Why We're Still Not Sure If the OKC Thunder Are Title Contenders
These aren't the Oklahoma City Thunder you're looking for—not if you're expecting a bona fide NBA title contender, that is. The team that took a 3-1 lead on the Dallas Mavericks with a 119-108 win in Game 4 at American Airlines Center on Saturday seems to have a ways to go.
We're still waiting for it to carve a championship-caliber identity out of an impressive collection of talent.
The Thunder couldn't quite put away a threadbare Mavericks squad that lost Deron Williams in the first quarter and rookie Salah Mejri in the fourth, and had J.J. Barea (0-of-7 from the field with six assists) limping throughout.
OKC rode a 20-5 run, sparked by a flurry of buckets and dimes from Dion Waiters (12 points, four assists), to a 33-18 lead after the opening frame, but it never opened up a wider margin than that.
Dallas was helpless to stop Enes Kanter, who scored a game-high 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting. Nor could it slow down Russell Westbrook (25 points, 15 assists), whose barrage of drives and dishes not only spoon-fed OKC's bigs—14 points on 5-of-7 shooting for Steven Adams, 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Serge Ibaka—but also made him the first player since 1992 to post at least 20 points and 15 helpers in back-to-back postseason games.
OKC, though, didn't do much to slow down Dallas on the other end.
While Westbrook was busy accounting for four of the Thunder's 12 field goals in the third quarter, the Mavericks were shooting the lights out at home (14-of-20).
Dirk Nowitzki, playing in his 144th playoff game and nearing his 38th birthday, somehow found more room to operate than did Kevin Durant, and it showed. Nowitzki hit his first four shots en route to a 27-point, 12-of-21 shooting evening that put him in 15th place, ahead of Elgin Baylor, on the NBA's all-time postseason scoring list.
Durant, on the other hand, shot 7-of-20 from the floor, 1-of-4 from three and a baffling 4-of-8 from the free-throw line before earning an ejection in the fourth quarter for hitting Mavericks rookie Justin Anderson on the head.
"We're gonna do some talking, we're gonna do some shoving here and there because that's how competitive both teams are," Durant said afterward, per ESPN NBA.
Against a Dallas team playing hurt, uneven efforts from OKC's deep, star-studded squad have been enough for the Thunder to return to the Sooner State with a nearly iron-clad series advantage.
If not for a flimsy finish in Game 2, the Thunder would already be scouring game film for new ways to attack the San Antonio Spurs.
But that 85-84 loss was more confirmation than fluke, after OKC blew 15 fourth-quarter leads during the regular season. Likewise, the Mavs shooting 51.8 percent from the field in Game 4 fit the description of a Thunder defense that slipped to 12th in efficiency for 2015-16, after regularly ranking among the league's elite during their peak years under Scott Brooks.
OKC's hardly had problems putting the ball in the basket, and it hasn't slowed down under Billy Donovan. However predictable and pass-averse the Thunder offense was with Durant and Westbrook leading the way this season, it still produced the second-most points per 100 possessions in the NBA.
That trend has continued at Dallas' expense. OKC has eclipsed 100 points three times in four games, albeit against a Dallas defense that ranked 16th in efficiency.
The Thunder won't have the same luxury once they (presumably) dispatch the Mavericks. San Antonio was the stingiest squad in the league this season, led by back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard. The Warriors, who finished fourth in defensive efficiency, weren't too shabby, either.
The bigger issue for OKC will be slowing the Spurs' third-ranked offense and, if it's fortunate to advance, the Warriors' pass-and-three-happy attack.
On paper, the Thunder have the goods to hang with either of the West's heavy hitters.
Their collection of physical bigs, who can dominate the interior, will come in handy against San Antonio's studly frontcourt rotation. During the regular season, OKC paced the Association in offensive rebound percentage and second-chance points and scored the third-most points in the paint.
"When we've attacked the paint, that's when good things have happened," Donovan said while wired up during the broadcast.
Against Golden State, Westbrook's strength and athleticism could be too much for a gimpy Stephen Curry to handle. Nor can the Warriors easily neutralize Durant with their store of lanky wings.
Then again, if Rick Carlisle could patch together a win and another gritty effort out of a lackluster deck, what might Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr do against the Thunder with stronger, healthier rosters?
Those are concerns for another day, but that day is coming to OKC soon enough. The longer the Thunder take to put away an inferior opponent, the less likely they look like stiff competition for the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Stats per NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise cited.
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