Scott Brooks has gone ahead and done the deed. After seeing his defense get shredded in the Thunder’s Game 2 loss on Tuesday, he has made a big change. Thabo Sefolosha, and not Russell Westbrook, has begun the game guarding Tony Parker.
The Thunder are giving up some speed with the matchup, but they also do a much better job contesting Parker’s jump shots under this scenario. Sefolosha can go under ball screens to prevent Parker from driving to the rim, then use his length to get a hand up on Parker’s jumpers far better than Westbrook could.