Thunder vs. Spurs Game 2: OKC Must Make Major Adjustments to Steal Momentum

This isn't the first time the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in prime position to take their supreme talent to the NBA Finals.

As the club struggled against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Western Conference Finals, a compelling narrative emerged to explain its rare struggles: Russell Westbrook was being too selfish.

So, of course Westbrook responded with his most selfish season yet.

He took 19.2 field-goal attempts a game this year, compared to 17 a game last season. Unsurprisingly, his assists output declined from 8.2 dimes to just 5.5 per contest. Nevertheless, with the renewed scoring focus, Westbrook's scoring and efficiency both improved.

If the guy's selfish, at least he's pretty good at it–good enough to help his team secure the second best record in the West, even.

But, there's a difference between dominating the regular season and reaching the NBA Finals.

If last season's defeat at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks didn't prove as much, OKC's current predicament just might.

Before anyone becomes too captivated by Westbrook's 37 points in Game 4 against the Lakers, we should remember his 3-12 performance in Game 4 against Dallas in the first round.

And, before resting one's laurels on the fact this club has still only lost two games in the postseason, it's worth acknowledging just how tenuous a few of those wins were.

While the Thunder's All-NBA Second Team point guard combined for 57 points in the team's first two victories over the Mavericks, the combined margin of those wins was just four points. Meanwhile, Westbrook had just seven assists in the two games.

In a Game 3 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers, he had just one assist.

As tempting as it may be to keep a good thing going, the Thunder don't want to see a rehashing of last season's disappointment–and that may mean Westbrook has to rethink his game plan.

The Spurs are a deceptively smart team on the defensive end of the floor. Even if they don't lock teams down like the days of old, they're still capable of getting key stops when it counts.

Just as the Thunder could so easily predict that the Los Angeles Lakers would isolate the ball in Kobe Bryant's hands when the game was on the line, San Antonio can similarly bank on the fact that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will see more than a few touches in similar situations.

The result?

Durant and Westbrook combined to make just 15 of their 40 shots in Game 1–and for all of Westbrook's touches, he took just two free throws all night.

Maybe Serge Ibaka winding up with just three shots in 22 minutes isn't the end of the world for Scott Brooks' top-heavy team, but it's symptomatic of a broader problem. At times–especially when games reach their most decisive moments–the Thunder simply stop moving the ball.

After a first half when guys like Thabo Sefolosha and Derek Fisher were rolling, that may not be an encouraging trend.

As ludicrous as it may seem for these guys to change what they're doing, every opponent (and series) is unique. Russell Westbrook and company must respond accordingly in Game 2, even if that means forgetting all they've learned in yet another wildly successful postseason run.