Though it's not an elimination game, tonight's Game 4 in the Western Conference Finals is generally regarded as a do or die game for the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they are down 2-1 in the series against an obviously formidable opponent in the Dallas Mavericks. SB Nation's Oklahoma City Thunder blog, Welcome To Loud City, has picked out a few points of emphasis for their team tonight. One of them is protecting the lane, something they haven't done the best job of thus far. Regarding Game 3 of the series:
Mavericks Vs. Thunder, Game 4: OKC Needs To Protect The Lane; Rick Carlisle Wants Hunger From Dallas
Later in the game, the Thunder were on a mad dash to get back in the game, and they darned near pulled it off. However, it was their inability to protect the rim in terms of rebounding that ultimately doomed the Thunder. My unofficial count was that the Mavericks were able to grab about six of their offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter alone. In a quarter where the Mavs only managed to score 23 points, those additional attempts kept the lead at an eight point level for what seemed like half the quarter. It was truly unfortunate, because until the game turned into a free throw shooting contest, the Thunder defense had held Dallas to 18 points.
With players like Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins on the roster, it seems like this would be the least of the Thunder's worries. They've been great on the boards so far in the playoffs, but they absolutely let themselves slip in this department in Game 3.
Meanwhile, SB Nation Dallas has a post up about Rick Carlisle's message to his team. Though the Mavericks won Game 3, Carlisle is looking for hunger from his team, and he's told him that he wants them to go out and play with the intensity that they would have if they were coming off of a loss.
“We’ve got to concentrate and we’ve got to be ready for what’s coming at us tonight, which is going to be a lot of force. They’re going to play a desperate game, for sure. For 48 minutes, we’ve got to bring a level of intensity.”
Down a few energy drinks, then chase them with some espresso. Then you’ll be ready for tonight’s INTENSE THUNDERMAVS encounter.
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