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The San Antonio Spurs offence in Game 1 was incredible, and they will be hoping to keep that going against the Oklahoma City Thunder who need a big turnaround. Join The Roar for live scores of Game 2 from 11:30am (AEST).
Game 1 saw the Spurs almost adopt a method of ‘throw up everything, miss nothing’. They started the game strongly, blowing the Thunder off the court and ended it still shooting a ridiculous 60 per cent.
It wasn’t just the offence though for the Spurs as they limited the Thunder to just over 40 per cent shooting on the way to a 124-92 victory. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook only shot 11 of 34 from the field between them, and none of the other Thunder players were able to pick up the slack on offence.
Serge Ibaka was just about the only bright spot for the Thunder as he totalled up 19 points at over 50 per cent from the field, but when LaMarcus Aldridge scored 38, and Kawhi Leonard 25 at 18 of 23 and 10 of 13 from the field respectively, the Thunder were always going to be in trouble.
They simply couldn’t stop the front line duo of the Spurs, and combined with Tony Parker dropping assists like they were going out of style the ball was able to move like it was on a string, always hitting the desired targets and a shooting day like that saw the Spurs race ahead.
What was even more worrying for the Thunder was the way they started the game. They lacked any real pace or intensity out of the gate and were down by a massive 23 points at the quarter time break – conceding 43.
For the Thunder to have any chance of taking Game 2 in the series they have to improve right across the board. They must play defence on their own side, with it looking a little pedestrian, and the rotation always seeming a step behind what the Spurs were producing during in Game 1.
They must also find a way to score around the Spurs defence. With Tim Duncan in the paint barking orders it makes it incredibly difficult, and of course every member of that Spurs team can defend incredibly well.
After the Thunder battled their way through the season series between the sides as well, it will take a turnaround of epic proportions, and probably both Westbrook and Durant to register massive matches.
Prediction
The Thunder will improve on offence, but it’s hard to see where the defence is coming from to stop the Spurs. Shouldn’t be a blowout again, but the Spurs will win fairly comfortably.
Spurs by 12.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from 11:30am (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde