The numbers are stark for the Thunder in the first two games of the NBA Finals. The Thunder in the first half and the Thunder in the second half are two totally different teams.
Russell Westbrook first halves: 35:55 minutes, 5-of-20 shooting, nine assists, one turnover, four rebounds, 18 points.
Russell Westbrook second halves: 48 minutes, 15-of-30 shooting, nine assists, two turnovers, 12 rebounds, 36 points.
Read that second half line again. Wow.
OK, now Kevin Durant. Durant first halves: 39:30 minutes, 8-of-16 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, three turnovers, 19 points.
Kevin Durant second halves: 44:55 minutes, 16-of-26 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, one turnover, 49 points.
Yes. That’s right; 49 points in 44:55. Durant and Westbrook have each put together two second halves that are crazy good. But the Thunder and Heat are tied 1-1 because of those awful starts â€" OKC was down 39-26 with eight minutes left in the second quarter of Game 1 and was down 25-8 in the first quarter of Game 2.
No one else has really fallen into the first-half malaise like Durant and Westbrook. Here are the numbers by halves of the other prominent Boomers:
James Harden first halves: 32:33 minutes, 7-of-14 shooting, 22 points, two rebounds, four assists, one turnover.
James Harden second halves: 24:38 minutes, 2-of-3 shooting, four points, two rebounds, one assist, two turnoveres.
Serge Ibaka first halves: 38:16 minutes, 7-of-12 shooting, 16 points, six rebounds, one assist, no turnovers.
Serge Ibaka second halves: 18:14 minutes, 0-for-3 shooting, one point, four rebounds, one assist, no turnovers.
Interesting, Harden and Ibaka each have produced excellent first-half play â€" but it’s not helped the Thunder stay out of a first-half hole. Their second-half contributions have been minimal, yet the Thunder has won the second halves 58-40 and 53-45.
Thabo Sefolosha first halves: 30:53 minutes, 1-of-4 shooting, three points, three rebounds, three assists, one turnover.
Thabo Sefolosha second halves: 34:58 minutes, 2-of-6 shooting, nine points, three rebounds, one assist, one turnover.
Typical Thabo. Never too high, never too low.
Kendrick Perkins first halves: 23:37 minutes, 0-of-2 shooting, zero points, nine rebounds, zero assists, four turnovers.
Kendrick Perkins second halves: 20:41 minutes, 3-of-5 shooting, eight points, six rebounds, zero assists, one turnover.
The idea that Perk is not effective in this series, well, that’s just silly. Considering his double halves as full games, he’s got a nine-rebound game and an eight-point, six-rebound game. Perkins’ biggest problem is WHO he’s playing with. Perk gets most of his minutes with the Thunder’s big lineup, which clearly is not effective through two games.
Nick Collison first halves: 13:17 minutes, 2-of-2 shooting, four points, seven rebounds, one assist, two turnovers.
Nick Collison second halves: 22:31 minutes, 2-of-3 shooting, four points, six rebounds, no assists, no turnovers.
Collison is rebound like a madman and playing well. Wouldn’t hurt anybody’s feelings to see him the only big man in a small-ball lineup.
Derek Fisher first halves: 23:01 minutes, 4-of-7 shooting, eight points, two rebounds, no assists, no turnovers.
Derek Fisher second halves: 26:04 minutes, 0-for-3 shooting, no points, two rebounds, one assist, no turnovers.
Fisher has been a second-half no-show. No points in 26 minutes. Hard to understand why Fisher would be on the court at crunch time instead of Sefolosha.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
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