Fear of Victor Wembanyama cost Thunder Game 1 vs Spurs. Now, OKC must attack.
· Yahoo Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat Victor Wembanyama to the baseline and finished through the foul. Both players fell, SGA buried under a heap of limbs. A worthwhile price to pay for fourth-quarter playoff points.
But where was that for the first three quarters?
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A more telling shot was what happened a few minutes before, when SGA short-armed a gimme. A 95 percenter. A ball that was released with alien-induced apprehension. But Wembanyama didn’t even challenge the shot. His mere presence altered it.
As illogical as it sounds, the Thunder paid too much respect to a player the likes of whom we’ve never seen. The Thunder might not beat the Spurs by attacking Wembanyama, but it didn’t beat the Spurs by not attacking him, either.
San Antonio took Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals 122-115. It was an epic, double-overtime thriller, but it was also a game San Antonio controlled for three-plus quarters.
Wembanyama was a team-best plus-16 in his 49 minutes. Gilgeous-Alexander was a team-worst -15 in his 51 minutes.
“Obviously, I wasn’t able to bring my best game tonight,” SGA said. “That’s how it goes sometimes. Sometimes you’re your best version, sometimes you’re not. You’ve got to roll with the punches, don’t get discouraged and stay true to who you are.”
Through three quarters, Gilgeous-Alexander had one 2-point basket, and Wembanyama had one block. Those numbers are directly correlated.
SGA and the Thunder were so hesitant to attack the rim that there weren’t many rejections to be had for the league’s foremost swatter.
“It’s obviously challenging,” SGA said of Wembanyama’s length. “He’s obviously very tall, very long. Deters a lot of things at the rim. You’ve got to be smart when you go in there, be patient, but also be aggressive and don’t be too timid in there.
“I think you get caught worrying about it too much and you lose aggression and that’s when they really (put a stranglehold) on the game.”
That last part is key.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Thunder’s fear of invading the paint abated. Gilgeous-Alexander had four points at halftime, his fewest points in a playoff half since he was a baby in the bubble. He had 10 points through the first three quarters before scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter alone. He attempted two free throws in the first three quarters. In the fourth? Seven free throws.
“We figured out some things to get him a little bit more cracks and stuff,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “That wasn’t just all his temperament. It all works together.”
Part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s greatness is his stubbornness in making the right play. On Monday, that meant a countless supply of drive-and-kicks. Alex Caruso was the recipient of so many of those. By the way, Caruso’s 30-point game would’ve been an all-timer had the Thunder won.
But SGA driving and dishing to role players with inconsistent jumpers is precisely the shot diet the Spurs want the Thunder to have. Turning one of the best scorers in the world into a passer, even when it’s the right pass, is going to be a win in the aggregate for San Antonio.
In addition to cashing eight 3-pointers, Caruso was the first Thunder player to go at Wembanyama. Caruso scored the Thunder’s first seven points, with one of the buckets coming off a drive in which he got into Wembanyama’s grill.
It was as if Caruso was showing his teammates that taking on Wembanyama was possible.
“There’s an intelligence aspect to playoff basketball,” Caruso said. “Understanding how to attack and when to attack. I think I just made good reads tonight.”
The bad news for the Thunder: It’s not getting another 30-piece from Caruso. It’s probably not getting a 20-piece.
The good news for the Thunder: Jalen Williams was awesome. The MVP is going to play better. Chet Holmgren is going to play better (although his string of duds against the Spurs is concerning). Ajay Mitchell is going to play better.
Game 1s are feel-out games. Calibrating for Wembanyama takes time. Lessons were learned.
One of which might be this: You can’t run from Wembanyama. You have to go at him.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: SGA, Thunder too timid against Victor Wembanyama in Game 1 loss