The Oklahoma City Thunder were within 5 minutes of tying the 2011 NBA Western Conference Finals 2-2. However, they lost hold of a 15-point lead, allowing the Dallas Mavericks to force overtime. In overtime, the Mavericks took control of the game and won, 112-105, gaining a 3-1 advantage in the series. With the win, the Dallas Mavericks are one win away from returning to the NBA Finals.
Down 3-1, the Oklahoma City Thunder must rally back and win 3 games in a row in order to advance to their first NBA Finals as a franchise in Oklahoma City. Their previous franchise NBA Finals appearances and lone NBA Championship were won while playing in Seattle as the Seattle Supersonics. The difficult endeavor begins with Game 5 tonight in Dallas. Here are some ways that the Oklahoma City Thunder can keep the series alive.
1) Contain Jason Kidd
As the oldest player on the team's roster and one of the team's co-captains, point guard Jason Kidd has put together a strong series for the Mavericks. He is averaging 11.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 8.3 APG, and 4.0 SPG while shooting .409 on 3PTFG and .900 on FT. He has also kept his turnovers and fouls down to 9 (2.3 per game) and 8 (2.0 per game) in the 2011 NBA Western Conference Finals, respectively. His combination of steady offensive play and outstanding defense on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant has enabled the Mavericks to take control of the series. The Thunder need to find ways to force Kidd to miss more 3-point attempts, commit more turnovers, and lose energy and intensity on defense. Using Kevin Durant at the top of the key to help run the offense has helped, but it was not enough to sustain a lead for the length of Game 4. Possible counters in Game 5 include Thabo Sefolosha, Eric Maynor, Daequan Cook, or, if especially bold, Serge Ibaka.
2) Contain Dirk Nowitzki
The more obvious problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder is the other Dallas Mavericks co-captain, forward/center Dirk Nowitzki. In Game 3, the Thunder forced Nowitzki to commit 7 turnovers, shoot 7-21 from the field, and score a modest 18 points. However, in Game 4, Nowitzki lit up the Thunder for 40 points, including 12-20 from the field and 14-15 from the line. One of the keys to slowing down Nowitzki in Game 3 was double-teaming Nowitzki frequently, including fronting him and playing strong denial defense to stop him from getting passes cleanly. In Games 1, 2, and 4, the Thunder used up a lot of fouls in guarding Nowitzki. This included 6 personal fouls on Nick Collison and 5 personal fouls on Serge Ibaka, as well as 6 personal fouls by James Harden. However, in Game 3, Ibaka, Collison, and Kendrick Perkins combined for only 4 personal fouls--including 0 fouls for Ibaka. On the defensive end, the Thunder need to either limit their fouls or use up their fouls wisely. They may consider adding Nazr Mohammed to the rotation for Game 5 to see if his agility can help contain both Nowitzki and center Tyson Chandler. They can also continue to mix usage of players from Russell Westbrook to Serge Ibaka in order to frustrate and confuse Nowitzki. On the offensive end, the Thunder may need to find ways to exploit Nowitzki on defense in order to get him in foul trouble. Nowitzki has had 3 or fewer fouls in each of the first four games of this series, so a combination of post-up plays, pick and rolls, and mismatches with Durant and others may be the cause of additional fouls by Nowitzki.
3) Contain Jason Terry
Although not a team captain, guard Jason Terry represents the third major threat of the Dallas Mavericks lineup. As the team's sixth man, Jason Terry brings high energy off the bench and causes some mismatches. Despite struggling in Game 4 with a 7-19 mark from the field, Terry closed out the game with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 assist. On the series, Terry is averaging 16.3 PPG on only a .375 mark from the field. He also has had only 10 assists in the series, with 6 assists in Game 3. However, he has committed only 7 turnovers in the series. Furthermore, he had 6 steals in the past 2 games after 0 steals in Games 1 and 2. In Game 5, the Thunder would be better served to make Terry one of the primary ballhandlers, forcing him to think 'pass first' rather than 'shoot first'. If the Thunder can get the ball out of the hands of Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea and make Terry, along with Nowitzki and Shawn Marion, handle the ball on as many plays as possible, this should disrupt the flow of the Mavericks offense.
