The words “Oklahoma City Thunder” and “consistent defense” have not coexisted much over the course of the full 2015-2016 NBA season.
That, more than anything else, is why the Thunder’s ability to package the San Antonio Spurs in Saran Wrap rates as something of a surprise.
The Thunder allowed 103 points per game (102.9, rounded, if you’re a stickler for tenths) over the course of 82 meandering contests against the rotating assortment of opponents in the Association, but playing a high-stakes series against a specific foe has focused the Thunder’s energies.
Emphasis belongs on the word “energies,” too.
The Thunder’s defense has become the primary agent of their success in the Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs. The 3-2 series lead the Thunder will carry to their own building Thursday night is the central product of their ability to turn San Antonio into a plodding, cautious, and generally hesitant offensive team. Yet, it has to be said that Russell Westbrook’s ability to clean the glass, and the Thunder’s ability to get offensive rebounds with their big-man tandem of Enes Kanter and Steven Adams, are preventing the Spurs from breathing freely.
The Thunder were +15 with Steven Adams and Enes Kanter sharing the floor.
Offensive rebounding %: 61.5
Defensive rebounding %: 84.2— Dan Feldman (@DanFeldmanNBA) May 11, 2016
Thunder have offensively rebounded 5 of their 7 misses with Enes Kanter and Steven Adams on the floor
— Dan Feldman (@DanFeldmanNBA) May 11, 2016
With that point having been established, then, let’s go back to the matter of defense — specifically, how well Oklahoma City’s been playing it, especially in second halves and even more precisely in fourth quarters.
Numbers often lie, but not in this series.
In each of Oklahoma City’s three wins, the Thunder have limited the Spurs to nothing more than 44 second-half points. The Spurs uncorked a 28-point third quarter in Game 4 on Sunday, but managed only 16 in the fourth to fall short of a 45-point half.
The final quarter shines a brighter spotlight on the work the Thunder are pouring fourth against San Antonio: Oklahoma City hasn’t allowed more than 21 fourth-quarter points in any of its wins. In the last two victories, the Thunder have held the Spurs under 20 points in the final stanza.
The energy of Dion Waiters has become infectious for the rest of the Oklahoma City roster. When he’s remained on the floor in this series, great things have happened for the third seed after a series against the Dallas Mavericks in which it was hard to see how — or where — the Thunder would find the kind of stability needed to take down a 67-win team in a best-of-seven showdown. It’s true that the injury-ravaged Mavericks couldn’t provide the Thunder a true test or a clear measurement of where they stood. Nevertheless, the constancy with which the Mavericks pushed OKC in that five-game series might have made the Thunder attuned to the work they needed to devote to each and every possession. When the Spurs — fresh and rested after a week off — maxed out in Game 1, Oklahoma City became even more aware of what it would take to stand toe to toe with an adversary which went 40-1 on its home floor this season.
The Thunder are 2-1 in San Antonio in this series, and it’s because of their defense.
A final statistic puts OKC’s defensive prowess — and this series — in perspective: After Tuesday’s 95-91 triumph in Game 5, Oklahoma City’s two wins in San Antonio came on nights when the team scored fewer than 100 points.
If you recall the 2012 Western Conference Finals between these two teams, Oklahoma City’s Game 5 road win in San Antonio was more of a shootout, a 108-103 triumph. The Thunder averaged 108 points in the final three games of that series.
This is entirely different.
The Thunder aren’t even flourishing on offense. One supernova of a second half from Kevin Durant created high-level offensive output in Game 4, but for the most part, OKC’s offense has not busted loose by any means.
It was hard to believe, but it was true: Late in the fourth quarter of Game 5, Oklahoma City had committed 18 turnovers to just seven for the Spurs. With that kind of disparity — in the Alamo City, no less — one surely would have surmised that the Thunder would have been in huge trouble.
They were down only two.
Their defense kept them afloat, before Russell Westbrook turned out the lights in the AT&T Center.
This could become another 2012 in the sense that the Thunder — trailing 2-1 in the series to the Spurs — could win Game 5 on the road and finish the series in six at home. Just realize that the way in which the Thunder are winning is quite distinct from the methods used four years ago.
K.D. and Russ are still part of the formula, sure, but OKC now has some Billy “D” to complement its O.
