We need Good Manu against the Thunder
Thunders are too good and we can't afford Manu to become Turnobili or keep shooting his rushed 3 pts shot.
We need Good Manu against the Thunder
Thunders are too good and we can't afford Manu to become Turnobili or keep shooting his rushed 3 pts shot.
The Thunder committed the most turnovers of any team in the league during the regular season - almost 17 per game. But they have committed less than 11 per game in the playoffs, which is the best of all the playoff teams.
If the Spurs can cause OKC to go back to their regular season form in the turnover department, they will likely be headed to their fifth NBA Finals. The duo of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green have been a wrecking crew, defensively, picking up a good number of steals that have led to easy points on the other end. They'll need to keep it up this series.
4) The Spurs shot incredibly well from three, combining to make 28 of 54 (52%) three-point shots during the series. OKC only made 23 of 65 (35%).
Versus the Lakers, OKC still struggled from three-point range, only making 26 of 80 (33%). Lucky for them, the Lakers made only 20 of 71 (28%). They will not be so lucky vs. the Spurs. If they stand any chance against us they have to close the gap in three-point shooting.
Expecting a number of close games, in which the team with better execution down the stretch will prevail. Difficult to predict the final outcome. The blow-out games that we are used to during the winning streak should happen less frequently.
Should be an interesting series. The spurs have had easy opponents the first 2 rounds and I believe the same goes for OKC. The Mavs and the Lakers weren't the contenders they once were. It's going to be a fun series to watch and it can go either way but I believe in this spurs team. Spurs in 5
They have 3 players who can score the basketball and they have one player who holds the ball and jacks up shots and takes away from Durant and Harden somtimes, while we have basically 10 players who can score the ball and the ball movement is amazing. Pop will expose the Thunder, If we play like we have been playing the last month I just cant see the Spurs losing 4 games to the Thunder.
The Spurs must win in 5 or 6. I think that it will be hard to beat the OKC if the series go to the seventh game.
Manu Ginobili vs. James Harden
This will be billed as Manu Ginobili 1.0 going up against Manu Ginobili 2.0. When you watch James Harden, you'll notice a lot of similarities between the two players. They're both left-handed guards who come off the bench that bring shooting, ball-handling, playmaking, passing, craftiness and a high basketball IQ to the table. It's safe to say they are the two best reserves in the NBA.
I would never question the fact that Manu has a high BBIQ. However, at times, we've all seen instances where he does things, takes risks and makes decisions that sometimes result in careless and costly losses in possessions. He's a high risk, high reward player - always has been. It's always been a challenge for him to balance between taking calculated risks that payoff handsomely versus making costly turnovers that have dire consequences.
While the Spurs have managed to ring up an 8-0 playoff record with Manu being in somewhat of a performance funk, I believe to win this series against the young Thunder, the Spurs will need to see the Manu of old. As such, Manu is going to have to play smart and return to his havoc-wreaking ways against this young, mercurial opponent.
Our big 3 have to cancel out there big 3.
It's going to come down to the bench/role players and which team executes better.
Should be a fun series.
Having the best players in the world means nothing without a great coach. Pop is the best coach in the game at making adjustments. The Thunder have Scott Brooks. Scott Brooks. That's enough to put them over the top.
Mavs and Lakers are not perimeter oriented teams that can force turnovers.
1. We kind of know who this Thunder team is, in terms of where their points will come from. There isn't really a player who hasn't been developed in the playoffs yet.
The Spurs have two guys who haven't really gone off yet, who can: Manu Ginobili, Steven Jackson. If either guy goes off in any given game, that game is probably over.
2. Westbrook has feasted on terrible backcourts. That changes now.
3. Dallas nor Los Angeles could do anything to cause turnovers. San Antonio may have better luck.
4. As always, pack the hell out of the lane. Get them to shoot their long 2s. If they make them, you'll need to keep scoring with them. If they start missing, they're going to have trouble. Harden is the guy who helps them here - the only one of their Big 3 who is willing to take it to the basket in a half court set.
5. Green and Leonard need to keep up their play.
6. Fisher has a knack for momentum-turning 3s. Whoever is on him needs to remember who he is.
The x-factors are on the Spurs side, to me. But if Green or Leonard struggle, the veterans really need to step up to cover them. If they don't struggle, this will be a hell of a hard series for the Thunder, because it will just take a burst from Jackson, Manu, or another non-Duncan, non-Parker player to put them out of reach.
I hope they go 7, I see them splitting the first 4 games at each other's home court and Spurs prevail in game 7 with a Diaw buzzer beater! Lol
finally, a realistic look at a very tough matchup against the thunder. so many spur fans calling for a sweep. there's going to be a lot of bumping of old threads if the thunder eliminate the spurs.
I'd be reluctant to draw much from any of the games from this past regular season.
The first game, in early January, was the 3rd night of a back-to-back-to-back for the Thunder (they played Houston home-and-home before that game) and the 2nd night of a back-to-back for the Spurs (they beat Denver at home the night before).
The game played in SA was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for the Thunder (they had played Memphis at home the night before).
The second game played in OKC in mid-March was also the 2nd night of a back-to-back for the Thunder (they had played the night before in Denver).
This is where I'm at with this matchup. The Lakers weren't that good. And even though OKC swept them, the Mavs still gave them a better than expected run. With the WCF matchup, I've seen numerous folks say the level of competition will go up for the Spurs, but I think this can be said just as much for the Thunder.
As much as the Spurs try to deflect the inquiries about the streak, in the back of their minds it's right there. I think they all realize they have a chance to do something epic.
