I’ve made up my mind: Entrust the Spurs the control to Saint Nick's toy factory. Put Stephon Castle in charge of gift manufacturing. Permit De’Aaron Fox toss packages into chimneys, from whatever range he’d like. Vassell can customize the festive biscuits. Harrison Barnes has the army of helpers taken care of. And, of course, the sleigh's vehicle must immediately be altered for a taller, thinner pilot so that the looming Wemby can drive it with ease.
The stunning Spurs have toppled the Thunder on three occasions in a fortnight, and in the process have re-energized this basketball campaign. I now have greater belief in the team's ability to grant excitement to the masses than any seasonal myths of old.
An Ominous Opening
It was concerning for a time. The Thunder might have captured the title in June, but commenced this season in increasingly daunting form. They reeled off 24 wins in their opening 25 matchups (the single setback was a fluky 20-point rally). In the majority of those games, Williams, their next best player, was on the bench healing from wrist surgery. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their premier player, rarely had to play in the final period. The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings by 31. The Los Angeles Lakers, who some predicted to be a plausible challenger, lost by 29; their offensive genius Doncic appeared as if he was competing with ten men. The Suns' valiant initial got them a close loss, by just four points. When they faced off again 12 days later, the Thunder won by 49. This game signaled the definitive end and ushered in the cold season 10 days ahead of schedule. Oklahoma City looked capable of demolishing every team in its path, even the Warriors' fabled regular season record of 73-9.
The Nature of Their Game
The Thunder do not play a especially attractive form of basketball. They expertly exploit the referees’ dilemma over which infractions to call (a steady whistle disrupts the rhythm of the game, an inconsistent one lets players get away with obvious violations), often leading to Gilgeous-Alexander shooting foul shots after calls that would be best ignored, while embodied nuisance Alex Caruso seems to have total license to do whatever he likes on the defensive end. Some say they appreciate, SGA twisting his body to invite small touches from defenders; I can only presume those same people also like being struck hard in a sensitive area. That’s not to mention man-mountain Luguentz Dort flying off his feet and into opponents after many questionably minimal touches. This gamesmanship enables critics to harbor the idea that in a world with perfect officiating, the Thunder would be a mediocre team. Genuine basketball heads know it’s far more exasperating than fundamental to the Thunder’s success, but the general annoyance is sufficient to push some fans who might otherwise be neutral into cheering for Oklahoma City’s demise.
Dominance can be coldly thrilling to watch, but a historically great performance tends to evoke less awe the more times it repeats. How many times does anybody really want to watch one team beat another by 35? In the end you remember that the drama is the point. The Thunder were sucking the season of suspense, accumulating leads on other teams in the standings as well as on the court.
A New Challenger Emerges
Through 21 minutes of the initial Spurs-Thunder game this season, San Antonio trailed by 16 and looked likely to go the identical path as every other team. Instead, they have unleashed chaos on the Thunder ever since.
Against the Spurs, the Thunder look vulnerable. Each member of their core deserves significant credit for that, but this is Victor Wembanyama’s team, and the Thunder know it. “There’s this man on their team that’s seven-foot-five and takes up a lot of space on the court,” Jalen Williams said, with some frustration, when asked what made the Spurs such a difficult opponent. The Thunder’s professional beanpole, 7'1" Chet Holmgren, is the biggest player on the floor in most games, at liberty to secure boards and reject opposing shots. Next to Wembanyama, he’s short, crude, and even hesitant. Wembanyama’s contempt for Holmgren is obvious in how he celebrates each time Holmgren misses a free throw, as though he’s scored a major victory; the way he fouls him with a bit of added intensity; the way he told reporters he does not view Holmgren a rival. (There is indeed no question over which player is superior.) At this rate Holmgren must expect Wemby to emerge from the cupboard, taunting, when he stretches for a snack.
Holiday Domination
The Spurs led by Wembanyama made their most conclusive statement yet on Christmas, routing the Thunder by 15 on their home court. San Antonio absorbed the expected early run well yet again, recovering to score 41 points on the league’s top-ranked defense in the first quarter. De'Aaron Fox seamlessly found the small holes in that defense to the total of 29 points. The Spurs even limited Gilgeous-Alexander to a career-low 22. He tried to make up for it by firing passes to wide-open teammates behind the arc, but they failed him by bricking almost every single attempt.
A Thunder supporter would say that enough of those three-pointers will go in in a rematch to produce a win or a more competitive loss, but I found the failed attempts indicative of a issue. Off the foundation of his fluid stepback jumper, Gilgeous-Alexander is the most consistent scoring engine in the league. He is tough to guard and impossible to stop. But even he can’t carry an offense entirely on his own. The Spurs put Gilgeous-Alexander under sufficient duress that he had to delegate more than usual, and his role players struggled under the greater burden. Caruso and Dort are good for the sporadic three-pointer, but relying on them to hit the outside shot is the worst scenario the Thunder want to be.
Shifting the Balance
The Spurs’ rise couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Not only have they emphatically cemented themselves as title contenders – but they’ve allowed fans to see the Thunder in {higher definition|sharper focus|
