NBA Playoffs 2012: Thunder Can’t Rely on Bench to Take Down Seasoned Spurs

June 2nd, 2012 by Chris Trapasso Leave a reply »
If anyone watched Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals without knowing what outcome of Games 1 and 2, they'd have thought the Oklahoma City Thunder took a commanding 3-0 series lead with their dominating 102-82 victory. 

They were the faster, hungrier, more athletic and more efficient team from start to finish on both ends of the court.  

As we all know, the Thunder simply stayed afloat in the series with their impressive win, but now isn't a time to become complacent or believe they can win in the same fashion with relative ease tonight. 

In Game 3, Oklahoma City made a concerted effort to defend the Spurs daunted pick-and-roll differently and place the bigger Thabo Sefolosha on Tony Parker. 

Sefolosha, the Thunder's bench spark, ferociously frustrated San Antonio at the top of the key all evening and finished the game with six steals. 

His length should pose legitimate concern for the Spurs' point guard and make the running pick-and-roll difficult. But conversely, the Thunder can't expect San Antonio to turn the ball over 21 times as it did on Thursday night. 

Head coach Greg Popovi ...

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