Thunder in trouble, Wolves making smart moves
The Oklahoma City Thunder appeared to be in the clear after rolling over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal matchup in the 2016 NBA playoffs. Dallas came into the postseason as a heavy underdog against the third-seeded Thunder, who boost one of the top five rosters in the league.
After a 101-70 victory to begin the proceedings, Oklahoma City looked strong and confident. On Monday, the Thunder fell flat, losing in Game 2 by an 85-84 count, sending the series tied 1-1 back to Dallas and a raucous Texas crowd.
While Dallas is a far cry from a title contender, this is a team that could take down the likes of an Oklahoma City. The Thunder watched the formula for their demise unfold in the second game, with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant both shooting miserably. The formidable duo combined to shoot 15-of-55 from the field, leaving ample open looks unfulfilled.
On the bright side, Durant and Westbrook couldn’t have played much worse on the offensive end and the Thunder still only lost by a single point. On the other, it goes to show that should those two have a bad night, Oklahoma City is doomed. This is not the case for teams like the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, who can survive bad nights from their top stars due to terrific depth across the board.
At this juncture, the Mavericks have seized home-court advantage and are looking to take a lead in Game 3. Dallas can’t be considered the favorite by any means, but this is suddenly a legitimate series that could have the Thunder with their proverbial backs against the wall should they lose once more.
Wolves looking at quality coaches
There is an ESPN report that the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking at both Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau in their head coach search.
Thibodeau was fired by the Chicago Bulls after the 2014-15 season, but not for a lack of success. Many point to Chicago’s injury woes with Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, and immediately blame Thibodeau for his lack of rotation. However, he was able to reach the postseason each year of his career with flawed teams, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. This would be a great hire for a young team with serious talent.
Van Gundy has a 430-318 mark as a head coach with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, spending parts of 11 seasons on the sideline. He was able to guide the eighth-seeded Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999 and only missed the postseason one time in his career. Van Gundy is a defense-first coach who could really develop the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
