For two games, this series has been everything.
Two high-level, high-skill, deep, elite teams, both brilliantly coached, playing with urgency on every possession because they understand if they don't, it will be the end of their season.
While the scene shifts to San Antonio for Game 3, nothing else is going to change — these two teams recognize in each other an equal, a genuine contender, and someone they don't really like. The intensity with which this series has been played is fantastic.
Game 3 is Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch it on NBC or stream it on Peacock. Here are three things to look for in this game.
1) Who is healthy?
I hate that this has to be the No. 1 item, but with key starters from both teams possibly out, it has to be discussed.
San Antonio has been without De'Aaron Fox for the first two games of this series and his replacement as a starter, Dylan Harper, left Game 2 game in the third quarter with what the team is now calling adductor soreness.
Officially, both Spurs players are questionable for Game 3.
Fox was a game-time decision for Game 2 after going through warmups, expect that pattern to continue. Harper’s adductor issue is similar to a hamstring strain in that it's a very easy muscle to reinjure if not fully healed, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the rookie misses at least a game or two.
For the Thunder, Jalen Williams is also officially questionable with left hamstring soreness. He will be a game-day decision and is day-to-day, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Williams appeared to reinjure the left hamstring in the first quarter of Game 2, the same hamstring that kept him out half of the Thunder's first-round series against the Suns and the entire series against the Lakers. While the Thunder have been without Williams for much of the season and kept winning, they need him in this tight a series.
Oklahoma City came into this series with a depth advantage, and that could start to show as this series keeps going. San Antonio's starters have played more than 40 minutes together this series, while Oklahoma City doesn't have a lineup that has played more than 15 minutes. The Spurs have five players who have logged at least 70 minutes through two games (Game 1 going to double OT helped spike that), while Oklahoma City has just one in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That's just something to watch, especially if both teams are without key rotation players this series.
2) Can San Antonio reduce their turnovers?
These are the statistics that define the series through two games.
Turnovers: San Antonio 44, Oklahoma City 25.
Points off turnovers: Oklahoma City 55, San Antonio 27.
Part of this ties into item No. 1 on this list. With starting point guard Fox missing both games due to a high ankle sprain suffered against the Timberwolves last round, and Dylan Harper missing much of the second half of Game 2, a huge shot creation load has fallen on the shoulders of Stephon Castle — and he has 20 turnovers through two games. While Castle is an All-Star level shot creator — and incredibly good for a second-year player — it's a lot to ask. Especially going up against the high-pressure Oklahoma City defense that was the best in the league this season, and forced the second-most turnovers.
Both Oklahoma City and San Antonio have struggled with half-court offenses this series when they face set defenses, and both have thrived when they can get out and run in transition. Give the Thunder too many easy buckets off steals or other turnovers, and it becomes hard for the Spurs to score enough to keep up.
3)Is this another Wembanyama game?
Oklahoma City's Isaiah Hartenstein did as good a job as humanly possible on Victor Wembanyama in Game 2, and the Frenchman still had 21 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. In a game where the officials let it get physical, Hartenstein walked right up to that line and, in doing so, forced Wembanyama to work hard for every inch of the court.
If Game 3 is called more tightly, it's advantage Wembanyama. Also, back at home, expect more energy from Wembanyama, fueled by that home crowd.
Put simply, if Wembanyama looks more like the Game 1 version of himself than the Game 2 version, everything else we've written in this story may not matter — he can take over a game like nobody else. And if he does, the Spurs will be in charge of the series again.
