In the aftermath of the Thunder vs Spurs showdown on Christmas day, it does seem that fans are now worried about how OKC can find a way to win against San Antonio soon. Suffice to say, the Spurs have Oklahoma City figured out — from tight wins to blowout victories. At this point, the Thunder has no answer.

But this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen OKC become a vulnerable team even at the top of the league. Last season, the Thunder finished with a 68-14 record en route to a title finish. They’ve lost a total of 14 games — and yet Oklahoma City fans didn’t really worry a lot. Sure, they are now aiming for a league record to go beyond 73 wins, but that’s probably not in their best interests moving forward.

To begin with, fans are very vocal about the loss. It really seemed that OKC was off its usual play, and the Spurs seemingly had an answer for everything that the Thunder played amongst their cards. But is it possible for Oklahoma City to get back at San Antonio in their next games?

There are still two games remaining to be played between these two teams. This means that the Thunder have plenty of time and games to adjust, improve their level of play, and learn from their mistakes. This is why there’s still a lot of hope that the defending champions can figure out a way to win against their rivals.

1. Holmgren Should Not Duck Against Wemby

If you have watched the last three Thunder vs Spurs games, you can see that Chet Holmgren’s positioning is designed to avoid Victor Wembanyama on the floor. Either Isaiah Hartenstein mans the middle, or Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams will take the Wembanyama assignment.

This hasn’t been explained by many critics, but Holmgren is such a good defender that he’s a candidate for DPOY for a reason. He is one of the top players who contests shots well, and his rim protection has been one of the reasons why the Thunder won the title last year.

Sure, Wemby is taller, bulkier and certainly more effective than Holmgren. However, when you have to face a 7-foot giant, no one’s better equipped to deal with that than another 7-foot giant. Fight fire with fire.

2. Make the Threes

To be fair, one of the biggest reasons the Thunder lost these games against the Spurs is their lack of three-point shooting. They didn’t lack the trying part — as OKC shot 37, 30 and 44 threes in each of these losses, only to make 28.8% of them.

By design, the Thunder don’t really have great shooters from three consistently. Only three players shoot above 40% from three — Isaiah Joe (42.4%), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander(41.9%) and Aaron Wiggins (41.1%). As a team, OKC is shooting 36.8%, which is sixth overall in the league.

Three-point shooting has been a massive flaw for the Thunder over the years. Their overreliance in the last three games against the Spurs is a testament to that. With the season still in full bloom, expect OKC to shore up that flaw and either find ways to convert open threes and take the shots they need to win big.

3. Bring Back the Thunder Grit

OKC is one of the most lethal teams in the league. They can go on a stretch where they will bombard opposing teams with numerous explosive runs and massive scoring stretches, which says a lot about how their actual game is far from what we’ve seen against the Spurs.

Playing against Oklahoma City is actually demoralizing. They don’t really drill a lot of threes to take your will away, but it’s usually shots from players like Luguentz Dort that hit hard to cap off huge scoring runs. The Thunder usually play with a lot of ferocity, so they grind for the ball whenever they want. To sum it up, this actually proves that this playstyle for OKC was missing in their losses.

Defense is the cornerstone of the Thunder’s success. OKC boasts the best defense in league history by a stretch. We all know how they can turn defense into offense. But if that doesn’t work in their favor, then their game is already doomed. Oklahoma City has to get back and hustle for every play as they used to if they want to maintain dominance.

4. Attack the Basket

Just because Wembanyama is on the paint doesn’t mean the offense has to force their way and shoot threes. Sure, Wemby is a massive threat in the paint, but we’ve seen SGA and even Williams grind their way to the basket and still get it to go. In hindsight, OKC should put more pressure on the paint as they used to and later open up the shooting when the Spurs ground the paint.

A lob threat in Hartenstein is also missing in all those games. IHart is one of the reasons why the Thunder are a huge scoring team in the paint, and this means they have to come up with more finishes at the rim.

It is evident that they feel deterred by Wemby at the paint, but that should not be enough reason for them to change their play style.

5. Acknowledge the Rivalry

Underestimating your opponent is already a clear sign that you’d lose the game moving forward. OKC did just that in those games against the Spurs. They refused to acknowledge just how San Antonio is playing well until the third game, but of course, getting humbled is always a good notice for the defending champions.

This sets them back from their championship hangover and pushes them to improve in their games further. It humbles the Thunder squads into believing that they still have a lot to work on to become a better team in the league. Acknowledging just how legitimate this rivalry is is a good start to battling them with a better approach in the long run.

Will We See More Thunder vs Spurs Showdowns?

As we’ve seen before, the rivalry between these two teams is barely beginning. It has certainly leaped to another level, yes, but there’s still a lot to expect moving forward. For starters, there are still two more regular-season meetings between these two teams. Then there’s also the hope for seeing them in a seven-game series — hopefully the Western Conference Finals.

For now, fans shouldn’t really overreact or even worry about what to expect from the Thunder in the next few weeks and months. After all, OKC still has a lot of games to play, and definitely more to improve in their games and approach in their games in the long run.

Don’t panic. The Thunder has faced adversity multiple times before. This Spurs problem isn’t new.