OKC Thunder: 3 Ways To Beat Golden State

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Feb 6, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) attempts to block the shot by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 116-108. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Cut Down Turnovers

Oklahoma City lost the turnover battle, coughing the ball up 15 times to the Warriors’ 10. Turnovers have been the Achilles’ heel for the Thunder for multiple years, and it cost them.

Golden State was able to score 17 points off turnovers, a number way too high to beat any NBA team, let alone the defending champion. Causing chaos and scoring in transition is where the Warriors thrive. If any team wants a shot to win against them, they need to take care of the ball.

Limiting the chances for dunks and transition pull-up threes from Stephen Curry goes a long way in keeping the Warriors offense at bay. Obviously, it is much easier to defend a team with all five defenders back in the half-court rather than in transition.

Some of the turnovers were easily avoided, like when Durant lost the ball out of bounds leading to an Andrew Bogut dunk on the other end. Westbrook also picked up an offensive foul on a drive to the basket, which is another turnover that could be avoided.

Durant also took and missed a Curry-esque 30-foot three-point attempt early in the shot clock, which led to a long rebound and a Draymond Green bucket. It didn’t go down as a turnover, but Durant is capable of creating a better shot than that.

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