Oklahoma City — Head coach Mitch Johnson says the San Antonio Spurs are preparing for an aggressive start from the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder when the Western Conference finals reach a decisive Game 7 tonight.
“I think a lot of fans are going to be happy,” Johnson told reporters after San Antonio’s Game 6 victory on Thursday. “We’ll take the next 40 hours or whatever it may be to get organized and ready to go into a hostile environment against the defending champs.” He added that for a team with the Thunder’s championship pedigree, “I would expect to get their best punch.”
Castle anchors perimeter defense
Second-year guard Stephon Castle has drawn praise for his on-ball defense against All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Castle said the club believes it is the better team heading into tonight’s matchup. “As a group, we all want this,” he said. “We feel like collectively that we’re better than this team, and we didn’t want to let our fans down on our home court.”
Harper rebounds after injury setback
Rookie guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, shook off a hamstring issue that hampered him in Games 3 through 5. He delivered 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, six rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes during Game 6. “People pulled me aside, kept instilling confidence in me, telling me to be in attack mode at all times,” Harper said. “I think I went out there and did that.”
Vassell relishes first Game 7
Starting wing Devin Vassell admitted sleep was hard to come by Friday night, yet he appeared upbeat during Saturday’s shootaround. “You dream of this as a kid,” the 25-year-old said of his first Game 7. “Just more excited than anything. We have a chance to do something special.”
Tipoff for Game 7 is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT at Paycom Center.
Source: Hoops Rumors
