OKC Foreign Exchange Students Bring the Ruckus

Thabo Sefolosha (Switzerland), I'm guessing he enjoys chocolates, and Serge Ibaka (Congo via Spain), he of a STUPID freakily cut body, put together an amazing showing to help the Thunder break the Spurs' 20 game winning streak dating back to the regular season. While they both played well offensively, the normally offensive anemic Ibaka throwing down 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting and Sefolosha playing 37 minutes, scoring 19 points while shooting 40% from the 3, it was on defense where they both shined (IMHO). Ibaka had 3 blocks but played well on switches and altered an innumerable number of shots in the paint helping to keep the Spurs to a relatively low, for them, 24 points in the paint. Sefolosha, on the other hand, played a number of minutes he rarely, if ever, sees and was one of the main defensive presences on the perimeter for the Thunder. He used his length to grab six steals and swallowed up countless passing lanes to help bottle up the Spurs potent ball movement while adding six rebounds as the two guard. I was personally very, very impressed by Thabo's play. Though probably a bit overlooked, he was easily one of the best players on the floor the entire game. While Russell Westbrook's pass and, especially, shot selection were making me leave palm imprints on my head, Thabo's smart defensive plays, in particular his come back block on Jax, that left the real impression on me. That game would not have gone nearly as well without him.

In general, the Thunder made the right adjustments to come out strong last night, especially on offense. That being said, Fisher (or some other approximation of a PG) needs to get a hold of that offense and get the ball out of Westbrook's hands when running the O. I know Westbrook is a good player, and he still had a good +/-, but he makes stupid, stupid, 7 seconds or less type decisions. The reason their offense worked well last night is because it was predicated on ball movement. Basically taking a page out of the Spurs' book and making the extra pass to get to the open man (a la Harden's possibly ill advised, but ultimately worked out well, cross court pass to Thabo for a wide open 3). If they go back to Westbrook's one on one bullshit, the Spurs will work them again. Interesting to see them play as they did last night though. This may be a series after all.

As long as Pop continues to rub off on Scotty Brooks. If only Brooks could give two word, hilariously angry, in game interviews like Pop....

Image: Sportsnet Canada