did we really play okc better or are they just playing even better against GS?

[davi78239]

Or has GS been playing crappy?

[808]

GS exposed against a stronger ref team

[Mikeanaro]

GS exposed against a stronger ref team
This, and even when Spurs were robbed 2 games which was the series they wouldnt stand a chance against the Warrefs because they were lazy unmotivated plus we are an extremely weak ref team so they can play his shitty ass D.

[cd98]

I think their size bothers GS. Their bigs are mobile and Durrant's length at the 2, 3, and 4 allows them to bully the small ball line up. When GS goes big, they are easier to guard as there is less spacing for Curry and Thompson.

[TheGreatYacht]

Our Big 2 did a better job than Golden State's Big 2.

It was Pop's fault for playing West-Diaw-Andershit. Starters would get us a 5pt lead only to be down 10 when they came back in the game

[hater]

We match up slightly better than them. Also I agree Kawhis beast D made Chimp look human.

If you really think about it, if not for that Durant supernova moment in game 4. We would have beat them

[PublicOption]

Yep the league wants Durant to stay in OKC. They are going to win the title.....make your bets now.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I think if the Spurs and Thunder were to play another series right now the Thunder would win in 5. No matter what, Spurs weren't going to have any answer for the size of Adams/Kanter without changes to the roster.

This Warriors series really solidifies that the Thunder were the better team.

[itzsoweezee]

OKC played well against GSW all year. The Thunder took it up a notch in the postseason, but let's not pretend that the Warriors were ever light years better than the Thunder. That's why I was really hoping LAC could get that 3 seed and Oklahoma would be matched up against Golden State in the second round.

[Spurminator]

Seems like the Thunder figured everything out by Game 5 of our series and they've carried it over against the Warriors. It's too bad we gave them the time to do it.

[tenbeersbold]

Lol,sports entertainment,Spurs were ref jobbed outta two games to gift OKC the finals.The league is such trash right now, the NBA couldn't afford to have the OKC cucks breaking up
Damn East finals are proof once again. Casey rightfully complains about the refs and the damn Raptors dont get to the free throw till midway through the third quarter!?! Come on,Irving and Lebron blatantly pushing off on every single damn drive to the basket etc,that shite is laughable to watch

[lefty]

OKC is better than Spurs

Much much better

[baseline bum]

OKC is better than Spurs

Much much better

Pretty much this. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

[Spurs_619]

Gs is just very soft mentally.. tbh i have never seen a MVP quit like i have curry these last 2 games. He is very much a one trick pony.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

OKC is better than Spurs

Much much better

Pretty much this. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

So much so that they had to rely on sketchy ref calls and lucky bounces of the ball to win two of the games by a combined 5 points, not to mention they got toasted by 40 in Game 1 and dropped Game 3 and nearly Game 4 at home. But hey, MUCH MUCH MUCH better right? GTFO, people here are so fucking dumb its incredible

This is like saying the Spurs were much much much better than the Thunder in 2014 when we obliterated Miami the next round after winning a hotly contested 6 game series.

[baseline bum]

So much so that they had to rely on sketchy ref calls and lucky bounces of the ball to win two of the games by a combined 5 points, not to mention they got toasted by 40 in Game 1 and dropped Game 3 and nearly Game 4 at home. But hey, MUCH MUCH MUCH better right? GTFO, people here are so fucking dumb its incredible

This is like saying the Spurs were much much much better than the Thunder in 2014 when we obliterated Miami the next round after winning a hotly contested 6 game series.

The 2014 Spurs were way better than the 2014 Thunder, they mopped the floor with them in Games 1, 2, and 5, and then destroyed them in Game 6 in OT. The 2016 Thunder kicked the ever living shit out of the Spurs in the closeout Game 6 and in the fourth quarter of Game 4. The Spurs lucked into winning Game 3 when Westrbrook and Durant made stupid turnovers to throw the game away. The only impressive game the Spurs played the entire 2016 series was Game 1.

[Mikeanaro]

Lol,sports entertainment,Spurs were ref jobbed outta two games to gift OKC the finals.The league is such trash right now, the NBA couldn't afford to have the OKC cucks breaking up
Damn East finals are proof once again. Casey rightfully complains about the refs and the damn Raptors dont get to the free throw till midway through the third quarter!?! Come on,Irving and Lebron blatantly pushing off on every single damn drive to the basket etc,that shite is laughable to watch
Agreed, and yet some retards talk about OKC being the better team when they had 15 points per game in ref goodies.
At least Casey had the balls to say something, Pop on the other hand looks like he loves to be fucked.

[Mikeanaro]

The 2014 Spurs were way better than the 2014 Thunder, they mopped the floor with them in Games 1, 2, and 5, and then destroyed them in Game 6 in OT. The 2016 Thunder kicked the ever living shit out of the Spurs in the closeout Game 6 and in the fourth quarter of Game 4. The Spurs lucked into winning Game 3 when Westrbrook and Durant made stupid turnovers to throw the game away. The only impressive game the Spurs played the entire 2016 series was Game 1.
The only impressive thing were the refs handing over the series to OKC you fucking retard.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

The 2014 Spurs were way better than the 2014 Thunder, they mopped the floor with them in Games 1, 2, and 5, and then destroyed them in Game 6 in OT. The 2016 Thunder kicked the ever living shit out of the Spurs in the closeout Game 6 and in the fourth quarter of Game 4. The Spurs lucked into winning Game 3 when Westrbrook and Durant made stupid turnovers to throw the game away. The only impressive game the Spurs played the entire 2016 series was Game 1.

You are seriously fucking retarded, this was one of the worst fucking takes I have ever read. I actually was expecting a sarcasm tag at the end of this. Go fuck yourself faggot.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

The only impressive thing were the refs handing over the series to OKC you fucking retard.

