A tough loss for the defending champs to the very young upstart San Antonio Spurs. All the credit in the world should go to Coach Mitch Johnson and his team.
This was no fluke. The Spurs just jelled a year ahead of schedule and all told beat the Thunder eight times this season in a combined twelve games.
It was a vintage performance by the Spurs on the road under the brightest lights with the entire basketball world watching. If nothing else it reiterates what I was saying back in August as to how difficult it is to repeat in the NBA given the landscape of collective bargaining and such.
Shai was superb in defeat. He did everything one could ask from a franchise player and literally carried the Thunder on his back for 42:58 of playing time. His line was 35 points on 12-21 from the field with 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Obviously… without JDub the Thunder defense in no way is the 40 Minutes of Hell monster which creates live ball turnovers and transition points in flurries.. I’m not sure if Reggie Miller of NBC actually understands what JDub means to the Thunder’s defense and pace, but what JDub means to this team is a great deal.
So without live ball turnover transition points it was basically an uphill slog for Shai all series and Game 7 long, and quite frankly it must be written Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort as starters simply did not engage and perform at a standard which gave the team a legitimate chance to win this game.
I can’t blame Coach Mark because Coach Mark can’t make shots for Lu Dort or just attempt shots for Chet. I’ve watched a ton of NBA playoff basketball in my life and I’ve never seen an all-star max level player like Chet just simply refuse to offensively engage in a game of this magnitude and only take two shots.
Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford referenced this multiple times during the NBC telecast, but we’ll have to see how the likes of the Thunder’s media team handles what we witnessed from Chet in this series and this Game 7. I’m sure just about now Little Nick Gallo is tucking Chet in under his Thunder blanky.
Shai, of course, is one of the classiest athletes I’ve ever witnessed and in no way pointed a finger at any of his teammates. Add to the fact… Caruso had a tough 3-14 shooting night and that was pretty much in my mind the final deathknell for the Thunder in this Game 7.
Jared McCain had some nice moments in the first half and Cason Wallace had a strong fourth period to actually keep the Thunder in the game in the final two minutes. I would think next season Cason Wallace will be in the starting lineup given Lu Dort only played 15 minutes in this Game 7.
As far as the question which was asked of Shai which he did not honestly answer because again he’s too much of gentleman to ever blame a teammate…I’ll try and help him out.
The question was…”What will the Thunder have to do to get better so as they could conceivably beat the Spurs next season in the playoffs?”
And my response would be they are going to have to probably move Lu Dort in a trade and exercise their third year team option on Isaiah Hartenstein because it is very apparent the Thunder are not going to beat the Spurs with Chet Holmgren as their center.
The nuanced reconstruction of this Thunder team is going to have to streamline what it will take to deal with Wemby and these eight guys alongside him who have only to date scratched the surface of their potential.
And I’m not talking about Thomas Sorber being the guy next season. That’s not what I’m talking about.
So I guess what I’m saying is…Chet moving forward at a max level deal is something I would have to seriously reconsider if I were Sam Presti because nobody is coming out of the West if they can’t deal with Wemby and run with those seven other guys.
Again…I can’t ever remember an all-star max level player just shutting down emotionally as Chet did throughout this series and in Game 7. I feel awkward even writing about it. It was genuinely sad to witness from a human standpoint. I felt sorry for him.
But again, all the credit to Mitch Johnson and his team. In this Game 7 all five Spurs’ starters scored in double figures and seven San Antonio players in all scored in double figures.
My Four Stars of the Game goes like this…1 Wemby, 2 Shai, 3 Julian Champagnie, and 4 Stephon Castle with both Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell getting Honorable Mention okcthunderground.com helmet stickers.
Not to fret though for MJ…he’s going to cover both the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals to fill the void of the Thunder being eliminated.
Life goes on…que sera.
Sam Presti…you’ve still got some nuanced work to do beyond getting JDub and Ajay healthy.
The Thunder season is officially over and there will not be a parade in Oklahoma City.
But life goes on.
Mike J