The Oklahoma City Thunder will host Game 3 tonight against the San Antonio Spurs. So far in the series the Thunder have not been able to stop the Spurs from scoring and find themselves in a 0-2 hole.
Let's not forget, this is the same Thunder team that almost lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Yeah, they won the series 4-1, but had the Lakers been able to close out games, the Thunder would have had to come back and force a Game 7.
The Lakers are far inferior to the Spurs. They have the best player in the NBA on their team, but they looked slow and lost against a younger and, although less experienced, organized Thunder team.
Now that the Thunder are playing against the Spurs, they do not look like a team that deserves to play in the NBA Western Conference.
Last year, they lost to the NBA champion, Dallas Mavericks. This year you would expect them to be hungrier to qualify for the Finals, but the window of opportunity is closing for the Thunder.
Kevin Durant needs to rise to the occasion. He plays well in the first quarter of games but disappears in the final quarter, combining for just 10 points in both games. He has not looked capable of leading his team into the Finals just yet.
San Antonio deserves a lot of credit for dominating the Thunder, who were the favorites coming into the series since they possess players like Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Spurs have executed well on defense and look difficult to beat in the playoffs.
By the way, they are still undefeated.
In Game 3, Durant has to play with urgency. They cannot lose tonight. The series is over regardless, but if they want a chance to come back in the series, the Thunder will have to play their butts off today.
