The NBA can’t seem to get out of its own way. I’ve said something along these lines before, but they need to figure out some sort of PR or marketing campaign to help them. Maybe they just need some rule adjustments or enforcement. Whatever the solution is, they have to find a way to get people to appreciate the great games that are happening instead of just talking about the referees and flopping. No series has seen as much of that talk as this one between the Thunder and Spurs.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seven games away from winning back-to-back championships. Former champions who have accomplished this feat often will tell you that it is harder than getting to the mountain top the first time. The Thunder are still the favorites, and there is good reason. They have a deep team, and it took a historic, double-overtime performance from a freak-of-nature to hand them their first loss in the postseason.
The Thunder tied it up with relative ease in the second game of the series, but most of the narrative was not around how well they played. Instead, it was around how much the Thunder flopped and how dirty they were playing against Victor Wembanyama. These narratives aren’t new, but they were certainly highlighted and discussed ad nauseam on shows. This will factor into my handicapping.
The San Antonio Spurs are young, hungry, and confident. That’s a dangerous combination, but I think they are still a year away from getting past the Thunder. They have had a fairly easy path through the playoffs. In the opening round, they took on the Trail Blazers, and they won the series 4-1. In the Conference Semifinals, the Timberwolves took them to six games, but even that felt like an inevitable win.
Now, they face the Thunder, a team they beat four times in the regular season. Most of the games weren’t even that close. The Spurs like to play defense, they have some outside shooting, and they have Wemby, who might be the best player in the game. Still, this series feels like they had to give their best shot to OKC to take the first game. I’m not saying they need a perfect game to win, but I do think they need some luck or help on their side.
If you search Game 2 on Twitter/X, you’ll probably see a long list of flops or fouls from the Thunder. None of those were called. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander probably had at least two or three shots where he wasn’t touched and fell to the floor instead of just landing. Isaiah Hartenstein was another complaint from those who watched the game. Hartenstein had a ton of plays where he was caught pulling hair or arms of Spurs players.
Expect the Spurs to get a favorable whistle in this game. They are going to get some of those non-calls against them to be in their favor tonight. I’m backing the Spurs at home -1.5. The home court will be behind them, and I think the NBA has already looked at these clips and will encourage a favorable Spurs whistle. Additionally, bet on under 7.5 points. I’d expect very soft calls on him and for him to be in foul trouble tonight.
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