"Best in the West"

[Johnsyounger]

Not sure if this was posted...
http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/1237/scouts-takes-spurs-best-in-west

Pretty short and to the point...

[DMC]

ESPN's opinion matters when it's in your favor.

[SpursFan86]

Lol @ the Portland fans getting butthurt in the comments. "We're 2-0 against the Spurs this year...we're the best!:(:(:("

[RD2191]

Lol @ the Portland fans getting butthurt in the comments. "We're 2-0 against the Spurs this year...we're the best!:(:(:("
:lol

[313]

I’ve seen [Tim] Duncan a few times and I don’t think there’s a whole lot of difference from last year to this year. lol

But they're right about everything else

[TXstbobcat]

We will settle this in the western conference finals.

[lefty]

ESPN's opinion matters when it's in your favor.

[gnsf0946]

ESPN's opinion matters when it's in your favor.

[Cry Havoc]

Huh. That's odd. An Eastern Conference scout directly quoted as saying the Spurs are the best in the West is somehow the opinion of espn.com now. Huh. How about that.

[spurs10]

Huh. That's odd. An Eastern Conference scout directly quoted as saying the Spurs are the best in the West is somehow the opinion of espn.com now. Huh. How about that. Right these are quotes from scouts, aka Scout Takes, and not the opinion of ESPN.

[Sean Cagney]

Lol @ the Portland fans getting butthurt in the comments. "We're 2-0 against the Spurs this year...we're the best!:(:(:("

They fail to realize that that 2-0 or your record now does not win you titles or even win a round or two. Until they do that they are not he best in the West, they need to realize that.

[spurraider21]

considering how eastern conference teams have been assembled i'd take the opinions of eastern conference scouts with a grain of salt

[LakerHater]

Kawhi Leonard is going to have to be that guy, but he still defers a lot when I’ve seen him. He was very good last year, but he hasn’t made as big a step as I was expecting.

[cjw]

Lol @ the Portland fans getting butthurt in the comments. "We're 2-0 against the Spurs this year...we're the best!:(:(:("

Someone should remind them that we won't be playing Ayres and Bonner a combined 22 minutes come mid-April. The Blazers are basically six deep right now.

Patty also had possibly his worst night as a Spur last night and Kawhi was in foul trouble (part of the reason we were -6 on the boards). All those factors don't make a win likely.

[CitizenDwayne]

considering how eastern conference teams have been assembled i'd take the opinions of eastern conference scouts with a grain of salt

Exactly what I thought.

Spurs have the best record; therefore, they are currently the best. Thanks, scout, for that brilliant insight.

[hater]

Spurs are deep no doubt about it. But as of right now there are about 4 teams in the NBA that can beat them in a playoff series fairly easily. Miami, Indiana, Portland and OKC(with WB)

If Parker doesn't regain MVP form, we might as well forget this season altogether.

[spurraider21]

^hater hit the nail on the head. Parker was playing at MVP level for the past 2 years, and that has been the difference against elite teams.

[hater]

thanks homie. there's really no 2 ways around it. Parker MUST play at MVP level for us to have any chance in hell. And IMO Kawhi needs to play like an allstar, he's sucking IMO, he just got his ass handed to him by Nico Batum and Wes Mathews last night. that cannot happen in a playoff series.

oh and Duncan needs to not do his best Kwame Brown impression.

look, Manu played like prime Kobe and we still lost. all of the above needs to happen first and then we might have a chance in hell

[will_spurs]

I'll put it differently: the Spurs have always been fine with 2 of their top players out of 3 playing great on any given night. Basically a night off by one member of the big 3 was no problem. The issue right now is that there's only 1 out of 3 playing great on most nights, and especially against good teams. And that doesn't cut it.

[DrSteffo]

Coasting a bit and still right at the top. It's amazing how spoiled we are. And we got the rings whatever happens haters.

[boutons_deux]

ESPN obvious bullshit.

Blazers are clearly better than the Spurs.

eg, easily won a road B2B in DAL, with three Blazer starters with double-doubles.

Blazers will very probably sweep TX with a W in HOU, then win at OKC (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=43121) for a 4-0 road trip.

[Prime Time]

Spurs are just getting the typical "Conference champion" respect. People thought Lakers were the best Western team in 2011, people thought OKC was the best in 2013, Some had Boston as the best in 2011, etc. That's the way these "experts" work, the majority of their 'predictions' are either what happened the year before or just choosing a newly-formed Super-Team to take it all.

Don't any of you recall how so many analysts claimed Utah could give the Spurs trouble because of how San Antonio handled Memphis the year before? :lmao

But IMO, A team shouldn't be taken seriously until they make the conference finals. That's the way I see it.

Portland looks good now, but it's still January man. I'm not saying "lel they aint shit when its playoff time" I'm just saying it's hard for me to consider them favorites when they haven't won a playoff series since the 99-00 season. There is a chance they prove me wrong and the Blazers climb their way to the finals, but I can't give them that credit as of this moment. Especially when I see their bench

[Baam]

Spurs are just getting the typical "Conference champion" respect. People thought Lakers were the best Western team in 2011, people thought OKC was the best in 2013, Some had Boston as the best in 2011, etc. That's the way these "experts" work, the majority of their 'predictions' are either what happened the year before or just choosing a newly-formed Super-Team to take it all.

