The modern wave of the NBA is coming like an avalanche. Three-pointers will be hoisted relentlessly, teams will constantly run in the fast break and the players at each position are getting smaller, faster and more skilled. But on this night in the NBA, the Thunder utilized its own group of modern NBA players to play an old-school bully ball style that obliterated the personification of that pace-and-space style, the Houston Rockets.
Starting on the first three possessions of the game, the Thunder exploited Houston’s play to switch every screen from the point guard to center spots. The result was three consecutive post ups for Steven Adams, isolated on Houston’s James Harden, who could do little to deter the hulking Thunder center.