The Thunder Must Remain Hot From Beyond The Arc

The Thunder will need to be firing on all cylinders to close the series out in Game 6. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder are knocking on the door to the NBA Finals, as they just need one more win to claim their spot. OKC leads the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals 3-2, after a dominating Game 5 win, and now looks forward to trying to close the series out in Game 6 on Thursday night. 

One of the biggest factors for Oklahoma City’s dominance this series has been its ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc. The Thunder will have to make sure Game 6 is another good shooting night from deep, as OKC is a hard team to beat when it's hitting from three.

The Thunder proved this once again in Game 5 as it shot 44% from deep, led by Jared McCain and Alex Caruso, who hit a combined seven three-pointers. Caruso has been a dead-eye shooter from deep in the conference finals for OKC, as he is averaging over three made shots from beyond the arc a game. This includes an incredible Game 1 performance, where the Thunder veteran hit an outstanding eight shots from deep. 

On the other hand, the Thunder struggle in games where they aren’t hitting their shots from deep. In Game 4, OKC only shot 18% from deep, as it seemed like they couldn’t even buy a basket from deep. This caused Oklahoma City to put up its lowest point total of the year, in an embarrassing 103-82 loss. 

Oklahoma City can’t afford to have another one of these performances as the series nears an end, or else their season could end quicker than the Thunder would like. 

Getting the looks from beyond the arc will never be the problem, as the Spurs’ defensive scheme has allowed for shots from three. The Spurs have been playing a zone when Victor Wembanyama is in the game that keeps him stuck down low for most of the time on defense. This allows the Thunder to move the ball around, and once he commits inside, it leaves a man open on the perimeter to hit a triple. 

OKC has lived and died by this three-point shooting, as it showed in the results of Game 4 and Game 5. Now, with Game 6 approaching, if the Thunder can have another night of consistent shot-hitting from three, they could leave San Antonio as the 2026 Western Conference Champions.