OKC Thunder Recognizes Importance of Spurs Matchup, But ‘They Still Count For One’

It’s no secret what has been Oklahoma City’s achilles heel this season. Sure, over the last month, this Thunder team has had a bit of an unexpected slump and the defensive rating took a slight hit in the middle of play. Outside shooting has fallen off too, but they trust that the averages will even out. The achilles heel, though, is what started the slump and cracked the team’s confidence a bit. Right now, it’s the San Antonio Spurs.

Two of the three matchups between the Western Conference titans have been nationally televised, meaning basketball fans around the country watched how San Antonio exploited Oklahoma City in every way possible. The Spurs have depth across the board, and the big man in the middle is nearly impossible to guard at times. San Antonio matches up well against the Thunder — and it’s evident that they take the matchup personally.

For Oklahoma City, it’s about recognizing the importance of the matchup, mental edge, and knowing they can take down the Spurs — but also, remembering it just counts for one regular season game.

“No, I mean they still count for one,” Alex Caruso said when asked if there was anything extra in the matchup against the Spurs. “Obviously we’d liked to not have lost in Vegas because there’s a lot of money on the line and that one stings for that reason. And then the one on Christmas you want to win. The one in San Antonio we kind of laid an egg I feel like in the second half and kind of gave into some fatigue.

“But again it’s one game, and all these things — we’re in a great position thankfully. Obviously it’s halfway through the season so we’ve got a lot of games to play, but we’re in a position where we’re tooling for the games that matter at the end of the year and summer.”

A clean sweep in the regular season could really damage Oklahoma City’s confidence if they draw the Spurs in the playoffs, although nobody would admit it. There’s a certain confidence that comes from beating a team — even if it’s just once.

In all three matchups against San Antonio, the Spurs have looked like the more comfortable team. The Thunder’s role players, including Caruso, haven’t been able to connect on open looks — which has been somewhat of a theme for this team in losses.

“Obviously you don’t want to not win a game against a team in the regular season, that’s not part of the agenda,” Caruso said. “Having that mental edge or whatever you want to call it, you go out to compete and win games.

“They’re learning experiences for us, and I think each game we’ve played, we’ve gotten a little better, a little bit smarter, and (learned) how they want to play us — and how we can play against them. It’s not like season’s hit or miss whether we win or lose tonight.”

On Tuesday night, and moving forward for every big game on the schedule, it’s important for Oklahoma City to play with a controlled sense of urgency. No loss is the end of the world, and no win is as big as a playoff win, but the regular season still matters for a handful of reasons.

As this rivalry continues to bud, and the postseason looming just a few months down the road, Tuesday night is a big opportunity to restore confidence in Oklahoma City.