The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the odds by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in six games to meet up with the defending champs, the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
This match-up sees the team who broke the regular season win record with 73 wins going against the team two bonafide superstars in their line-up. The two teams met up only three times during the regular season with Golden State coming out on top of all three contests with an overtime thriller won on a 35-foot shot by Stephen Curry thrown in there. On paper, the Oklahoma City Thunder seem like no match for the Warriors but we all know that with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have a shot to beat any team in the NBA if they get rolling. Here are a few reasons why each team could potentially win this series...
How the Golden State Warriors win
The Warriors would have to stick to their guns and utilize their "line-up of death" as much as they can. That line-up consists of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green. Mismatches are created all over the floor and puts opponents in tough positions on whether to go small with them or remain conventional. The flexibility of Draymond Green is the key to this lineup in that he can truly guard all five positions. Oklahoma City's bigs don't have the versatility to guard him on the defensive nd throughout the game which could spell trouble for the Thunder. Of course, the Warriors also have the reigning two-time MVP, Stephen Curry, who can end a game by himself. If he gets hot from long range, he has proven that there is no way to stop him.
How the Oklahoma City Thunder win
The Thunder have to be the best version of themselves for four games during this series. Their best version is when Westbrook has the perfect balance of scoring and assisting, Kevin Durant is scoring efficiently from both two and three-point range, and their role players like Serge Ibaka, Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter, and Steven Adams are contributing at a high level. When they are moving the ball around and trusting their teammates their offense is nearly impossible to contain. They also have to remain disciplined on defense, especially if they choose to stay big against the small ball of the Warriors. It is going to take all five guys connected by a string to hold Golden State in check offensively. Russell Westbrook, in particular, has to stop the untimely gambles and lazy run backs because the Warriors will kill them on the break with gut-wrenching three-pointers by Thompson or Curry. He also has to make Steph Curry work on the defensive end, maybe get him into some foul trouble. The last thing the Thunder want to do is get into a three-point shootout with the Warriors so it is vital that they run them off the three-point line every chance they get.
While the Spurs and Warriors seemed to be on a collision course throughout the season, this is the match-up that most fans of the game wanted to see. This series should live up to the hype and go six or seven games. The Thunder may win in six, but the gut feeling is that Warriors win in seven on their home court.
Game one airs on Monday night at Oracle Arena at 9:00 pm ET on TNT