Written by Matt Moore at CBS Sports.com
The Spurs and Thunder are set for the rubber match of their playoff rivalry Saturday. It’s the third playoff meeting between the two franchises, the first outside of the Western Conference finals, with the Thunder having won in 2012 and the Spurs in 2014. The stars are shining for this one as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan,Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Serge Ibaka, LaMarcus Aldridge and of course Boban Marjanovic are all healthy and good to go for Game 1. We’ll have more preview materials later this week on CBSSports.com, but let’s tip off our preview coverage with 10 things you need to know about Spurs-Thunder.
1. Kawhi can bother Durant: Kawhi Leonard will likely get the primary assignment on Kevin Durant, and in the regular season, Durant shot just 39.5 percent when Leonard was on the floor. In the late March game with both teams at near-full strength, the Spurs tried out Leonard on Westbrook, and that didn’t work at all in defending Durant or Westbrook. Leonard will be the main defender on Durant in this series, and the Thunder will work hard to try and peel him off with screens. Eventually, though, Durant’s going to have to find some trick to work against the Defensive Player of the Year. Leonard’s length means he can contest post-up fadeaways and he’s quick enough to get his hands up when Durant tries crossover shots off the dribble. Leonard will attack and annoy Durant’s dribble to try and get the ball out of his hands.
In the 2012 series which the Thunder won vs. the Spurs, Leonard was a rookie, and wasn’t in a position to step up the way he’s able to now. Now Leonard is the biggest defensive weapon you can have, and he is most effective especially against players just like K.D.
2. Leonard has to step up as well: In the 62 minutes K.D. and Leonard shared the floor, Leonard shot 54.5 percent from the field, which is great. But overall, Leonard has had trouble in key situations. He vanished completely as the series went on against the Clippers last year and had trouble with being too passive against the Warriors in their regular-season matchups. Leonard won a Finals MVP which garnered him a lot of credit. But Leonard hasn’t actually had to take over offensively as the primary weapon in a series like this. That’s a different order. Just playing defense won’t be enough, they need Leonard to make shots because the Thunder have so much firepower.
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