Boris Diaw: The reluctant X-factor

The San Antonio Spurs dismantled an overwhelmed and slow Oklahoma City Thunder squad in Game 5. The Spurs stars led the way, role players did their usual overachieving thing and Gregg Popovich engaged in some awkward, yet hilarious pelvic thrusting.

Yet the person that was most captivating was do-everything-sensation Boris Diaw.

Boris Diaw is fascinating to observe. He is an oddly-shaped man, with a belly and a protruding chest. He doesn't run down the court as much as he lumbers, yet he can flash amazing quickness at key moments. Diaw can be infuriatingly timid on the basketball court, reluctant to shoot, drive or do anything that resembles confidence. Then, as soon as the defender lets his guard down, Diaw's bombing away from three-point land, penetrating to the rim and playing cool under pressure. The man is 6'8 and 250 pounds and can somehow guard anyone. Dare I say he's a poor man's LeBron James? (Or at least what I imagine what LeBron will look like at 43).

Diaw was in "Poor Man's LeBron mode" as he executed on a variety of plays that included: knocking down threes, making acrobatic layups, working under the basket, dishing to Kawhi Leonard in the opposite corner for three and passing on an open three from the top of the key to hit Duncan at the rim for a layup.

The mere threat of Diaw (and Matt Bonner's corpse for a few minutes) put Oklahoma City in a tizzy. By continually pairing Diaw or Bonner with Duncan instead of Tiago Splitter, the Spurs gave the Big Fundamental plenty of space to operate one-on-one. Driving lanes and angles for Tony Parker were now abundant, and ball movement along the perimeter meant better looks for Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Patty Mills.

I used to think that if Diaw would just play up to his full potential, the Spurs would be unbeatable. But there's also an uneasiness from the opposition when you have no idea what to expect from him. Diaw's a 40 percent shooter from three-point range, and it makes no sense for defenders to be playing 10 feet off of him. We've seen what happens when Ibaka, Steven Adams or Kendrick Perkins try and guard him; Diaw dribbles right around them. When Kevin Durant defends Diaw, he takes him right to the post. The Thunder do nothing to strategically defend Diaw, but Diaw's effect on their defense puts OKC in the toughest of binds ... when he's on.

It's likely that Scott Brooks won't tweak his lineup for Game 6 and will bank on the home court advantage tilting the basketball gods back in their favor. This is entirely possible, as the crowd noise and a reinvigorated Thunder defense could rattle San Antonio's shooters, ball movement and force more turnovers. If the Thunder win Game 6, then OKC will have to solve the riddle in Game 7.