:toast

[baseline bum]

LOL Spurs fans claiming Game 2 was stolen from them. They got the ball and Pop didn't want to call timeout because they had the advantage. The two bad calls to end Game 5 are legit complaints but that's one lousy game in the series. If the Spurs were the better team they wouldn't have gotten completely destroyed in Game 6. You guys sound like Suns fans bitching that they were the better team in 07 despite them getting their asses handed to them in Game 6 also.

[baseline bum]

You are seriously fucking retarded, this was one of the worst fucking takes I have ever read. I actually was expecting a sarcasm tag at the end of this. Go fuck yourself faggot.

So much butthurt

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Agreed, and yet some retards talk about OKC being the better team when they had 15 points per game in ref goodies.
At least Casey had the balls to say something, Pop on the other hand looks like he loves to be fucked.

Pop doesnt want to get fined. :cry He is such a faggot when it comes to sticking up for his team.

[timtonymanu]

Lol bringing up missed calls but Leonard in Game 2 and Aldridge in Game 5 were awful. That was the difference.

[Mikeanaro]

:toast
Some people loves to be cucks and then lick the sloppy seconds, WTF?
Creating some sci fi shit about better players because 3 fat fucks decides what to call and what not and they decide the winner no matter what, even releasing a note the day after the game saying YES SPURS SHOULD HAVE WON BUT ANYWAY LETS GIVE THE GAME TO OKC.
They make these kind of decisions because the majority of the audience are retards like that fuck we were insulting.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

LOL Spurs fans claiming Game 2 was stolen from them. They got the ball and Pop didn't want to call timeout because they had the advantage. The two bad calls to end Game 5 are legit complaints but that's one lousy game in the series. If the Spurs were the better team they wouldn't have gotten completely destroyed in Game 6. You guys sound like Suns fans bitching that they were the better team in 07 despite them getting their asses handed to them in Game 6 also.

Suns fans actually have a legit complaint. I dont care because a ring is a ring and we had gotten fucked so many times before. But they definitely got hosed and possibly got screwed out of the series.

This series was every bit as dirty as the 2012 series and lets pretend sure, we still lose Game 2 (spoiler, if we had the ball on an inbounds we wouldve given it to Aldridge who was on fire and we wouldve won), but we win game 5. That means we have a home Game 7 that the home team wins 80% of the time. So yeah we got fucking jobbed. Also you sound like a troll and not a spurs fan, its pretty obvious with the "LOL Spurs fans claiming Game 2 was stolen from them." comment. Go fuck yourself fagg:lolt

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Some people loves to be cucks and then lick the sloppy seconds, WTF?
Creating some sci fi shit about better players because 3 fat fucks decides what to call and what not and they decide the winner no matter what, even releasing a note the day after the game saying YES SPURS SHOULD HAVE WON BUT ANYWAY LETS GIVE THE GAME TO OKC.
They make these kind of decisions because the majority of the audience are retards like that fuck we were insulting.

They are too stupid too remember what happened in the games and instead of admitting that they play in a dirty league where you have no margin for error if you want to advance, they would rather just pretend "we didnt execute down the stretch guys" :cry "they are just wayyyy better" :cry "They are on a mission this year" :cry "They demolished us, we were lucky to even win a game" :cry Its fucking dsgusting and shows the lack of basketball IQ of over 90% of this forum

[DJR210]

OKC is better than Spurs

Much much better

Det youth

We expect to win the title on sheer knowledge alone :lol Pop should coach chess.. What is our average age? 44?

[baseline bum]

Some people loves to be cucks and then lick the sloppy seconds, WTF?
Creating some sci fi shit about better players because 3 fat fucks decides what to call and what not and they decide the winner no matter what, even releasing a note the day after the game saying YES SPURS SHOULD HAVE WON BUT ANYWAY LETS GIVE THE GAME TO OKC.
They make these kind of decisions because the majority of the audience are retardeds like that fuck we were insulting.

The Spurs had the ball to win Game 2 and blew it. They still got the turnover so the effect of the missed call is a moot point. They could have still called timeout to setup a play but didn't because a quick shot off a turnover is a higher percentage play than just isoing against a set defense while also battling the clock.

[Mikeanaro]

They are too stupid too remember what happened in the games and instead of admitting that they play in a dirty league where you have no margin for error if you want to advance, they would rather just pretend "we didnt execute down the stretch guys" :cry "they are just wayyyy better" :cry "They are on a mission this year" :cry "They demolished us, we were lucky to even win a game" :cry Its fucking dsgusting and shows the lack of basketball IQ of over 90% of this forum
Agreed, you have described the average person... no attention span or memory whatsoever they go on shit like ¨now GSW cant play against bigs¨ and shit like that when its clearly about what refs want to whistle and what not.
When you are robbed you are robbed, period.
I say lack of BB IQ and lack of other things to do in life so they cant get mad at rigged BB because they need it so they dont care if everything is a lie.

[baseline bum]

Suns fans actually have a legit complaint. I dont care because a ring is a ring and we had gotten fucked so many times before. But they definitely got hosed and possibly got screwed out of the series.

