Without the contributions of Serge Ibaka, the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense gave up 122 points against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The final presents one major question to us -- can the Thunder compete without the aid of Ibaka?
Since the Spurs are so well-coached under Gregg Popovich, who's been a complete master at running his old crew by playing a lot of younger guys throughout the course of the season and exposing matchups, did just that by ramming the offense in the paint.
The Spurs outscored the Thunder 66-32 inside the paint. Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had a combined 43 points and the three main guards -- Tony Parker, Danny Green, and Manu Ginobli -- had incredibly efficient nights combining for 20-of-31 from the field. Parker dished out 12 of the team's 28 assists.
Without Ibaka, the Thunder's reliance on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook running the show alone won't be enough. Derek Fisher went 4-of-6 from downtown to keep the Thunder within striking distance, and OKC even took the lead after Westbrook went off at the start of the second half.
But that was the problem. That burst of energy wasn't sustained, and the only two points that weren't scored by Durant or Westbrook in that whole quarter were two Fisher free throws with 53 seconds left in the period.
Without Ibaka's beastly presence inside, and the Spurs nearly coasting with their starters for an entire NBA season, it's going to be impossible for the Thunder to win the series unless they can find a third starter that can actually produce at least half of what Durant and Westbrook do. Basically, You can't have box scores with the dynamic duo taking 40 shots and scoring 53 points while the other three starters shoot the ball 10 times and score five points (and two of them having goose eggs in the points column).
And one of their bigs needs to somehow slow down the Spurs' offensive train. They have the offense, but we've seen how bad this defense is without Ibaka this season. OKC did go 4-0 against SA this season, but that doesn't matter with the current matchups and the Spurs not playing in regular season mode. Now the Thunder are left with having to figure out this puzzle.
Other Headlines
NBA: League charges Sterling with damaging the product
The NBA even pointed to the CNN interview almost two weeks ago as more evidence on why LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling needs to be ousted. His whole tangent on Magic Johnson clearly showed that he's got a real beef with him, and there's angst between both of them. Personally, I believe Sterling more just has a vendetta on Johnson than black people, but he stupidly called out a race because he didn't want to just omit Johnson from coming to games. Hindsight is 20/20.
NBA: Draft Lottery tonight before Game 2 of ECF
The Milwaukee Bucks are the favorite to hoist the number one pick in the draft, but everyone will be keeping their eye on the lottery to see if NBA franchise favorites, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, will end up sneaking up there. The Bucks have a 25 percent chance while the Celtics and Lakers have a 10.3 percent chance and 6.3 percent chance, respectively. Depending on who picks it up and what their needs are, the popular trio of Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Jabari Parker are expected to come off the board very quickly.
NFL: Discussing playoff expansion to 14 teams
It's going to happen, the question is how and when? ESPN put up 10 questions surrounding the topic, and it's a very good read. There's enough positives here that the NFL would be dumb not to extend the postseason. You're still holding less than 50 percent of the teams that will be eligible for the postseason so it doesn't water down the regular season, there's a ton if income of hosting more games for players, teams, and the NFL itself, and they would be removing one of the four weeks of the preseason. Sure, there will be more teams at .500 or even lower that will make the playoffs under this new format. But we all survived when the Seattle Seahawks marched in winning the NFC West at 7-9, right? Right.
Today's Slate
(Central times listed)
NBA PLAYOFFS - CONF FINALS
Draft Lottery - 7:00 ESPN
Heat at Pacers (IND 1-0) - 7:30 ESPN
MLB
Dodgers at Mets - 6:10 MLBTV
D'backs at Cardinals - 7:15 FSMW
-Giants at Rockies - 7:40 MLBTV
Twins at Padres - 9:10 FSNO
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