It's been less than a day since the Game 1 undoing by the Spurs and there's plenty to think about.
Here are three thoughts, something to feel good about and something to be concerned about:
1. You don't have to wonder about Serge anymore
Unless you think Scott Brooks, Kevin Durant and the Thunder management is lying, Ibaka is not coming back this season.
Not this series. Not the next series.
Brooks must have said it five times after the game Monday. Durant repeated it, so if you've been holding out hope, coming up with a theory on why Ibaka stayed in Oklahoma City instead of traveling to San Antonio, it's time to give up on it.
It's the second year in a row the Thunder have lost a starter to injury during the playoffs. Not to say you should be used to it, but by now you should know how to get over it.
"I miss my buddy Serge," Durant said to reporters Tuesday in San Antonio.
Yeah, no kidding.
2. Where was Durant? Where was Westbrook
As bad as the Thunder were defensively - wellâdocumented by this time as the Spurs scored 66 points in the paint â OKC was right there throughout. The Thunder grabbed the lead in the third quarter but were outscored in the fourth.
Part of that is because of Westbrook and Durant, who combined for just two field goals in the fourth quarter. Thatâs just seven points between the two for guys who wound up scoring 25 and 28 points, respectively. Not a bad output for nearly no production in the fourth quarter.
You have to figure the two won't both take the fourth quarter off in the next game, right?
"I have another level I have to go to get this thing done," Durant said Tuesday after practice to reporters.
Sounds like he's motivated.
3. This is a work in progress
Sure, the Thunder don't have the luxury of the regular season to experiment and try new and different lineups. Time is not on their side, but coach Scott Brooks was in a bind Monday. He didn't know what to do and had to adjust on the fly. Never easy.
It took time for the Thunder to find their way when Westbrook came back from his injury. Same goes for the games when Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins returned.
And when you're missing a guy like Ibaka, who has started every game for the Thunder the past three seasons, it's not going to just be a natural transition.
Brooks tried a new starting lineup that immediately got the team down by double digits in the first quarter. That same lineup got the team back in the game in the third quarter. Steven Adams, who was so good in Game 6 against the Clippers, wasn't great in Game 1. Jeremy Lamb played. Count on seeing less experimenting in Game 2. Count on a hearty film study from the Thunder and Brooks to stick with a bigger lineup.
It may not work, but in Game 1, Brooks wasn't comfortable. In Game 2, he'll have a better idea of what he wants.
Feel good about:
The bench
There's going to be a lot of opportunities for a lot of minutes from a lot of different players. Monday was a good sign.
Generally, when one or more of the Thunder reserves plays well, the Thunder wins. However, because Durant and Westbrook struggled down the stretch, it didn't happen.
But feel good about the contributions from Derek Fisher (16 points), Caron Butler (nine points), who was aggressive and took the ball to the hoop and Reggie Jackson (13 points).
Probably not a good idea to play Fisher 26 minutes and probably not a good idea to only play Jackson 28, but again, it was Game 1. Things will be adjusted.
Just take some peace from the fact that Durant and Westbrook didn't play well, but they had some help. Chances are if the same situation comes up again where OKC is leading at the end of the third quarter, it will work out in the Thunder's favor.
One more thing to feel good about:
Steven Adams
He had just two fouls. That's good. He'll need to play more in Game 2.
OK, be worried because:
The Thunder may not have enough offense. Never thought that would be the case, did you?
The loss of Ibaka works on a lot of different levels, and one of those levels is that it puts more pressure on a high-scoring team to score even more.
Let's face it, even if the Thunder figure out a quality replacement lineup for Game 2, this isn't a dominating defensive team. That means, Durant and Westbrook need to score more. It means more pressure on Jackson to score more and it might have led to Nick Collison and Sefolosha struggling to score in Game 1 â the two combined for no points.
The Thunder scored 105 and it wasn't enough on Monday. How many is it going to take Wednesday?
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