This series was every bit as dirty as the 2012 series and lets pretend sure, we still lose Game 2 (spoiler, if we had the ball on an inbounds we wouldve given it to Aldridge who was on fire and we wouldve won), but we win game 5. That means we have a home Game 7 that the home team wins 80% of the time. So yeah we got fucking jobbed. Also you sound like a troll and not a spurs fan, its pretty obvious with the "LOL Spurs fans claiming Game 2 was stolen from them." comment. Go fuck yourself fagg:lolt

The 2012 WCF was stolen from the Spurs, no doubt about that. 2016 they got fucked in Game 5 on the Adams trip and then came out and played like a bunch of pussies in Game 6 (except Duncan, he came to play). If the Spurs were the better team no way they just roll over and die in an elimination game. LOL so you think the Suns were the better team in 07 and you're calling me the troll? :lmao

[Mikeanaro]

The Spurs had the ball to win Game 2 and blew it. They still got the turnover so the effect of the missed call is a moot point. They could have still called timeout to setup a play but didn't because a quick shot off a turnover is a higher percentage play than just isoing against a set defense while also battling the clock.
Sure sure, now explain me the 15 points OKC got through the game in ref goodies and the note the day after the game saying they fucked the game but that wont change the result.
Explain the excessive contact they are allowed to do in defense and how refs swallow whistles when Spurs are intentionally fouling, unless Westbrook makes the layup.
Explain how Kiwi got 3 fouls for doing nothing during game 2 etc etc etc.

[baseline bum]

Agreed, you have described the average person... no attention span or memory whatsoever they go on shit like ¨now GSW cant play against bigs¨ and shit like that when its clearly about what refs want to whistle and what not.
When you are robbed you are robbed, period.
I say lack of BB IQ and lack of other things to do in life so they cant get mad at rigged BB because they need it so they dont care if everything is a lie.

You really are a dumbass if you still watch the NBA when it's so rigged against the Spurs.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Agreed, you have described the average person... no attention span or memory whatsoever they go on shit like ¨now GSW cant play against bigs¨ and shit like that when its clearly about what refs want to whistle and what not.
When you are robbed you are robbed, period.
I say lack of BB IQ and lack of other things to do in life so they cant get mad at rigged BB because they need it so they dont care if everything is a lie.

L-O-fucking-L
You are so correct, these dipshits cant admit its dirty because then the whole meaning of their fucking existence is a lie. We have all these idiots telling us all about OKC and blah blah blah, I guarantee they have never played a meaningful game of basketball in their life so they dont understand anything about how much a game can change on a little call here or there, or an unlucky bounce, or a luck chuck that goes in. They cant even begin to wrap their minds around it, its painfully obvious.

[Mikeanaro]

You really are a dumbass if you still watch the NBA when it's so rigged against the Spurs.
I watch Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, everybody else can suck my cock once they are gone Im gone too.

[baseline bum]

I watch Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, everybody else can suck my cock once they are gone Im gone too.

LOL bandwagon faggot

[lefty]

The only impressive thing were the refs handing over the series to OKC you fucking retard.

Only pussies and assholes blame the officiating

[Spurs 4 The Win]

The 2012 WCF was stolen from the Spurs, no doubt about that. 2016 they got fucked in Game 5 on the Adams trip and then came out and played like a bunch of pussies in Game 6 (except Duncan, he came to play). If the Spurs were the better team no way they just roll over and die in an elimination game. LOL so you think the Suns were the better team in 07 and you're calling me the troll? :lmao

I didnt say they were the better team, I said they have a legit complaint and there is no way of knowing how that series would have unfolded in Games 5 and 7. We saw what happened in Game 6, we destroyed them. I never said the Suns were better. I still think we take the series in 6 but they didnt get a fair shake in Game 5. Whatver, Im not losing any sleep over it because of series like this years and 2012.

So OKC is allowed to get blown the fuck out by 40 in Game 1 but we cant lose by 20 in Game 5? The other 4 games were tight and the refs gave them 2 of those. So I dont know what point you are trying to make... Elimination game or not, blowouts can and do happen, even when teams are evenly matched.

[Mikeanaro]

L-O-fucking-L
You are so correct, these dipshits cant admit its dirty because then the whole meaning of their fucking existence is a lie. We have all these idiots telling us all about OKC and blah blah blah, I guarantee they have never played a meaningful game of basketball in their life so they dont understand anything about how much a game can change on a little call here or there, or an unlucky bounce, or a luck chuck that goes in. They cant even begin to wrap their minds around it, its painfully obvious.
Remember that old saying ¨Bread and circuses¨?
If they like to be lied and entertained with fake shit no matter what I dont wanna even think about their personal lives, relationships, jobs, politics and other things.

[Kawhitstorm]

LOL Spurs fans claiming Game 2 was stolen from them. They got the ball and Pop didn't want to call timeout because they had the advantage. The two bad calls to end Game 5 are legit complaints but that's one lousy game in the series. If the Spurs were the better team they wouldn't have gotten completely destroyed in Game 6. You guys sound like Suns fans bitching that they were the better team in 07 despite them getting their asses handed to them in Game 6 also.

The thing about Gm 5 was the Spurs would have had Gm 7 at AT&T where OKC was a completely different team, especially Roberson. The Suns on the other hand lost Gm 6 b/c they couldn't stop the Big 3 who didn't care where the game was played.

In any case, the Spurs wouldn't have beaten the Duds w/ 90s isolation offense & Porker playing major minutes.:lol

[Mikeanaro]

Only pussies and assholes blame the officiating
Amyyyyyyyyyyy
:rollin Chickenshitter

[baseline bum]

Remember that old saying ¨Bread and circuses¨?
If they like to be lied and entertained with fake shit no matter what I dont wanna even think about their personal lives, relationships, jobs, politics and other things.

Duncan and Ginobili have played their last games, what the fuck are you still doing here?

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Only pussies and assholes blame the officiating

Quoting an all time Lakers faggot troll. Real strong argument. By your logic the refs should always be absolved and the Spurs should just shoot 70% every game to make sure the refs dont fuck them at the end. Give me a break. There are so many examples of refs altering series, title runs, its disgusting. It doesnt just happen to us buddy, its a league wide thing, open your eyes.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

The thing about Gm 5 was the Spurs would have had Gm 7 at AT&T where OKC was a completely different team, especially Roberson. The Suns on the other hand lost Gm 6 b/c they couldn't stop the Big 3 who didn't care where the game was played.

