We would not have beaten Miami in the Finals...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Their D would have smothered the Spurs, and it's not like SA would be able to fall back on their D once their offense falls apart.

I can't see SA stopping LeBron (who's having his best Finals) and Wade.

Bosh also plays above his head when facing the Spurs.


I'm sure some will disagree, but in a 7 game series the Heat would have taken it anyway.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Thanks, Amused. I can now go to sleep..







;)

[justinandimcool]

the way Miami is playing D, rebounding, and getting help from the refs, plus the way Battier is shooting...you're probably right.

[therealtruth]

Dallas showed the answer to their defense. You keep moving the ball eventually you will get an open shot. Reducing ball movement is the wrong thing to do against a good defense.

[Spur|n|Austin]

I've been thinking the same thing. Would rather be in position to try then in the position we're in now but still..

[jason1301]

This is Pop you are talking about, OKC has the worst coach in the playoffs --other than Clippers.

[baseline bum]

Yeah, OKC getting beaten for most of the first 3 games has definitely cushioned the blow from losing to them.

[thispego]

Naturally, sterne would have never let that happen. :rolleyes

[hooperflash]

I thought this too when the series was tied 2-2 in the WCF. We need more championship pieces!!

[spurraider21]

we have the pieces, just happened to lose. its not like every season there is only 1 championship caliber team. i'm pretty sure last year's bulls were championship caliber. im pretty sure last years heat was championship caliber, and im pretty sure that this year both okc and miami are championship caliber. the fact is there are 30 teams and its not like there is 1 team that truly stands out. was Dallas the only championship caliber team in the league last year? doubt that.

this spurs team could win the title, it just didn't work out this year. every year there are a handful of teams that feel like we do now. this same core plus a few tweaks could still be up there with anybody. if we have TP, Tim, Manu, Jax, Leonard, i will believe. maybe bring in lorbek/de colo and one decent post defender

[Budkin]

When it was just Wade and LeBron doing everything I thought it would be an easy win but with Bosh back and their role players stepping up they are looking as scary as they were in the early season.

[$pursDynasty]

of course not the David Stern Fix is in, no one beats the Heat this year, Stern gets what he wants, and he wanted OKC Mia and he wants Lebron with a ring.

[timtonymanu]

Agreed. I don't know why so many Spurs fans thought Miami would lose to them in the Finals. Miami was the only team I feared in the playoffs before OKC put that to rest :depressed

Miami's D would have suffocated the Spurs offense.

[spurs1990]

The Spurs went 48-7 before those last 4 games.

They would have beaten Miami like a drum.

[spurspokesman]

Yeah, OKC getting beaten for most of the first 3 games has definitely cushioned the blow from losing to them.

Miami getting the goaltend calls on ibaka that we didn't get. But I agree baseline it does ease the pain lol. And for the record the spurs woulve beaten mia. Duncan would of had a much easier time with that frontline thus opening up other angles of our offense.

[ace3g]

I don't know but apparently Coach Brooks go to adjustment in a playoff series is put a larger defender on opposing teams PG and apparently it works...

--

Another reason I hate playing teams like the Heat; granted Thunder got similar calls against us but still clearly OKC is being aggressive on shots and not getting any calls.

[CGD]

Miami clicked at the right time. It woul dhave been really tough to beat them, I agree.

[dunkman]

Miami can stop OKC and when the things get difficult they can still score on the OKC defense. The Spurs couldn't score on OKC's defense, neither they could stop Harden or Durant. It's safe to say the Heat is much better than the Spurs.

[SamoanTD]

OKC is making Miami's D look really good.

[Bill_Brasky]

Yeah probably not.

[GrandeDavid]

Their D would have smothered the Spurs, and it's not like SA would be able to fall back on their D once their offense falls apart.

I can't see SA stopping LeBron (who's having his best Finals) and Wade.

Bosh also plays above his head when facing the Spurs.


I'm sure some will disagree, but in a 7 game series the Heat would have taken it anyway.

I feel like its deja vu. OKC is like the Spurs last series. True, the defense last series was pretty pathetic, but OKC just doesn't quite have enough to beat Miami, even when Lebron was hobbled late.

[DDS4]

I'd give the Spurs a good chance if they were clicking on all cylinders. Too bad they only did that for 2.5 games in their last series.

[dunkman]

I'd give the Spurs a good chance if they were clicking on all cylinders. Too bad they only did that for 2.5 games in their last series.

There is no clicking when the other team plays defense.

[sananspursfan21]

I wish okc woulda played the spurs like the heat, like humans instead of lucky shot machines

[Capt Bringdown]

We choked away a 2-0 lead and made OKC look like world-beaters. The backdoor sweep is looking worse now, especially Pop's horrible panicky meltdown in game 5. OKC ain't that good.
Pathetic.

[SpursFaninMS]

Their D would have smothered the Spurs, and it's not like SA would be able to fall back on their D once their offense falls apart.

I can't see SA stopping LeBron (who's having his best Finals) and Wade.

Bosh also plays above his head when facing the Spurs.


I'm sure some will disagree, but in a 7 game series the Heat would have taken it anyway.

Not to say I really disagree with you about the fact that we probably wouldn't haven beaten them, but who would have stopped Parker the way Thabo did?

[Capt Bringdown]

OKC = this year's version of Mike D'Antoni-era Suns, except Brooks is even a worse coach than D'Antoni.
Way to go, Pop.

[SpursFaninMS]

No reason to bash OKC.

As much as we enjoyed them failing, we all knew that it was a matter of time for the Heat.

It is only going to get worse from here. They will be able to draft a solid 5 or a good reserve guard this year.

