2012 NBA Playoffs: 5 Adjustments the Thunder Can Make to Beat the Spurs

The Oklahoma City Thunder now face an 0-2 hole against a Spurs team in the midst of one of the most dominant playoff runs in NBA history.

And while the old trope is that a playoff series doesn't start until the home team loses, San Antonio is executing with such precision, with such confidence, that the gulf appears dauntingly wide. 

Still, hope isn't lost—the Thunder have at various points put together runs that kept both Games 1 and 2 competitive, using their superior athleticism to compensate for their (considerable) deficiencies on both ends of the floor.

To that end, here are five adjustments that the Thunder have to make to press their advantages and win the Western Conference finals.

Take Westbrook off Parker

This won't sit well with Russell Westbrook, who's as prideful a player as they come, but the reality may be that Tony Parker (34 points and eight assists in Game 2) is too big a load for him to handle.

Fortunately for OKC, they have a few arrows in their quiver that could prevent a repeat performance.      

Thabo Sefolosha is a savvy defender with experience guarding smaller, quicker players; the Thunder could begin the game by putting him on Parker. Westbrook should in turn shadow guard Danny Green, who does most of his damage from beyond the three-point line.

And off the bench, the solution is James Harden. He had success in Game 2 using his strength to fight over picks and cut off Parker's penetration, and he gives OKC a different defensive look than the rangier Sefolosha. 

If Parker's intent in this series is to go at the "head of the snake," the Thunder's only recourse may be to show him more than one head.  

"Go Small" Earlier

The Spurs have negated the Thunder's athleticism in the half-court by sliding their bigs off Perkins and Ibaka to "spy" OKC's ballhandlers.  

Which means the offensive shortcomings of OKC's starting frontcourt are no longer just liabilities; they're a fatal flaw against a Spurs team whose big men are smart enough to show on the drive and then recover to their defensive assignments.    

Coach Scott Brooks has gone to a smaller lineup late in games, sliding Durant to the power forward spot and Ibaka to center, but the obvious play for the Thunder is to give more minutes to their best scoring unit (Harden - Westbrook - Thabo - Durant - Ibaka) and hope they don't get killed on the boards.

It's a gamble, but down 0-2 in the Western Conference finals isn't a time to be risk averse.   

Play San Antonio for the Drive

San Antonio is penetrating on Oklahoma City at will, and those drives are leading to easy looks at the basket and open shots for the Spurs' three-point marksmen.

And the culprit, here, beyond the Spurs' pick-and-roll perfection, is that the Thunder are overplaying the perimeter.

While a healthy fear of Ginobili's—and to a lesser extent, Parker's—pull-up jumper is prudent, the Thunder should be absolutely terrified of San Antonio's ability to get into the lane and do what they do best: make the quick read to dump to the rolling big man, pass to the perimeter for wide-open shots or score at the rim.

By showing restraint, the Thunder can begin to negate the Spurs' collective intelligence, which waits for opposing defenses to make mistakes and exploits them in the blink of an eye.

Initiate the Offense Quickly

Despite being the younger and more athletic team, the Thunder have been downright deliberate in executing their half-court offense.

They’re wasting precious seconds overdribbling at the top of the key.

They aren't driving or passing with any measure of confidence.

And while these Spurs aren’t the defensive juggernauts they were in the early-to-mid 2000s, San Antonio is more than capable of slowing an offensive attack when given time to set up. 

Naturally, "Plan A" for OKC is to get the ball into the open court. But in the playoffs, half-court play is an inescapable reality, and the Thunder would be better served making quick decisions early in the shot clock than hasty ones late.    

Hand Harden the Keys to the Offense

By now it's common knowledge that James Harden is the Thunder's best offensive decision-maker.

And, true to form, he was the only Thunder player in Game 2 to consistently penetrate the Spurs' perimeter defense.

He scored 30 points on absurdly efficient 10-of-13 FG shooting. And he made the right reads when San Antonio overcommitted to his drives, finding shooters for easy looks on the perimeter.

But one gets the sense that Oklahoma City still considers Harden a break-glass measure; the guy they go to to key scoring runs late in games, or early when Westbrook can't find his rhythm. His 31 minutes played in Game 1 (a rough outing, granted) and 34 minutes in Game 2 mitigate his impact as the team's most reliable playmaker.  

If Harden has more to offer—and we all suspect that he does—the Thunder need to unleash his potential now by letting him run the offense without constraint.   

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