NBA Playoffs 2011: 8 Players Who Must Step Up for the OKC Thunder to Beat Dallas
Oklahoma City has had little time to enjoy their victory over Memphis before now moving on to a much bigger, tougher challenge.
For the Thunder to beat Dallas in the Western Conference Finals, every Thunder player will need to step up and play their best ball. However, there are eight in particular who must step up if the Thunder are going to have any success at all versus the Mavericks.
Serge Ibaka
1 of 8
Ibaka came up small in the series versus Memphis, due in large part to his unfavorable matchup against Zach Randolph. It doesn’t get much better for Ibaka in the next series. Dirk Nowitzki is nearly unguardable.
However, Ibaka does have the length to defend Nowitzki somewhat, and Nowitzki is not stronger than Ibaka in the low post.
Ibaka must make the best of the matchup by forcing Nowitzki to play defense around the basket and being aggressive offensively. He also must block shots and rebound better than he did against Memphis.
Eric Maynor
2 of 8
Maynor has been one of the most dependable role players in the playoffs this year. He has been very efficient, running the second team offense while limiting turnovers. He must step up by continuing to do what he has been doing—except better.
Maynor must hit his open shots in addition to his normal role. He has shown the potential to hit big shots at times. As a pass-first player, his shot attempts are usually few, but he has the ability to make the most of them.
Kendrick Perkins
3 of 8
Looking at the numbers that the Memphis frontcourt put up against the Thunder, one might ask whether or not Perkins even played in the series. He did, and he did make a tremendous difference that didn’t show up in the stat line. He helped make life difficult for Randolph and, at times, made Marc Gasol look weak and ineffective.
In this series, he must do all those things and then some. He must continue to play defense, rebound, and give the Thunder a physical attitude. But he needs to become less of a liability on offense, whether that means setting more screens, getting more offensive rebounds, or actually making point-blank shots.
If he can add this to his game, he will make the Thunder even harder to stop.
Thabo Sefolosha
4 of 8
With the continued growth and improvement of James Harden, Sefolosha has seen his minutes dwindle, but he is still a vital part of the Thunder game plan. So far in the playoffs, he has played decent defense but has turned over the ball and missed open shots on a consistent basis.
The biggest thing that Sefolosha needs to do is continue his stellar defense and opportunistic rebounding. But if he can play better on the other end of the court by taking care of the ball and hitting at least some of his open jumpers, he can take pressure off of Westbrook and Durant.
Nick Collison
5 of 8
As far as hustle goes, this guy is the MVP of the postseason so far. Collison does everything the Thunder need, whether it’s rebounding, bothering Zach Randolph, turning missed shots into points with opportunistic put-backs, setting good screens or taking charges.
He has an opportunity to continue to shine in this series. He is one of the best possible defensive solutions for the Thunder’s Nowitzki problem. Collison must continue to do the little things and step up his defense to help stop Nowitzki.
James Harden
6 of 8
The Thunder go as Harden goes. When he scores points, they score wins. He is one of the best sixth men in the league and will matchup against another top bench guy in Jason Terry.
Harden must play good defense, especially when on Terry. He must also continue to be aggressive, scoring the basketball by driving to the hole, sinking threes and getting to the free-throw line. His court vision has been great in these playoffs, and if he can keep that up, he may help the Thunder bench outplay one of the best benches in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook
7 of 8
In Game 7 against Memphis, Westbrook proved that he can be an all-around fantastic point guard in big games. And that is exactly what OKC will need him to be to win this series.
Westbrook will need to score, but he must take good shots. Contrary to popular belief, it is the shots he takes that are important, not how many he takes. He must also keep his teammates involved and limit turnovers.
Kevin Durant
8 of 8
Durant showed amazing calm in the face of Game 7 pressure and that calm is something he must keep. His play must continue to grow as the stage grows, and he must lead his team.
He must do these things in the way he knows best: scoring. Moving off the ball is critical to how successful he can be and when he gets to the rim he is literally unstoppable.
Durant must continue to step up and lead in the crunch by putting the ball in the hole. If he does so, the Thunder can send Dallas home while they move on to bigger, better things.
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