Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Beating The Thunder
3. Star Matchups
Stephen Curry. Kevin Durant. Klay Thompson. Russell Westbrook. Draymond Green. This series is littered with stars, and as is usually the case come playoff time, the team whose stars shine brightest is the one most likely to advance.
In the case of the Warriors, they’ve got to be feeling pretty good about where they stand. Curry nearly put up a 35-10-7 stat line in his two games returning from a two-week absence, while Thompson and Green were sensational during that stretch without the league MVP.
Thompson solidified his merit for an All-NBA selection this season, as he averaged 29.5 points per game in the six games Golden State played without Curry, while also locking down James Harden and Damian Lillard. Green, meanwhile, is averaging 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game on .449/.417/.717 shooting splits in the postseason.
The Western Conference Finals will feature the 2 highest scoring duos in the NBA: Curry-Thompson (52.2 PPG) and Durant-Westbrook (51.7 PPG).
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) May 13, 2016
On the other side of the coin, though Durant and Westbrook have struggled at various times during the postseason, no one should forget how completely destructive they can be on the nights when they’ve been on.
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KD is only shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from three-point territory in the playoffs, but games like his 41-point explosion against the Spurs in Game 4 or his 37-point closer in the Game 6 demonstrate how devastating he can be in the blink of an eye.
Durant averaged 36.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.0 blocks per game against Golden State during the regular season, posting .529/.476/.964 shooting splits — absurd numbers considering how many quality defenders the Warriors have to throw at him.
Similarly, Westbrook is only shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from deep in the postseason, but he’s also posted a 25-11-7 stat line and was fantastic in the San Antonio series. The good news is he only shot 34.7 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from downtown against the Dubs in the regular season.
The bad news is Draymond Green similarly struggled in this matchup during the regular season:
Can Klay Thompson slow Westbrook down to help the Warriors hide a possibly less explosive Curry on Andre Roberson? Will Thompson still have enough energy to contribute on the offensive end if he’s tasked with such a brutal defensive assignment?
Can Draymond Green find his offense against OKC while also keeping Kanter and Adams off the boards? Can Curry do MVP things against a hyper-focused Westbrook or Roberson? Can a smorgasbord of Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green find a way to slow down Kevin Durant after failing to do so in the regular season?
The answers to these questions will ultimately decide the series.
Next: No. 2