This

[Mikeanaro]

Duncan and Ginobili have played their last games, what the fuck are you still doing here?
Now you are Manu and TD PR?
Not too much grey matter there it seems.

[lefty]

Quoting an all time Lakers faggot troll. Real strong argument. By your logic the refs should always be absolved and the Spurs should just shoot 70% every game to make sure the refs dont fuck them at the end. Give me a break. There are so many examples of refs altering series, title runs, its disgusting. It doesnt just happen to us buddy, its a league wide thing, open your eyes.
Thread knows his shit

Preach.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Thread (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=19320) knows his shit

Preach.

And with that, you have confirmed something I have suspected for a long time now, you are Thread. Thanks for outing yourself homie. Took the bait, too easy.

[baseline bum]

The thing about Gm 5 was the Spurs would have had Gm 7 at AT&T where OKC was a completely different team, especially Roberson. The Suns on the other hand lost Gm 6 b/c they couldn't stop the Big 3 who didn't care where the game was played.

In any case, the Spurs wouldn't have beaten the Duds w/ 90s isolation offense & Porker playing major minutes.:lol

The Spurs likely would have beaten the Warriors, Curry doesn't look like the same player at all after the knee injury. You don't have to guard him to 35 feet out now like you did before the injury. Golden State is being exposed without Curry's range opening up the easy layups they have been getting all season. That team has been all about Curry all season, the supporting cast has been massively overrated while Curry's season massively underrated.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

The Spurs likely would have beaten the Warriors, Curry doesn't look like the same player at all after the knee injury. You don't have to guard him to 35 feet out now like you did before the injury. Golden State is being exposed without Curry's range opening up the easy layups they have been getting all season. That team has been all about Curry all season, the supporting cast has been massively overrated while Curry's season massively underrated.

I agree, and Green melting down and choking is really killing them.

[Ginobilly]

So much butthurt

BB sometimes has good bball takes but sometimes I think the guy is a paid NBA shill that goes on sports message boards to protect the integrity of the league. Like I have always said: If games were called fairly by reff robots, it would be the end of their NBA/WWE/"superstars" entertainment motto. You'll have fundamental teams winning it almost every year like the UCLA bruins in the 60's. And sometimes you'll have no-name players torching your favorite NBA superstar heroes:cry That's how REAL bball is played! Real bball doesn't care about superstars, rating or corporate interests. Real basketball games are played full court; no 3 point shots, no refs(players call their own fouls), hand-checking allowed.

[Kawhitstorm]

The Spurs likely would have beaten the Warriors, Curry doesn't look like the same player at all after the knee injury. You don't have to guard him to 35 feet out now like you did before the injury. Golden State is being exposed without Curry's range opening up the easy layups they have been getting all season. That team has been all about Curry all season, the supporting cast has been massively overrated while Curry's season massively underrated.

Again, why do folks ignore that the Spurs couldn't score against the Duds?:wakeup

Curry would have been hiding on Danny & conserving energy on defense just like he did against the Blazers. Diaw would have been asked to be the 3rd scorer but he played like shyt against OKC.

Livingston also could use his height advantage which has been neutralized against OKC & Manu couldn't guard anyone. Ezeli would have been looking like Biyombo against D-Worst, tbh.:lol

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The Spurs likely would have beaten the Warriors, Curry doesn't look like the same player at all after the knee injury. You don't have to guard him to 35 feet out now like you did before the injury. Golden State is being exposed without Curry's range opening up the easy layups they have been getting all season. That team has been all about Curry all season, the supporting cast has been massively overrated while Curry's season massively underrated.

No way, the Warriors supporting cast is still too athletic for SA and the Spurs offense was awful for most of these playoffs. The Thunder's size and athleticism really hurt Golden State, neither of which the Spurs could punish the Warriors for.

The best thing about SA getting eliminated is that it hopefully allows for GS to be denied a ring.

[baseline bum]

Again, why do folks ignore that the Spurs couldn't score against the Duds?:wakeup

Curry would have been hiding on Danny & conserving energy on defense just like he did against the Blazers. Diaw would have been asked to be the 3rd scorer but he played like shyt against OKC.

They wouldn't need to put a bunch of points up against them when holding them to scores in the 80s and 90s. The regular season Warriors would have easily dispatched the Spurs in 5, but with an injured Curry and then Draymond being lazy when he's not getting easy layups off Curry's gravity I'd like the Spurs chances against them.

[baseline bum]

No way, the Warriors supporting cast is still too athletic for SA and the Spurs offense was awful for most of these playoffs. The Thunder's size and athleticism really hurt Golden State, neither of which the Spurs could punish the Warriors for.

The best thing about SA getting eliminated is that it hopefully allows for GS to be denied a ring.

Look at how shitty Green is playing when he's not getting easy points off Curry any more. That team goes as Curry does.

[midnightpulp]

Golden State is massively overrated. I'm guilty of overrating them like everyone else, but playoff basketball has a funny way of reminding us what actually works in the post-season. The teams who rebound the ball better and dominate the points-in-the-paint will be the teams that have the best chance of winning the championship. The Thunder do those two very crucial things a bit better than the Spurs and much better than the Warriors.

Tristan Thompson and Mozgov really gave GS problems last year, and I think Golden State might've lost the series had the Cavs been fully healthy.

Wardell and Co, have the next 3 games to prove us wrong, but right now, they're looking like the SSOL Suns: Impressive regular season team with a style of play that is unsustainable in the post-season. Unlike those Suns, they were lucky to sneak in a title due to injuries and/or chokes (Spurs would've probably beaten them last season, but per par, we shit on ourselves).

