The San Antonio Spurs will enter the gauntlet of the Western Conference finals. They would prefer any other opponent aside from the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have established themselves as the best in the NBA.
OKC has a fear factor, something that Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson addressed ahead of Game. According to San Antonio reporter Michael C. Wright, Johnson told his young team to be wary of an undefeated playoff Thunder team.
“Mitch Johnson made it a point to point out the fact that Oklahoma City have not lost a game yet in these playoffs,” Wright said. “So as confident as they are, he said that, ‘Look, we have to go in here with the appropriate fear.’”
San Antonio won four of the five regular-season meetings between the two franchises. But that feels like a long time ago now. OKC is 8-0 in the postseason with two sweeps to its name.
Spurs’ Appropriate Fear
In terms of playoff pedigree and experience, the current Spurs team doesn’t match the Thunder. OKC is the defending NBA champion and has been on this stage. San Antonio, meanwhile, last entered the conference finals in 2017, and they last won the championship in 2014, when Wembanyama was 10 years old.
GettyHead coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs motions a play during the second quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on May 08, 2021.
Fear can be a good thing for San Antonio if channeled properly. Johnson’s warning is not different from what any other coach facing OKC would tell his team. The respect has been earned all over the league and the Thunder are heavy favorites to retain the title they won last year.
Oklahoma City hasn’t dropped a game all playoffs and a key contributor like Jalen Williams has missed 80% of the postseason. Williams will be available for this series, meaning full strength for the Thunder.
San Antonio’s regular-season head-to-head might not be significant now, but it will provide a sense of confidence that it can hand OKC a major blow in the series.
Spurs Must Utilize Wembanyama
GettySan Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama attacks against Oklahoma City Thunder defenders during a previous matchup.
Wembayama is San Antonio’s best chance of making it to the NBA Finals. Other pieces like De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle and Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson are all important as well. However, as it has been evident all playoffs, the Spurs are way better when their French center is on the floor.
When he suffered a concussion injury in Game 2 of the first round and when he was ejected in Game 4 of the second round, the Spurs lost both. That makes up for two of their three losses in the playoffs so far.
Wembanyama’s two-way output will be vital as he can make it tougher on OKC’s best offensive player in Gilgeous-Alexander and also cause problems on the offensive end as well.
Just as Johnson urged his team to be cautious, his OKC counterpart, Mark Daigneault would also tell his team to be wary of Wembanyama. The Spurs center caused some headaches for the Thunder during the regular season.
Game 1 tips off tonight at Paycom Center.
HC Mitch Johnson Warns Spurs Before Game 1 vs. Thunder