game scenario, I like the idea of having 3.5 points on my side. Therefore, I'll be taking the Spurs tonight.
Game 1: 7-12 FG, 1.11PPP
Game 2: 10-12 FG, 1.1PPP
Game 3: 2-12 FG, 0.3PPP
Not only the Spurs struggled to score in this, play but they also turned over 35% of the times, with a total of 7 TO’s in total 20 P&R ball handler plays! The Thunder decided to pack the line while giving more space on the outside. The Spurs had a nice 11-26 3pts shooting mark, but the Thunder's decision was a winner because San Antonio shot an awful 10-21 FG at the rim mark!
For tonight, Brooks might make some tweaks on his strategy, but I don’t think that they will change a lot, after all the Thunder crushed the Spurs by 20 points so the onus goes to Popovich…
Obviously the first adjustment will be related to Parker’s defensive pressure that he will likely suffer again tonight. My first thought is that he wasn’t aggressive enough, as he is still faster than Sefolosha so attempting just 2 FT’s was a great testament of the lack of aggressiveness from Parker in the last game. The Spurs will have to react faster and make sharper passes, everything has a trade off and the Thunder will be giving too much space on the outside and the Spurs must capitalize that with good perimeter shooting.
On the defensive end, everything has to start by not committing turnovers on offense. The 21 turnovers that the Spurs committed resulted in 20 points off turnovers from Oklahoma City! The Thunder shot10-14 FG in transition, so by cutting down the turnovers, not only the Spurs will be better on the offensive end, but it will cut one of the edges that OKC have on offense!
I expect this contest to be tight, I think that the Spurs will win, but in a tight game scenario, I like the idea of having 3.5 points on my side. Therefore, I'll be taking the Spurs tonight.
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