[Kawhitstorm]

They wouldn't need to put a bunch of points up against them when holding them to scores in the 80s and 90s. The regular season Warriors would have easily dispatched the Spurs in 5, but with an injured Curry and then Draymond being lazy when he's not getting easy layups off Curry's gravity I'd like the Spurs chances against them.
Who is to say Curry couldn't play more like he did against the Blazers if he gets to cruise on defense?:wakeup

Most likely, Softridige would have been playing like he did in Gms 3-6 so Kawhi would have been the only legit scoring option. At best, Diaw would have been a NET neutral considering how he looked in the playoffs.

Gaymond is also pissed b/c he can't punk Adams, Softridge would have been on all 4s the moment he had a bad quarter especially in a hostile environment.

Spurs barely beat them at AT&T when Curry/Klay were clanking & Softridge was having his way when Bogut/Ezeli were out. Bogut came back & dislocated Softridge's pinky.:lol (Tim looked completely unplayable & D-Worst was getting a train run on him anytime he was playing center against the Duds)

[baseline bum]

Golden State is massively overrated. I'm guilty of overrating them like everyone else, but playoff basketball has a funny way of reminding us what actually works in the post-season. The teams who rebound the ball better and dominate the points-in-the-paint will be the teams that have the best chance of winning the championship. The Thunder do those two very crucial things a bit better than the Spurs and much better than the Warriors.

Tristan Thompson and Mozgov really gave GS problems last year, and I think Golden State might've lost the series had the Cavs been fully healthy.

Wardell and Co, have the next 3 games to prove us wrong, but right now, they're looking like the SSOL Suns: Impressive regular season team with a style of play that is unsustainable in the post-season. Unlike those Suns, they were lucky to sneak in a title due to injuries and/or chokes (Spurs would've probably beaten them last season, but per par, we shit on ourselves).

I don't think it's fair at all to compare Golden State to the Suns. Phoenix just flat out didn't give a fuck about the defensive end of the floor, and Nash was never as good as Curry. This Warriors team is pretty unique in being built on a guy you have (had?) to guard as soon as he crossed midcourt. If you want to go by conventional wisdom the Heat should have threepeated, no way a team made entirely of role players should beat, much less dominate LeBron.

[midnightpulp]

The Spurs likely would have beaten the Warriors, Curry doesn't look like the same player at all after the knee injury. You don't have to guard him to 35 feet out now like you did before the injury. Golden State is being exposed without Curry's range opening up the easy layups they have been getting all season. That team has been all about Curry all season, the supporting cast has been massively overrated while Curry's season massively underrated.

I've always said that if Curry is a just a bit limited or relatively cold by his standards (something like shooting 37 percent from 3, which would be a great percentage for anyone else), Golden State is nowhere near the same team. That also illuminates the problem with their style of play. I mean, Duncan has won titles on 2 bad ankles, because the Spurs had a versatile offensive style that could attack you in a variety ways. Without Curry creating that immense spacing, the offense sputters. Their defense also suffers, because Golden State's offense is actually their defense in how it tires out players from the havoc Curry causes offensively. It's also why Raymond is a massively overrated defender.

What sucks is that if Golden State loses this series, it'll be excused with "Curry was injured," but many star players have lead their teams to titles at 75%. Problem with Curry's game is that it basically requires him to be 100% healthy. Tony had similar issues. A 90% healthy Tony would only be 60% of the player. Curry scales the same way.

[baseline bum]

Problem with Curry's game is that it basically requires him to be 100% healthy. Tony had similar issues. A 90% healthy Tony would only be 60% of the player. Curry scales the same way.

Damn, I never thought of it that way with Parker, but that's pretty dead on.

[midnightpulp]

I don't think it's fair at all to compare Golden State to the Suns. Phoenix just flat out didn't give a fuck about the defensive end of the floor, and Nash was never as good as Curry. This Warriors team is pretty unique in being built on a guy you have (had?) to guard as soon as he crossed midcourt. If you want to go by conventional wisdom the Heat should have threepeated, no way a team made entirely of role players should beat, much less dominate LeBron.

The 2014 Heat were ranked 24th in defensive rebounding percentage. The Spurs were ranked 4th. Those Heat always had trouble stopping players in the post, which is why Spoelstra conceived of that swarming defense to compensate for their lack of size. And in 2013, Parker was chewing them up with penetration (Danny and Neal got all those great looks off Parker penetration) until he strained the hamstring.

Of course GS is better than the SSOL Suns, but some of the flaws are similar in how both teams relied on pace and long range shooting in lieu of controlling the paint.

[Hoops Czar]

I don't think it's fair at all to compare Golden State to the Suns. Phoenix just flat out didn't give a fuck about the defensive end of the floor, and Nash was never as good as Curry. This Warriors team is pretty unique in being built on a guy you have (had?) to guard as soon as he crossed midcourt. If you want to go by conventional wisdom the Heat should have threepeated, no way a team made entirely of role players should beat, much less dominate LeBron.

This forum is always about the knee jerk reaction. At the start of the season, people were talking how Massively overrated the Thunder were.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=253931

It's hard to call a team overrated after a 73 win campaign the year following an NBA championship even if the league was somewhat watered down. The Nash led Suns team never even made it to a finals so there's nothing to really compare between the two. Dubs are just getting thoroughly outplayed in the series but, until the Thunder notch that 4th win, the series isn't over.

[SAGirl]

We match up slightly better than them. Also I agree Kawhis beast D made Chimp look human.

If you really think about it, if not for that Durant supernova moment in game 4. We would have beat them
We had one LMA supernova game and didn't beat them.