**********Old School**********
Yup, Spurs have a 4-time champion coach. OKC has Franklin and Bash. We know drama.
Keepin' it real ... it's more than a name ... it's a way of life.
Yep, there's little doubt that the Clippers are better than the Mavs.
Yup, Spurs have a 4-time champion coach. OKC has Franklin and Bash. We know drama.
An angle I haven't seen anyone bring up yet is the complication Ginobili potentially causes for the Thunder by coming off the bench. Ideally, you'd think that Brooks would want to put Sefolosha on him, and it's true that Sefolosha has had some success guarding Ginobili in the past. However, since Sefolosha starts and Harden basically plays the same minute/substitution patterns as Ginobili (give or take a few mins) right now it doesn't appear that Brooks will get to have Sefolosha guarding Manu very much without radically changing his rotation.
How about it LJ? You think Brooks decides to flip the script and have Harden start, just so he can bring Sefolosha off the bench to deal with Manu? We might have a situation akin to hockey, with the coaches trying to match lines, so to speak.
It's not fair to put the entire burden of the Spurs' season on Leonard. He doesn't even need to limit Durant's scoring for the Spurs to win. In fact, I hope he takes 30-40 shots a game. If he and Westbrook score 80 points, then we just need to hold everyone else to under 20 to keep the total points under 100.
If the Thunder don't score 100 points, they don't keep up with our offense, and they lose.
It's all bullshit, folks. It's bullshit and it's bad for ya.
I don´t think the personal Matchups are very important in this series, and part of me tends to believe that unless something out of the ordinary happens the Spurs should take no more than 6 games to finish OKC off.
That said, it´s fun to play this matchup game, but i think as a team overall the Spurs are far better team in the way that there is almost no impulsive plays out there while the thunder rely a lot more on the circus shot or circus block here and there.
Both Spurs offense and defense, team wise, seems the edge our team has.
Still i am not saying we will win in 6, but some part of me would say it if i was more of an arrogant fan, Pop is to blame for me not saying that. Appropiate fear.
I think one thing that the Spurs will have to show in this series is their offensive versatility. They are much better at that than the Thunder are, and I think it will be important for San Antonio to turn that into an advantage on the floor.
The Thunder aren't exactly that well-balanced a team. If you look at their S5, you more or less have three players in Ibaka, Perkins and Sefolosha that don't have much of an offensive game. As a result of that, OKC's game can get a bit stagnant at times, which is something you would like to enforce if possible.
Also, Manu being closer to his best than he has been so far in the playoffs will be absolutely crucial.
"... for we're only passing through, we're already ghosts."
It wouldn't shock me if it turned out that the better team won a super-intense short series instead of a long one. If one team has some advantages they can figure out how to exploit consistently, they might just keep doing it all series long. Because I seriously doubt that either team will just fail to show up for a game against such a dangerous opponent.
I think the Spurs will win in six. There is bound to be a game or two where Durant and Westbrook are just completely and totally unstoppable. To win those games, the Spurs would have to have the Big 3 really clicking and/or a few more players "coming along for the ride" as Sean Elliott would say.
It will be interesting to see how Tony does in this series. Though he played well overall, he really struggled from the field against the Clippers (and with reason, the D was all over him). I think for the Spurs to be able to handle the Thunder, he needs to be extremely aggressive and shoot much closer to 50 percent.
Duncan is playing so well that I don't doubt he'll be awesome.
A couple "vintage Manu" performances a long the way would help too.
I've long thought that the 2001 West Finals basically turned from a long drawn-out series into a very short one over a span of about 1 minute in the 4th quarter of Game 2. The Spurs were in position to get the game and even the series -- though they had already blown a 10 point second half lead after Phil Jackson had been ejected -- in the last two minutes of that game. But Shaq blocked a David Robinson shot, then made a layup to stretch the lead to 4. After Terry Porter was way long on an open 3 from the top of the key, Antonio Daniels sank down into the lane and left Kobe alone for a top of the key 3; 30 seconds later, Fisher drained another 3 and that series was over. Going out to LA down 0-2, the Spurs knew they weren't going to rally to win that series and played like it. What could have been a close series changed in that minute and became one of the most lopsided series in conference finals history.
Nah, I'd be happy if the team that swept twice swept for a third time.
tp will be big
but this series is one that sj can really make an impact on
I also listened to Westbrooks coments to the tnt crew last night in the game. Spurs are already in Westbrook head. HE said mentally they have to be ready. He brought up they won so many games in a row.
spurs win big the first couple of games
spurs could actually sweep only if they get in thunder head more about unable to beat the spurs. I think this goes 6 games though
“It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” James said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”
he had to email it to howard could not tell someone in person that
I'm not as worried about this series as I would've been if we were playing the Lakers. Spurs take this one in 5 games. The Mavs and Lakers were slow, uncommitted to transistion defense and didn't have guys who could shoot the ball when it mattered. I think this comes down to Diaw and Bonner. Everyone will be surprised how easy this series will be!!! The OKC jumpshooters can do alot of things well, don't get me wrong, but over a 48 minute game, we will be the better team. Blair should get some time in this series with the second unit of OKC and we will be OK. When this series is over, I'm going to party like it's 1999!!!! Book it!
I thought the series was decided way earlier than that. The Spurs came out strong and built a decent lead in the first 5 minutes or so of game 1 and finally there looked like there was a team that was going to challenge those Lakers. Then Pop subbed DRob out and everything came crashing down and the Lakers went on a big run. At that moment I knew the series was unwinnable since David wasn't going to be able to play 43 minutes a night.
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