the concerning thing for okc in that one, imo, was that they were making big shots left and right and still lost. the spurs guards were fumbling and struggling a bit, and it looked like they were going to choke a winnable game, but okc couldn't quite take it. SGA without a zillion FTAs is a totally different player. i know i'm not saying anything profound here, but it warrants repeating for when next season starts and he's getting mj comparisons left and right. we've seen the truth. SA did what i would do on chet and played him a lot with smalls. same thing teams do to wemby, but wemby is just way more skilled (though still struggles bc it takes him too much energy to get a post position that really scares the opponent). one thing okc may have going for them is that wemby looked gassed at multiple points throughout the 4th and the OTs. you might say it's playoff intensity and a lot of minutes, but...that's my point. the spurs fall apart if wemby's not there against this level of competition. be curious to see if cumulative wear becomes a factor or not.
Diving to the floor …. getting nasty back with his body attacks which will invite more coming back at him plus OK‘s desperation …. that impossibly long frame being used like that …. I would be surprised if he makes it through this series without getting hurt.
That's the thing about Wemby: his game is breath-taking, but at the same time you worry he's gonna snap in half or something. There was a loose ball dive where Wemby dove, Chet...landed on Wemby's face...and Wemby just got up. He's already been in concussion protocol in the playoffs. 1st OT: SA scores the first 4...OKC scores the next 7. With 27 secs left, Spurs down 3, Wemby pulls up for a 28 footer and it hits. That shot ended up forcing the 2nd OT. He looks in really great condition and is 22 years old.
OKC was able to claw back into the game on those live-ball SA turnovers. If SA has Fox, that diverts a lot of ballhandling responsibility away from Castle who was the main culprit of those turnovers. I still think this is a 6 or 7 game series, but I think last night proved that the matchup issues that were present in the regular season matchups are very real. Shai has won two consecutive MVPs, averaged over 30 a game and has gotten Jordan comparisons (agree they're dumb) for his midrange prowess, but he's terrified to come off a screen and take a midrange shot with Wemby out there. It's just insane how much Wemby screws up your halfcourt offense. I think for us, the key if we ever match up with the Spurs in the series is pull-up jump-shooting. Shai doesn't like to take threes off the dribble out of P&R, Luka loves to. That might be the key to forcing Wemby to come up closer to the level of the ball.
What a game. Absolutely insane and so many stories Huge win for SA without Fox. Really curious to see how OKC responds. They started with Hart-Chet, couldn't score for 4 minutes until Caruso comes in for Hart. The double big doesn't work against Wemby, you need a stretch 5 to make him leave the paint on defense and you need to guard him with a smaller player. Remember JJ doing this with Christie to good effect last season. Incredible level of athleticism and defense from both teams. So many deflection and 50/50 balls. Also crazy the amount of blocks on putbacks and lobs, not from centers but from Caruso, J-Dub, Vassell. We really only have Thiero capable of doing that, hope he improves his overall game, we need him! There was a play at the end that Wemby goes against Chet, AC and Wallace lol that's insane and they still have Dort, so much elite defense Bryant from SA is a menace too, insane 1on1 defense and he's only a rookie. Pretty sure he will be All-Defense. Wemby is every basketball fan's favorite. Plays hard, old school mentality, goes to every ball, balls of steel (that long 3 is crazy) , just awesome. I really hope he doesn't get injured, but he does so many crazy and quick movements that makes me fear for him. Pretty sure JJ, the staff and FO are taking notes from this matchup. A lot to take from what it will take to win the West. What struck out to me the most was how no team had a liability to explore. Each guy can defend, shoot, attack the rim, pass, rebound. Of course at different levels but noticed how the game flows and you see random guys pulling up a 3, an off reb or a block. Finally, Caruso keeps reminding us of the crime we committed. It wasn't even the 3s, he had MULTIPLE defensive plays that are just so... Caruso. He got a ton of 3s early because Wemby was guarding him and didn't want to leave the paint until they had to adjust. Something to explore.