[SAGirl]

Again, why do folks ignore that the Spurs couldn't score against the Duds?:wakeup

Curry would have been hiding on Danny & conserving energy on defense just like he did against the Blazers. Diaw would have been asked to be the 3rd scorer but he played like shyt against OKC.

Livingston also could use his height advantage which has been neutralized against OKC & Manu couldn't guard anyone. Ezeli would have been looking like Biyombo against D-Worst, tbh.:lol
+1 Ppl here want to delude themselves that the big 2 were not done. The signs were visble against the elite team's in the RS. I remember against the Raptors we went through a long scoring drought when no one outside Kawhi and LMA could score. The supporting cast was too old, undersized and others too green and not ready. The team was done. We were going no further. Two guys by themselves cannot win a championship without support.

[testies]

we just have much better defenders for Durant and Westbrook than GS have. Klay is extremely overrated on defense, Harrison is too short for Durant.

watching this series makes me appreciate how good our defense is.. also our post-up slow offense makes sense now

GSW try to play fast and just get torched on fast break.. all in all Pop is still a great strategist but a very dumb rotation guy

[spursistan]

I've always said that if Curry is a just a bit limited or relatively cold by his standards (something like shooting 37 percent from 3, which would be a great percentage for anyone else), Golden State is nowhere near the same team. That also illuminates the problem with their style of play. I mean, Duncan has won titles on 2 bad ankles, because the Spurs had a versatile offensive style that could attack you in a variety ways. Without Curry creating that immense spacing, the offense sputters. Their defense also suffers, because Golden State's offense is actually their defense in how it tires out players from the havoc Curry causes offensively. It's also why Raymond is a massively overrated defender.

What sucks is that if Golden State loses this series, it'll be excused with "Curry was injured," but many star players have lead their teams to titles at 75%. Problem with Curry's game is that it basically requires him to be 100% healthy. Tony had similar issues. A 90% healthy Tony would only be 60% of the player. Curry scales the same way.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjRiBEWWYAAqCtE.jpg

[SAGirl]

^^^ Admission OKC just found a groove defensively as a team, have size athletes and Russ and Roberson were tiring him the F out.

[Kawhitstorm]

we just have much better defenders for Durant and Westbrook than GS have. Klay is extremely overrated on defense, Harrison is too short for Durant.

watching this series makes me appreciate how good our defense is.. also our post-up slow offense makes sense now

GSW try to play fast and just get torched on fast break.. all in all Pop is still a great strategist but a very dumb rotation guy

OKC couldn't play KD at the 4 to speedup the pace b/c Diaw punked him in 2014 so Donovan supersized. They also couldn't play Ibaka at the 5 b/c LMA ate him alive.

Donovan adjusts his rotations based on his opponent instead of stubborn season coaches like Pop.:lol

[testies]

OKC couldn't play KD at the 4 to speedup the pace b/c Diaw punked him in 2014 so Donovan supersized. They also couldn't play Ibaka at the 5 b/c LMA ate him alive.

Donovan adjusts his rotations based on his opponent instead of stubborn season coaches like Pop.:lol

There wasn't much else we could do tbh. Of course playing less West, but it was a very even series, one different call, one made shot was the difference.

[Kawhitstorm]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjRiBEWWYAAqCtE.jpg

Teams never admit injuries until the series is over, Chris Paul said the same thing until they lost the Rockets series.

[Kawhitstorm]

There wasn't much else we could do tbh. Of course playing less West, but it was a very even series, one different call, one made shot was the difference.
What about starting Diaw & having him guard Ibaka/posting him up while Tim comes off the bench to match up against Kanter.:wakeup

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Poop and the fuckin' Turd Towers cost the SA Shits this year when it counted

[Mnky]

+1 Ppl here want to delude themselves that the big 2 were not done. The signs were visble against the elite team's in the RS. I remember against the Raptors we went through a long scoring drought when no one outside Kawhi and LMA could score. The supporting cast was too old, undersized and others too green and not ready. The team was done. We were going no further. Two guys by themselves cannot win a championship without support.

Although I agree that Pop relied way too much on what are effectively role players in Duncan and gino and even Tony, who played his role the worse, This team was definitely capable of a deep playoff run. The role players had a horrible shooting series. They all shot below average, and though the thunder have a good defense, spurs were missing wide open shots constantly. A poor shooting series will do that against any opponent. Spurs were keeping the thunder relatively in check defensively until they lost their will to fight due to the bad shooting.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Although I agree that Pop relied way too much on what are effectively role players in Duncan and gino and even Tony, who played his role the worse, This team was definitely capable of a deep playoff run. The role players had a horrible shooting series. They all shot below average, and though the thunder have a good defense, spurs were missing wide open shots constantly. A poor shooting series will do that against any opponent. Spurs were keeping the thunder relatively in check defensively until they lost their will to fight due to the bad shooting.

Doesn't help when you trot out the Turd Towers against Kanter/Adams, Fathead (a guy who can't score or guard anyone quick), Tin Man (a washed up ref-reliant scrub who won't get his calls against the Thunderefs), and Nick Van Mills (a chucking 5' 10" scrub who is absolutely helpless on defense)... this one is on Poop, per par, just like 2012 for the same behind-the-curve shit and 2015 for the HAJ-when-leading-by-double-digits bull shit.

[Mnky]

Doesn't help when you trot out the Turd Towers against Kanter/Adams, Fathead (a guy who can't score or guard anyone quick), Tin Man (a washed up ref-reliant scrub who won't get his calls against the Thunderefs), and Nick Van Mills (a chucking 5' 10" scrub who is absolutely helpless on defense)... this one is on Poop, per par, just like 2012 for the same behind-the-curve shit and 2015 for the HAJ-when-leading-by-double-digits bull shit.

