The San Antonio Spurs have leveled the Western Conference finals at two games each, securing a decisive 103-82 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4, primarily due to an outstanding defensive effort.
While perfection in sports is rare, the Spurs’ defense came remarkably close in this game. Their performance was nothing short of a tactical masterpiece, one that could very well be replicated in the pivotal Game 5 set to take place on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
What did the Spurs do differently?
In a strategic move, Spurs’ young coach Mitch Johnson made a critical adjustment for Game 4. He moved away from the aggressive double teams and high traps on Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, opting instead to assign a single defender with additional help closing in at strategic points on the court.
This subtle change was not about leaving Gilgeous-Alexander isolated in open space, where he thrives. Instead, the Spurs allowed for defensive support to come from the nail position, rather than employing double teams as soon as he crossed the half-court line— a tactic they relied on in the first three games. This allowed defenders to stay within reach of the perimeter shooters, enabling them to contest three-point shots effectively when Gilgeous-Alexander passed the ball out.
The effect was significant: Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jaylin Williams, and Jared McCain, who collectively notched 68 points and 12 three-pointers in Game 3, were limited to just 12 points and two three-pointers in Game 4. Consequently, the Thunder’s bench, which had dominated San Antonio 76-23 in Game 3, only edged out the Spurs’ reserves 32-30 on Sunday.
If the Thunder aren’t decisively winning the battle of the benches, it places the onus on their starters to outperform the Spurs, particularly with the formidable Victor Wembanyama on the court. So far, this has been a challenge. Throughout the series, the Spurs have outscored Oklahoma City by 50 points with Wembanyama playing. Without him, they trail by 46 points. This results in an almost 100-point differential over four games, hinging on his presence.
Which is to say, the Thunder were winning this series with their bench in the non-Wemby minutes. Caruso was the story. A 29% regular-season 3-point shooter had basically morphed into Steph Curry through the first three games by making 14 3-pointers at a 61% clip. He didn’t score a single point in Game 4, and OKC shot just 18% from 3 as a team.
Some of that is shooting variance, but a lot of it was how much more contested their shots were as the Spurs stopped ignoring them to send multiple bodies at SGA. Turns out, shooting 3s is a lot harder when you aren’t being left wide open. Who woulda thunk it.
Did SGA at least score big?
No. And that’s the real revelation here. SGA only scored 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Had SGA gone for 40 in Game 3, then the Spurs would be out of luck. They tried double covering and the shooters killed them; they tried single covering him and he killed them. But that didn’t happen for three reasons.
- 1. San Antonio has great individual perimeter defenders. Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, all these guys have proven throughout this series that they can stay in front of SGA (within reason) and apply physical pressure that genuinely impacts his rhythm and, ultimately, production.
- 2. San Antonio was still helping a lot on SGA. So these defenders weren’t on a total island. The Spurs continued to crowd SGA’s driving lanes and swoop down on him like vultures whenever he gained any kind of advantage. But again, it’s about the spots at which they were helping. When it’s 35 feet from the basket, you can’t get back to the shooters. When it’s at the elbow, or really anywhere inside the 3-point line, you can as long as you’re collectively committed to the cause. The Spurs were totally committed. You can come up with as many defensive schemes as you want, but in the end they all come down to effort. Top to bottom, the Spurs were full throttle all night long.
- 3. SGA had an off game. Some of that was San Antonio’s defense, but we know SGA can beat any defense on any night. This just wasn’t the one for him. It easily could be in Game 5.
This will get very interesting if SGA hangs a 40-piece in Game 5 and the Spurs go down 3-2. With their backs against the wall, will they still have the nerve to single cover SGA? Or will they go back to playing percentages and hope Alex Caruso and company can’t reignite. Maybe it won’t get to that point, and the Spurs can simply continue with this defensive game plan because of this last factor.
Will Ajay Mitchell play in Game 5?
Being down Jalen Williams hurts, but with Mitchell the Thunder still have a legit No. 2 scorer who can create his own offense. It was no accident that OKC entered Game 4 having outscored opponents by 25.1 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs with Mitchell on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.
First, he can flat out carry an offense for stretches if SGA doesn’t have it going and the shooters aren’t making shots; Mitchell is making 53% of his shots as a pick-and-roll creator in the playoffs, per NBA.com, and he’s a top-10 scorer on drives. But he also too much as a tandem scorer with SGA when the MVP is also cooking, because now Mitchell, a top-10 scorer on drives in this postseason, is getting to attack against scrambling defenses.
Williams can fill that role, too, but right now there’s no indication that he’ll be ready to go any time soon. Mitchell being out for Game 5 would allow San Antonio to double-down on its single coverage of Shai knowing that even if he goes for 40, who else is going help him if the shooters are accounted for and there isn’t a second scorer?
For my money, Mitchell’s status will be the biggest story leading up to Game 5. But in all honesty, even if he does play, and even if he’s not compromised, the Spurs might’ve already flipped this series. I’d still call it a 50/50 deal, but they made a move that changed the whole chess board on Sunday.
The thought was that single covering the MVP straight up was suicide, but instead it wound up holding the Thunder, who didn’t crack the 50-point mark until the 3:28 point of the third quarter, to their lowest playoff scoring output since 2020.
The champs can definitely still win this series. They have the home court for Game 5, and in a 2-2 best-of-seven series, the winner of Game 5 has historically gone on to win the series 82% of the time. They will definitely take their chances, but they also know they have a serious problem on their hands with this new wrinkle San Antonio has put into play.
