Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was pure cinema. It was basketball at its peak form. Let’s all hope we get six more games of this. Victor Wembanyama had one of the best playoff performances we’ve ever seen as he and the Spurs stole Game 1 on the road against the defending champions.
We’ve already seen this Spurs team dominate the Thunder in the regular season. Will the same thing happen over the course of this series? Game 1 certainly felt like San Antonio had OKC’s number, but the Thunder can adapt, and it would be foolish to count them out already.
Here’s the schedule and a prediction:
Thunder vs. Spurs: Game 2 info
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET | Date: Wednesday, May 20
- Location: Paycom Center — Oklahoma City
- TV channel: NBC | Live stream: Peacock
- Odds (via FanDuel): Thunder -6.5 | O/U: 216.5
Game 2 prediction
Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds in Game 1. I don’t think there’s a single other active player on the planet who could put up those numbers. The Thunder got a heavy dose of what the next decade-plus is going to look like in the league with Wembanyama dominating things, as his first foray into the conference finals felt an awful lot like a proclamation that he is the best player in the league.
But Wemby’s performance doesn’t signal that this series is effectively over. It was just one game, and the Thunder are well-equipped to respond. For starters, Chet Holmgren’s going to have to do better than a measly eight points on seven shot attempts. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was incredibly inefficient en route to 24 points, and the likelihood of that happening again is slim.
Will the Spurs get 24 points a night out of rookie Dylan Harper the rest of the series? If so, then this thing might actually be over, but expect OKC to switch up coverages on the rookie guard so he doesn’t pop off for another massive performance. OKC obviously doesn’t want Wembanyama putting up the ridiculous numbers he had in the series opener, but I expect them to tighten things up defensively on everyone else and see if Wemby alone can beat them. Pick: Thunder (-6.5)
