Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Beating The Thunder

2. Late-Game Execution

The Thunder may have exorcised some late-game demons in their final three games against the Spurs, outscoring San Antonio by 4.0 points per game in what NBA.com refers to as “clutch situations” (five-point point differential in the last five minutes) over those contests.

But it’s hard to argue they’ve been completely cured after losing a league-high 14 games in contests where they led entering the fourth quarter. Their net rating in “clutch situations” was a disastrous -8.3 during the regular season (24th in the NBA) and, funnily enough, is still set at -8.3 during the postseason — despite winning their first two playoff series.

That bodes well for a Warriors team that had the league’s best net rating by a massive margin in clutch situations for both the regular season (+38.6) and the playoffs (+44.4).

Simply put, the Dubs are the best late-game execution team in the NBA. They have players known for hitting big shots, making smart passes and getting key defensive stops when the game is on the line. The Thunder were better against San Antonio, but their larger body of work suggests it’s too soon to declare this illness cured.

In all three regular season meetings, the Thunder led at some point during the fourth quarter. They lost all three of those meetings, posting a -56.2 net rating in the clutch in the process. Everyone remembers Curry’s overtime game-winner from damn near midcourt, but not as many remember that OKC was up by 12 in the fourth quarter and had a four-point lead with 14 seconds left in regulation.

Any team with KD and Russ on its roster will have a chance to win close games, but as long as the Warriors continue to execute the way they have all season long, the only way the Thunder are going to win games in this series is by improbably blowing them out.

Next: No. 1