In a must-win Game 5, the Warriors came up big.
Golden State got solid games from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in a win that kept the series alive and now the question is whether or not the Warriors can still win this series.
NBA Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Golden State Warriors +2
Oklahoma City Thunder -2
Over/Under 221
SERIES RECAP
Oklahoma City dominated both of its home games against Golden State in this playoffs and that’s the reason why the Thunder are up 3-2 on the Warriors. The Thunder are one of just a handful of teams in the NBA that can go small and still create nightmares in the paint with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka patrolling and that has led to major problems for Golden State.
KEY MATCHUP
The rebounding battle remains one of the biggest keys to this series and in Game 5, the Thunder and Warriors each grabbed 45 rebounds. That’s a win for Golden State, who has struggled to board with Oklahoma City in this series.
The Thunder have been one of the best rebounding teams in recent history, with talented rebounders such as Kevin Durant, Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, and Serge Ibaka. The Warriors have kept Kanter on the bench with their style of play not suited for his specialty, but Ibaka, Adams, and Durant have been great.
Oklahoma City had big rebounding advantages in Games 3 and 4 at home and will look to be dominant on the glass again in Game 6.
The other big match-up is the point guard battle between Russell Westbrook and Steph Curry. Curry won his second straight NBA MVP this season, but Westbrook has been fantastic this series. Westbrook went toe-to-toe with Curry on Thursday night, matching him at 31 points and has been just as valuable to the Thunder as Curry has been to the Warriors throughout this series.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Draymond Green hadn’t acquitted himself well the last couple games, but had a decent Game 5 to help the Warriors stay alive in the series. Green still isn’t shooting nearly as well as he did in the regular season, but he was able to defend the glass for the Warriors at least and have a presence on the defensive end as well. Green grabbed 13 rebounds and registered four blocks in the game and showed why he’s one of the most versatile players in the league. He needs to continue playing at this form for the Warriors.
Andrew Bogut had been struggling for much of the postseason until Thursday night. Bogut either got in foul trouble or just didn’t play much in some of the earlier games in this series, but was a force when it came to rebounding. Bogut led all rebounders with 14 boards and helped the Warriors tremendously.
The Warriors were fortunate to get poor games out of both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on Thursday night. This twosome had torched Golden State when the series venue was in Oklahoma City and now that the series has returned, Warriors’ fans need to be wary. Durant and Westbrook combined to shoot just 23-59 from the floor, less than 40 percent, and although they put up 51 points, if they don’t shoot well OKC doesn’t win.
Oklahoma City will also need better games from Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters. One of the keys to the Thunder’s success was playing Roberson and Waiters both in Games 3 and 4 and that lineup crushed the Warriors. That wasn’t the case on Thursday night, when the two combined to go just 2-9 from the floor. Oklahoma City needs at least one of them to play well in order to knock off the Warriors and reach the NBA Finals.
NBA Odds at BookMaker.eu
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