NBA Playoffs 2011: 5 Reasons the Thunder Will Rebound to Win the West
The Oklahoma City Thunder may have fallen flat in their first home game with Dallas, but the Western Conference finals are far from over. Kevin Durant and company showed their resiliency with their Game 2 win in Dallas, and they’ll be back and ready to battle the Mavs tomorrow night.
Read on for five reasons the Thunder can not only recover in Game 4 but come back to earn a trip to the NBA Finals.
5. Three-Point Shooting
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A big part of OKC’s dismal Game 3 performance was their 1-for-17 shooting from three-point range. That’s not a performance this team is likely to repeat.
As good as the Mavs are at long-range shooting, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden can match or beat them on any given night. They won’t let Dallas shoot them out of games the way they did to the Lakers.
4. Pressure Is Off
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Kevin Durant is as much of a competitor as anybody in the league, but wanting to win and having to win are two different things. The Mavericks’ window appears to be closing with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd aging, while the Thunder will be a fixture in the Western Conference playoffs for years to come.
The Thunder weren’t even supposed to make it as far as the conference finals. All the pressure in this series is on Dallas, and the longer the series goes, the tighter that pressure will get.
3. Young Legs
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Deep though the Mavs are, they’re anchored by a pair of 30-somethings in Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. Against the remarkably young Thunder, Dallas is vulnerable to being worn down, especially this late in the season.
The longer OKC can extend the series and the more energy Dallas has to expend, the better the Thunder’s chances of having that little bit of extra oomph on a jump shot by the end of the game.
2. Go-to Scorers
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At the end of a close playoff game, having a go-to guy who can provide a game-saving bucket is a must. Kevin Durant fills that bill in spades, and he’s not alone.
Russell Westbrook’s own prodigious scoring ability means that he must be accounted for in end-of-game situations. With two stars to guard, the Thunder are especially difficult to defend in the clutch.
1. Battle of the Benches
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The first three games of this series have been decided by the performance of the reserves. When Jason Terry and J.J. Barea have taken over games, the Mavs have gotten their wins.
Conversely, in Oklahoma City’s Game 2 triumph, Eric Maynor and James Harden combined for 36 points.
Few teams can match Dallas’ talent off the bench, but the Thunder are on that list. If Maynor, Harden and Daequan Cook can step up in the rest of this series, they’ll be playing for the NBA title, and the Mavs will be watching from home.