Down 3-1, the Oklahoma City Thunder must rally back and win 3 games in a row in order to advance to their first NBA Finals as a franchise in Oklahoma City. Their previous franchise NBA Finals appearances and lone NBA Championship were won while playing in Seattle as the Seattle Supersonics. The difficult endeavor begins with Game 5 tonight in Dallas. Here are some ways that the Oklahoma City Thunder can keep the series alive.
1) Contain Jason Kidd
As the oldest player on the team's roster and one of the team's co-captains, point guard Jason Kidd has put together a strong series for the Mavericks. He is averaging 11.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 8.3 APG, and 4.0 SPG while shooting .409 on 3PTFG and .900 on FT. He has also kept his turnovers and fouls down to 9 (2.3 per game) and 8 (2.0 per game) in the 2011 NBA Western Conference Finals, respectively. His combination of steady offensive play and outstanding defense on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant has enabled the Mavericks to take control of the series. The Thunder need to find ways to force Kidd to miss more 3-point attempts, commit more turnovers, and lose energy and intensity on defense. Using Kevin Durant at the top of the key to help run the offense has helped, but it was not enough to sustain a lead for the length of Game 4. Possible counters in Game 5 include Thabo Sefolosha, Eric Maynor, Daequan Cook, or, if especially bold, Serge Ibaka.
2) Contain Dirk Nowitzki
The more obvious problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder is the other Dallas Mavericks co-captain, forward/center Dirk Nowitzki. In Game 3, the Thunder forced Nowitzki to commit 7 turnovers, shoot 7-21 from the field, and score a modest 18 points. However, in Game 4, Nowitzki lit up the Thunder for 40 points, including 12-20 from the field and 14-15 from the line. One of the keys to slowing down Nowitzki in Game 3 was double-teaming Nowitzki frequently, including fronting him and playing strong denial defense to stop him from getting passes cleanly. In Games 1, 2, and 4, the Thunder used up a lot of fouls in guarding Nowitzki. This included 6 personal fouls on Nick Collison and 5 personal fouls on Serge Ibaka, as well as 6 personal fouls by James Harden. However, in Game 3, Ibaka, Collison, and Kendrick Perkins combined for only 4 personal fouls--including 0 fouls for Ibaka. On the defensive end, the Thunder need to either limit their fouls or use up their fouls wisely. They may consider adding Nazr Mohammed to the rotation for Game 5 to see if his agility can help contain both Nowitzki and center Tyson Chandler. They can also continue to mix usage of players from Russell Westbrook to Serge Ibaka in order to frustrate and confuse Nowitzki. On the offensive end, the Thunder may need to find ways to exploit Nowitzki on defense in order to get him in foul trouble. Nowitzki has had 3 or fewer fouls in each of the first four games of this series, so a combination of post-up plays, pick and rolls, and mismatches with Durant and others may be the cause of additional fouls by Nowitzki.
3) Contain Jason Terry
Although not a team captain, guard Jason Terry represents the third major threat of the Dallas Mavericks lineup. As the team's sixth man, Jason Terry brings high energy off the bench and causes some mismatches. Despite struggling in Game 4 with a 7-19 mark from the field, Terry closed out the game with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 assist. On the series, Terry is averaging 16.3 PPG on only a .375 mark from the field. He also has had only 10 assists in the series, with 6 assists in Game 3. However, he has committed only 7 turnovers in the series. Furthermore, he had 6 steals in the past 2 games after 0 steals in Games 1 and 2. In Game 5, the Thunder would be better served to make Terry one of the primary ballhandlers, forcing him to think 'pass first' rather than 'shoot first'. If the Thunder can get the ball out of the hands of Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea and make Terry, along with Nowitzki and Shawn Marion, handle the ball on as many plays as possible, this should disrupt the flow of the Mavericks offense.