Throughout the NBA play-offs, The National's resident NBA dudes Jonathan Raymond and Kevin Jeffers will be breaking down the key talking points of the night before, plus looking around the scope of the league. Here are our NBA Play-off takeaways.
Last night’s result
• San Antonio 124, Oklahoma City 92 | Spurs lead series 1-0
Welp
That was beautiful. Or that was ugly. Or it was amazing, or it was shameful. I guess it depends on whose side you’re on.
However you take the Spurs’ utter demolition of the Thunder in Saturday’s Western Conference semi-final Game 1, one thing should be clear – the Thunder have no chance in this series.
Oklahoma City might steal a game, or maybe even two. But their season will absolutely end at the hands of San Antonio in this round. Then will come the offseason and questions about their future, then will come the answers, then will come next season, and so on into eternity. But for another season, the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook, dream-team duo will go title-less, and it will be the Spurs who ensure that. Let’s not pretend this ends any other way.
• Related: This might be OKC's final chance together | Full play-offs coverage
For now, on this Sunday morning following OKC’s Game 1 humbling, let’s not focus on the defeated. Let’s revel in the mastery that is the unhinged machine from San Antonio.
The Spurs hit a stupid 60.7 per cent of their shots, which included an even stupider 60 per cent (9 of 15) of their threes. Watching the way they systematically moved the ball at will, resulting in open shot after open shot, it was amazing when they ever missed. Nothing the Thunder did worked as the Spurs rolled out to a 73-40 first-half half lead.
On the other side, San Antonio’s perennially great defence stifled both Westbrook (14 points on 5-of-19 shooting) and Durant (16, 6-of-15) the way other teams could only imagine were possible. The Spurs blocked 10 shots and held OKC to 26.1 per cent on 23 attempts from 3-point-range.
What the box score doesn’t show are the frustrated, defeated looks dotting the faces of the OKC players. It’s hard to blame them. What could anyone do against such a historically great, take-no-prisoners defence?
But back to the Spurs’ dominant showing on offence – the duo of Lamarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard were downright scary. Aldridge had 38 points on 18-of-23 shooting, while Leonard made Durant look like James Harden on defence, scoring 25 on 10-of-13 shooting. In the first half, the typical scene was Leonard spinning Westbrook into the court on defence, then leading a Spurs fast break the other way to finish with an easy 2. He almost never loses a possession, and brings a level of athleticism atypical of past Spurs teams.
Leonard is almost too good to believe, and his development might be Gregg Popovich’s second greatest achievement after his five titles. Leonard is easily the third best player in the NBA right now, and maybe the most complete all around. Everything the Spurs are able to do are because of what he does on both sides of the floor, and no player is as capable of shutting down another team’s superstar. He’s simply an ingredient no other team has.
For years, the Spurs were defined by the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli. This group long ago stopped being championship-calibre, but Popovich never has. The trio is amazingly still together, a testament to the culture the Spurs have built in their going-on-two-decades together. Now – while bridging the past generation to the present/future of Aldridge and Leonard – they could just be rewarded for sticking around with the franchise’s sixth title.
Win or go extinct
Oh hey, there are still first round series to be decided. Anyone up for a couple of Game 7s?
Both the Hornets-Heat and Pacers-Raptors series will be decided tonight. Charlotte and Miami were expected to test each other and possibly go the distance, but the Pacers being able to push the Raptors to the brink has been the biggest surprise of the first round.
This could be disastrous if the Raptors lose. The Canadian franchise has never won a 7-game-series, and were huge favourites coming off a 56-win regular season.
But as is so often the case come play-off time, you can’t count out the team with the best player in the series. That’s Indiana’s Paul George, who has basically won two games by himself. The Raptors have to find a way to contain him.
The game is in Toronto, and you better believe there will be a thick amount of nervous energy in the crowd (and Drake). Anything less than a couple of series wins will be a disappointment, but the season could end well before then.
Tonight’s matches
• Charlotte at Miami, 9pm | Series tied at 3
• Portland at Golden State, 11.30pm | Second round Game 1
• Indiana at Toronto, 4am | Series tied at 3
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