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Game 1 of the Western Conference finals concluded with the Spurs emerging as victors over the Thunder. The final score was Spurs 122 to the Thunder’s 115. With a lot of ups and downs for both teams over the course of this game.

Game 1 Takeaways

Spurs: After a quiet first quarter from Wemby, who scored only 4 points, he turned it up in the remaining quarters. Wemby ended the game with 41 points, 23 rebounds on 56% from the field goal. Not only did the Spurs win, but they shut down Shai for 4 out of the 6 they played. Offensively, it wasn’t something to be found outside of Wemby when it came to three-point shooting as a team, shooting 30% and 21 turnovers which 11 of them came from Castle, who needs to take better care of the ball, same goes for the team. But when it came to the second overtime, they were unstoppable offensively, outscoring the Thunder 14 to 7. Even though Castle couldn’t do much when handling the ball, he was solid on defense. You have Harper, who stepped up big for the Spurs to keep the lead when the Thunder went on runs.

This wasn’t a pretty win for the Spurs. They had moments for the Thunder to come back into the game when Wemby went to the bench for Luke Kornet. The Thunder attacked the rim more often and got close to the lead, not to mention Alex Caruso keeping the Thunder in the game. When Wemby was on the floor, the Thunder were scared to attack the rim because of Wemby’s presence. They kept suffocating Shai every time he wanted to go downhill and get a bucket by double-teaming and forcing a passout. Spurs’ defense found an answer when stopping Shai until the last 5 minutes of the 4th, and Chet Holmgren, who was quiet for the whole game.

Thunder: The Thunder came into this series having a week off since they swept the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. They were rusty, but that’s not the reason why they lost this game. They lost this game because they got gassed heading into the second overtime, but overall, nobody could find an answer to stop Wemby when he was on the floor defensively and offensively. Shai needs to find a way to be more effective for the first three quarters instead of the last five minutes of the fourth. That 5-minute stretch of Shai scoring to force overtime was nice to see, but he needs to be more consistent in this series for them to win. Chet Holmgren, where do we start? He was ineffective in this game. Sometimes, I forgot he was even on the floor thats how quiet he was in this game. He did have a couple of moments of that block to force overtime and two important three-pointers, but other than those moments, he did nothing. OKC also could not stop fouling the Spurs, which made it difficult for them to come back. Alex Caruso was the only reason for the Thunder to be even close in this game, and they failed him.

What each team needs to do to win Game 2

Thunder: OKC needs to find a way to get Shai off to a hot start. Shai shot 30.4% from the field and 28.6% from three. They also need to find a way to get Chet involved more. They have to find ways to get him more involved on offense. He needs to find confidence to go at Wemby in the paint.

The Thunder also need some tro step up big for them if one of the big three is off in game 2. Alex Caruso was a very much-needed help to this team to keep it close, but the Spurs don’t want that to happen again with Caruso. So another bench player needs to step up, like Ajay, Jared, or Cason, to step up to help the Thunder to get a much-needed win.

On defense, they need to stop committing unnecessary fouls. They gave up 29 free throw attempts to the Spurs. Continue to cause turnovers that another reason they brought it to double overtime. They caused 23 turnovers and scored . The Thunder need a solution for when Wemby inevitably gets the ball in the paint. Chet is the one who should be guarding him, not Caruso or Dort. If you wanna bring help to double him, fine, but you can’t have Chet defend another player other than Wemby.

Spurs: They have all the momentum in this series to win it and advance to the NBA finals. OKC isn’t going to be the same OKC they got in game one; they will be more aggressive.

The Spurs’ defense needs to find a way to stop another player outside of the Thunder’s big three. They can’t afford another Alex Caruso-type performance from the Thunder’s bench. They need to make Shai be uncomfortable when handling the ball, as they did in game one becasue Shai will not have a night like that again. Finally, they need to find a solution to stop the bleeding when Wemby goes to the bench, and Kornet is playing. They kind of did in game one with Harper scoring, but OKC will not let that happen again. They didn’t take care of the ball in the Wemby, fewer minutes. Castle can’t have another 11 turnovers once again.

On offense, they need to continue to punish OKC for reaching in the cookie jar. They shot 29 free throw attempts and made 27 of them. Take extra care of the ball espically YOU Castle. You can’t expect to win every game, turning the ball over 23 times and letting them score 28 points, so protect the ball. The Spurs need another performance like Harper had in the Wemby with fewer minutes. Thunder will not let Harper do what he did in game one. So, Mitch Johnson needs to find ways around the Thunder’s defensive adjustments.

Prediction for game 2

This is a very much-needed win for OKC. If they go down 0-2 on homecourt, they’re in serious trouble of getting swept. I do believe they came into game one rusty, but that’s not an excuse. I believe they will come into this game being more aggressive.

With the final score of game 2, Thunder 123 and Spurs 119. Thunder wins in regulation.