Don't any of you recall how so many analysts claimed Utah could give the Spurs trouble because of how San Antonio handled Memphis the year before? :lmao

But IMO, A team shouldn't be taken seriously until they make the conference finals. That's the way I see it.

Portland looks good now, but it's still January man. I'm not saying "lel they aint shit when its playoff time" I'm just saying it's hard for me to consider them favorites when they haven't won a playoff series since the 99-00 season. There is a chance they prove me wrong and the Blazers climb their way to the finals, but I can't give them that credit as of this moment. Especially when I see their bench

Well having dominant starters is way better than squeaking out wins thanks to a deep bench like we do...

They have Mo Williams and McCollum, their frontline depth is worrying but they're most likely gonna be just fine...

[EVAY]

considering how eastern conference teams have been assembled i'd take the opinions of eastern conference scouts with a grain of salt

:lol:toast

[EVAY]

thanks homie. there's really no 2 ways around it. Parker MUST play at MVP level for us to have any chance in hell. And IMO Kawhi needs to play like an allstar, he's sucking IMO, he just got his ass handed to him by Nico Batum and Wes Mathews last night. that cannot happen in a playoff series.

oh and Duncan needs to not do his best Kwame Brown impression.

look, Manu played like prime Kobe and we still lost. all of the above needs to happen first and then we might have a chance in hell

This. Great take.

[Prime Time]

Well having dominant starters is way better than squeaking out wins thanks to a deep bench like we do...

They have Mo Williams and McCollum, their frontline depth is worrying but they're most likely gonna be just fine...
Mo Williams sucks. And CJ McCollum?!

Portland relies TOO MUCH on their starting five. Teams like that in the playoffs get exploited anytime they make a substitution.

Also, everyone on that team is a shot chucker, there's no way all of them can stay hot with that mindset (Fans like to use the logic 'WELL THE THUNDER BEAT US BY MAKING EVERY BUCKET' But at least OKC ran a SYSTEM in 2012.) I'm not saying there's no way Portland will succeed in the playoffs, but sheesh at least wait for them to play a post-season game before we past any kind of judgement. Considering their youth and all

Spurs are winning games with a healthy game-plan and managed minutes. Portland is winning by making a crap ton of shots. Logically, the former would be safer entering the playoffs. I think I'm more intimidated of Houston than I am of Portland.

[DMC]

Huh. That's odd. An Eastern Conference scout directly quoted as saying the Spurs are the best in the West is somehow the opinion of espn.com now. Huh. How about that.


Right these are quotes from scouts, aka Scout Takes, and not the opinion of ESPN.

ESPN.com is a website. It doesn't have opinions. ESPN chooses what to put on their website though, so in essence these scouts are just free lance writers for ESPN. For all intents and purposes, it's an ESPN article and the URL leads to ESPN's website.

Let's not split hairs in an attempt to cherry pick opinions with "depends on what the definition of the word 'is' is"

[Mikeanaro]

They fail to realize that that 2-0 or your record now does not win you titles or even win a round or two. Until they do that they are not he best in the West, they need to realize that.
They are just happy and full of confidence, last year Portland didnt make it to the playoffs, now they are fighting for the first spot, from nothing to all in just one season.

[Cry Havoc]

ESPN.com is a website. It doesn't have opinions. ESPN chooses what to put on their website though, so in essence these scouts are just free lance writers for ESPN. For all intents and purposes, it's an ESPN article and the URL leads to ESPN's website.

Let's not split hairs in an attempt to cherry pick opinions with "depends on what the definition of the word 'is' is"

There's a huge difference between a scout for the NBA saying this and Skip Bayless saying it.

[DMC]

There's a huge difference between a scout for the NBA saying this and Skip Bayless saying it.

Both posted on ESPN.com

[cjw]

The same team that dropped 13 straight games to finish last year (granted they mailed it in, but that's still hard to do with ANY talent) is suddenly best in the West? Their DRtg is middling so if the offense stalls out at all, they'll be closer to the middle of the playoff pack in the West instead of the top 2 spots.

[heyheymymy]

if we are top 5 in the standings looking this out of sorts and disinterested, how good are we going to look when we actually care and try?

[Sean Cagney]

They are just happy and full of confidence, last year Portland didnt make it to the playoffs, now they are fighting for the first spot, from nothing to all in just one season.

Hats off to that team! MUCH IMPROVED and very impressive so far! I agree they are happy and rightfully so. I won't take that away from them.
if we are top 5 in the standings looking this out of sorts and disinterested, how good are we going to look when we actually care and try?
You see that part is scary..... VERY SCARY.

[BacktoBasics]

They are just happy and full of confidence, last year Portland didnt make it to the playoffs, now they are fighting for the first spot, from nothing to all in just one season.Happy? Is this even a basketball term. Its far more than just confidence. They're execution is better, they're trusting their teammates more than ever. The list could on long before you to the technical term of "happy".