Thunder are quite a contrast to Spurs
Thunder are quite a contrast to Spurs
Thompson and his teammates returned to practice Friday, barely 36 hours after they advanced to the Western Conference finals.
Westbrook finished fourth and Durant was fifth in Most Valuable Player voting.
Oklahoma City won 55 regular-season games — 12 fewer than San Antonio.
[...] the Thunder also just completed an impressive six-game beatdown of the Spurs, and no tandem in the league — aside from Stephen Curry and Thompson — is more potent offensively than Westbrook-Durant.
“He’s the fastest player in the NBA, so you really can’t take possessions off,” Thompson said Friday.
Curry probably will spend most of his time on Andre Roberson, but he also figures to cross paths with his counterpart at point guard.
Westbrook and Curry bring contrasting styles; Westbrook plays as if jet-propelled, relentlessly attacking the rim, while Curry blends deft ballhandling with incomparable long-range shooting.
Curry knows he can’t even begin to match Westbrook’s array of high-flying dunks.
Never let your guard down, try to think one step ahead, get back in transition and don’t let him get a head of steam.
Durant and Westbrook combined to average 51.7 points per game in the regular season.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also called 7-footer Steven Adams “one of the best centers in the league.”
The Warriors won all three regular-season games against the Thunder, including a memorable 121-118 victory Feb. 27 in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder easily led the NBA in rebounding differential this season, averaging 8.4 more per game than their opponents.