Actually, it does help when you make your shots. As evident in game 1. The gameplan was fine. Even with the spurs all shooting below their averages, they were in fighting chance each loss. The shots were there, the players didn't capitalize. On the other side, the thunder role players made the most of their opportunities.

[baseline bum]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjRiBEWWYAAqCtE.jpg

Of course Kerr's going to say that, coming up on a must win he doesn't want to give his team an excuse to blow the game.

[Maddog]

OKC couldn't play KD at the 4 to speedup the pace b/c Diaw punked him in 2014 so Donovan supersized. They also couldn't play Ibaka at the 5 b/c LMA ate him alive.

Donovan adjusts his rotations based on his opponent instead of stubborn season coaches like Pop.:lol


There wasn't much else we could do tbh. Of course playing less West, but it was a very even series, one different call, one made shot was the difference.



It's easy to make adjustments when you have the tools. I give Donovan credit, he used them properly.
Pop just didn't have them for OKC. That said this series was basically a coin flip form a game 7 in SA.
Just break it down
Blow out wins 1 each (1 and 6)
Solid Wins 1 each (3 and 4)
Coin flip wins OKC 2

Let's also give OKC some credit. The number one problem they've always had was not being smart. Somehow they've reined that in.
Also this team is loaded with talent. They've got 5 lottery picks under the age of 30. The Spurs? One Lottery pick aged 30. One aged 40.

[Agloco]

OKC is better than Spurs

Much much better


Pretty much this. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

The Spurs were literally 3 possessions away from winning the series 4-1.

Let's not get carried away by the last two games vs GSW. OKC is better but the margin is razor thin.

[soxxx]

Didnt hear many people say Curry was hurt when he broke the OT record against the Blazers or when he played a solid game in game 2.

The fact is he is no-showing the same way he did in the finals for a couple games last year.

[hater]

The Spurs were literally 3 possessions away from winning the series 4-1.

Let's not get carried away by the last two games vs GSW. OKC is better but the margin is razor thin.

OKC was like a terminator robot learning from us the first 4 games. Once they knew how to play us, they anihilated us. If they had played more games, OKC would win each additional game by 45.

Lets not lie to ourselves and believe we were close to OKC

[Gervin44Silas13]

OKC played well against GSW all year. The Thunder took it up a notch in the postseason, but let's not pretend that the Warriors were ever light years better than the Thunder. That's why I was really hoping LAC could get that 3 seed and Oklahoma would be matched up against Golden State in the second round.

The Thunder were up dbl digits in every game during the RS....they found out how not to lose against the dubs this time around

[Gervin44Silas13]

Teams never admit injuries until the series is over, Chris Paul said the same thing until they lost the Rockets series.

Only his vagina hurts

[SPURt]

If any team can come back from 3-1 it's this Warriors team. With that said, OKC looks like it has put all the pieces together and it would take an epic breakdown for them to choke away three games in a row.

The thing I saw in the Spurs series was the OKC role players find their confidence. 2014 was so special because Green/Mills/Splitter/Bobo/Marco et al were playing great at the same time. When guys like Roberson are contributing offensively and Waiters is knocking down clutch shots it makes OKC great. On top of that, the Thunder found a great coach in Donovan. When every team in the league was focusing on getting small enough to defeat the Warriors he valued rebounding and protecting the rim. We had to listen to pundits talk about how D Bag Green was the future of NBA bigs and Donovan is proving all of them wrong in two playoff series.

I believe both the Raptors and Cavs are better equipped from a roster standpoint to compete against the Thunder. The Raptors would be an interesting series. Biyombo and Valanciunas are big enough to rebound with OKC and Lowry/Derozan are the middle class version of Westbrook/KD. Unfortunately, unless the Love injury is something serious, I still think the Cavs advance. After beating a 67 win team then moving on to dismantle a 73 win team the Thunder's confidence is going to be at an all time high. They should be favored going into the Finals regardless who they face.

To the OP's question, the Spurs had a better roster to handle OKC on paper. Between Pop's unwillingness to change the bench rotation and Tim's decline the Spurs fell short. I can empathize with the angry feelings towards the officials, but the Spurs had a great chance to win Game 2 and 5 in spite of the refs. Game 5 was more disappointing because the Spurs couldn't score down the stretch. Offensive possession after offensive possession of an ineffective Tony Parker sealed the Spurs fate. After the first game the Thunder out rebounded the Spurs by an average of 10 rebounds per game. Just not good enough.

It is cathartic to see Draymond be the biggest negative on this Warriors team.

[Seventyniner]

Golden State is massively overrated. I'm guilty of overrating them like everyone else, but playoff basketball has a funny way of reminding us what actually works in the post-season. The teams who rebound the ball better and dominate the points-in-the-paint will be the teams that have the best chance of winning the championship. The Thunder do those two very crucial things a bit better than the Spurs and much better than the Warriors.

Tristan Thompson and Mozgov really gave GS problems last year, and I think Golden State might've lost the series had the Cavs been fully healthy.

Wardell and Co, have the next 3 games to prove us wrong, but right now, they're looking like the SSOL Suns: Impressive regular season team with a style of play that is unsustainable in the post-season. Unlike those Suns, they were lucky to sneak in a title due to injuries and/or chokes (Spurs would've probably beaten them last season, but per par, we shit on ourselves).

A bunch of revisionist history right here. If rebounding and points in the paint were all that mattered, the Grizzlies would have a ring or two by now. A team can absolutely shoot well enough to overcome deficiencies in other areas, and the reason the Grizz never truly threatened for a title is because their piss-poor outside shooting did them in.

And these Warriors play far better defense than those SOL Suns ever did.