[therealtruth]

Their D would have smothered the Spurs, and it's not like SA would be able to fall back on their D once their offense falls apart.

I can't see SA stopping LeBron (who's having his best Finals) and Wade.

Bosh also plays above his head when facing the Spurs.


I'm sure some will disagree, but in a 7 game series the Heat would have taken it anyway.

I agree Pop has to go back to defense. He's spent enough time coaching offense. Shots either fall or they don't but the defense can be more consistent. We're capable of playing good defense like in game 3 against the Clippers. We just need to practice it enough. The Spurs make too many defensive mistakes to be championship caliber. Championship caliber teams limit those mistakes.

[TDMVPDPOY]

lol okc dont run any plays man, that is where the problem is....

[DMC]

This is Pop you are talking about, OKC has the worst coach in the playoffs --other than Clippers.

Pop doesn't play much defense and his 3 is not what it used to be.

You guys (not you personally) are looking a gift horse right in the mouth. Soon enough you will have a bubble or lottery bound team and you will all sit around talking about which middle of the road coach would be best for the team.

Right now you are a perennial playoff contender with the greatest coach in the game who gets more out of his squad than any coach I've ever seen. Still, you act like there's a "get better" switch Pop refuses to activate, as if he hasn't thought "you know, we need to be better defensively, this offensive thing wins games but not championships"

They came together, they peaked, they sustained, they faded and they will end and go their own ways (reads like a romantic story). That's how the story always goes, and yet people act like it's as easy as a lineup change or a philosophy change to get back to the Finals.

We only need two more 1st overall picks and the best two other countries have to offer. After that, if we can get the best perimeter defender in the league and the most clutch shooter of all time, we might have a chance, but the picks have to be top 10 and top 25 all time players.

Should be easy if we could just get Phil to coach.

/soapbox

[Sean Cagney]

The Spurs went 48-7 before those last 4 games.

They would have beaten Miami like a drum.

Yeah if you say so........

[Amuseddaysleeper]

There's always next year

[Sean Cagney]

I agree Pop has to go back to defense. He's spent enough time coaching offense. Shots either fall or they don't but the defense can be more consistent. We're capable of playing good defense like in game 3 against the Clippers. We just need to practice it enough. The Spurs make too many defensive mistakes to be championship caliber. Championship caliber teams limit those mistakes.

I don't know about you but game 4 the Spurs started this damn TO crap against the Clippers and after that it continued! I said if we turn it over that much like we did game 4 against LAC we are toast against OKC because they fuel their game off of it! The Spurs did just that a few games! So there it goes.

[DubMcDub]

Spurs woulda had a shot. They have a very efficient pass-oriented offense like last year's Mavs. Not as good of a defense or rebounding, but they woulda had a shot. Toss-up series, as far as I'm concerned.

[Sean Cagney]

Spurs woulda had a shot. They have a very efficient pass-oriented offense like last year's Mavs. Not as good of a defense or rebounding, but they woulda had a shot. Toss-up series, as far as I'm concerned.

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh yeah a shot like you said, but the D and rebounding worried me! I suppose it could have happened, but would it have? Nobody knows because it did not happen.

[Kidd K]

I don't agree. Just because OKC, an inferior team to the Spurs with less ball movement who almost never goes on runs of offense or defense without favorable officiating, suddenly doesn't get those calls against the other league-preferred team, doesn't mean said league-preferred team would've done the same to us.

Our offense is better than OKC's. Our offense works in such a way that it moves away from the defensive strengths of the Heat. The Heat defense is good because it can stop specific players. When an entire team can move, shoot, and score, the Heat struggle with it bigtime. That's the kind of offense we had this year.

That is, assuming the series was called down the middle, rather than favoring Miami as much as the officiating favored OKC in the WCF.



Yeah, OKC getting beaten for most of the first 3 games has definitely cushioned the blow from losing to them.

It hasn't for me. It's only reinforced the fact that they got a rigged series win. OKC wasn't as good as the refs made them appear to be. It's quite obvious at this point that OKC doesn't belong in the Finals.

[Dingle Barry]

Pop doesn't play much defense and his 3 is not what it used to be.

You guys (not you personally) are looking a gift horse right in the mouth. Soon enough you will have a bubble or lottery bound team and you will all sit around talking about which middle of the road coach would be best for the team.

Right now you are a perennial playoff contender with the greatest coach in the game who gets more out of his squad than any coach I've ever seen. Still, you act like there's a "get better" switch Pop refuses to activate, as if he hasn't thought "you know, we need to be better defensively, this offensive thing wins games but not championships"

They came together, they peaked, they sustained, they faded and they will end and go their own ways (reads like a romantic story). That's how the story always goes, and yet people act like it's as easy as a lineup change or a philosophy change to get back to the Finals.

We only need two more 1st overall picks and the best two other countries have to offer. After that, if we can get the best perimeter defender in the league and the most clutch shooter of all time, we might have a chance, but the picks have to be top 10 and top 25 all time players.

Should be easy if we could just get Phil to coach.

/soapbox

Damn son, look into Lexapro or something.

[TE]

I'd take the Heat in 6 games against the Spurs, and I'm being the generous homer I am.

[Legacy]

There's always next year

[rascal]

Not only would they not have beaten the Heat they would not have beaten the Lakers.

[Andthentherewas21]

The way the Playoffs have been called, both for teams against the Heat and for the Spurs, I really doubt they would have been able to pull it off the series. Too bad though, the off season would be a lot more interesting if the Heat do lose.

[Horse]

Stern aside, Miami struggles to stop quick point guards, has no real post defender and was awful defending the 3 all year. These are our strengths and probably the reason stern fucked us, he didn't think miami could beat the Spurs.