San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder face off in Game 3 today of the Western Conference Finals as the series shifts to Oklahoma City. San Antonio is looking for its 11th straight win in the playoffs (and 21st overall dating back to the regular season), which would tie it for the most wins to open up the playoffs in NBA history. Meanwhile, the Thunder are just looking to avoid falling into an insurmountable 0-3 hole.
Getting more offensive production from their big men is one area that the Oklahoma City Thunder must improve in if they are to tie their Western Conference Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs by winning Tuesday night's Game 2.
The Thunder had a good-sized lead in the second half of the series opener but were unable to stop the Spurs' late game push, ultimately losing Game 1 101-98.
Let's look at three areas that the Thunder need to improve in to avoid an 0-2 series deficit.
San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are two teams built with similar structures, but the pieces that make up their team couldn't be more different.
The Thunder have their "Big Three" in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. All three are young and reckless on the court at times and none have reached the prime of their career, but are still dominating their competition (for the most part). Scott Brooks' boys are going to remain in the upper echelon of the Western Conference for the foreseeable future.
The Spurs have their own "Big Three" in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The three are nearly polar opposites of their Western Conference Finals opponents, as they are older, more efficient, smoother in their craft and on the back end of their careers. Led by legendary head coach Gregg Popovich, they have long been a staple in the Western Conference playoffs.
After a loss in Game 1, the Thunder face a seemingly insurmountable advantage as they will need to take four of the next six games from a team that hasn't given up one in their last 19.
Oklahoma City is an extremely talented team, that much is obvious, but the Spurs are playing better basketball than any team has over the course of the entire season. In Game 1, San Antonio didn't play anywhere near the level that they have been playing since April 11 when they last lost, but they found a way to beat the upset-minded Thunder.
The Thunder played extremely well for the first three quarters, with the exception of the last few minutes of the first, but weren't able to hold on to a nine point lead heading into the final period. Yes, OKC's three best players didn't come alive down the stretch, but the Spurs won that game more than the Thunder lost it.
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