You made a good point here:


What sucks is that if Golden State loses this series, it'll be excused with "Curry was injured," but many star players have lead their teams to titles at 75%. Problem with Curry's game is that it basically requires him to be 100% healthy. Tony had similar issues. A 90% healthy Tony would only be 60% of the player. Curry scales the same way.

I agree that Curry's injury is having a large impact on the Warriors. They don't play as a defense-first team, so when the offense fails to wear out the opposing team they get uncomfortable.

But in that case, you can't use two bad games by the Warriors (with a less-than-100% Curry) to completely invalidate their style of play and the fact that they won a title and 140 regular season games in 2 years. Seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

We played stronger D, plus we were robbed in Game 2 and 4 at the end. Regardless, we lost.

[Hoops Czar]

Of course Kerr's going to say that, coming up on a must win he doesn't want to give his team an excuse to blow the game.

Curry didn't look injured when he scored 40 points (16-32, 17 in OT) and dished out 8 assists in a game 5 win at Portland and he certainly didn't look injured when he scored 29 points (10-20) and dished out 11 assists in game 6 series clincher vs Portland. He's NOT injured. He's just playing better competition that happens to have two wing defenders (not named Green and Leonard) with athleticism that have been able to slow him down. He's struggling to shoot over the top of Durant and he can't get to the rim and finish against Westbrook.

[baseline bum]

The Spurs were literally 3 possessions away from winning the series 4-1.


As were the Thunder.

[InRareForm]

The 2014 Spurs were way better than the 2014 Thunder, they mopped the floor with them in Games 1, 2, and 5, and then destroyed them in Game 6 in OT. The 2016 Thunder kicked the ever living shit out of the Spurs in the closeout Game 6 and in the fourth quarter of Game 4. The Spurs lucked into winning Game 3 when Westrbrook and Durant made stupid turnovers to throw the game away. The only impressive game the Spurs played the entire 2016 series was Game 1.

But, but ibaka was hurt

[daslicer]

Curry didn't look injured when he scored 40 points (16-32, 17 in OT) and dished out 8 assists in a game 5 win at Portland and he certainly didn't look injured when he scored 29 points (10-20) and dished out 11 assists in game 6 series clincher vs Portland. He's NOT injured. He's just playing better competition that happens to have two wing defenders (not named Green and Leonard) with athleticism that have been able to slow him down. He's struggling to shoot over the top of Durant and he can't get to the rim and finish against Westbrook.

Pretty much this. To follow this up Curry had 28 points in game 2 on 9/15 shooting. He's fine from what I can tell from his movements on the court. He's able to do his crossovers and lateral movements which is something he wouldn't be able to do if he was injured. Curry is using the injury card to cover up getting embarrassed by Westbrook. A lot of great players play the injury card when they get humiliated in a series. I remember Shaq and Kobe making up injuries after the Spurs eliminated them in '03 just to cover up the embarrassment Duncan inflicted on them.

[Horse]

I think if the Spurs and Thunder were to play another series right now the Thunder would win in 5. No matter what, Spurs weren't going to have any answer for the size of Adams/Kanter without changes to the roster.

This Warriors series really solidifies that the Thunder were the better team.

Fuck that ref rape over and over thats the story! I'm even shocked to say the refs are fucking the warriors too.

[RD2191]

OKC is still a very stupid team. If anything they beat us because of their athleticism. What pisses me off is that the Spurs should have won that series. Our players simple choked and so did our coach. We lost 2 games by what? A combined 5 points? Not to mention the ref factor.

[Kawhitstorm]

Pretty much this. To follow this up Curry had 28 points in game 2 on 9/15 shooting. He's fine from what I can tell from his movements on the court. He's able to do his crossovers and lateral movements which is something he wouldn't be able to do if he was injured. Curry is using the injury card to cover up getting embarrassed by Westbrook. A lot of great players play the injury card when they get humiliated in a series. I remember Shaq and Kobe making up injuries after the Spurs eliminated them in '03 just to cover up the embarrassment Duncan inflicted on them.

Curry missed a couple of uncontested layups & couldn't shake off Adams. If he is 100% then he's just shook or worn out from guarding WestBrick.

[Stabula]

:lol NBA is fake

[Kawhitstorm]

OKC is still a very stupid team. If anything they beat us because of their athleticism. What pisses me off is that the Spurs should have won that series. Our players simple choked and so did our coach. We lost 2 games by what? A combined 5 points? Not to mention the ref factor.

Pop would have made Kerr seem like prime Phil Jackson & Softridge would have been getting punked by GayMond/Bogut.:lol

OKC is beating the Duds in transition, by attacking Curry & shutting down Gaymond by switching along disrupting the Duds offense w/ their length, none of which the Spurs could do effectively. Pop would have been trying to beat them in a grind it out half-court game which would have meant layup drills for the Duds b/c the Spurs would have no rim protectors & the Duds would have been able to setup their defense. The Duds also wouldn't commit as many turnovers w/ Porky/LMA/Diaw playing turnstile defense.

[RD2191]

Pop would have made Kerr seem like prime Phil Jackson & Softridge would have been getting punked by GayMond/Bogut.:lol

OKC is beating the Duds in transition, by attacking Curry & shutting down Gaymond by switching, none of which the Spurs could do effectively. Pop would have been trying to beat them in a grind it out half-court game which would have meant layup drills for the Duds b/c the Spurs would have no rim protectors & the Duds would have been able to setup their defense.

Where in my post did I mention the Dubs? I was talking about beating OKC.

[midnightpulp]

A bunch of revisionist history right here. If rebounding and points in the paint were all that mattered, the Grizzlies would have a ring or two by now. A team can absolutely shoot well enough to overcome deficiencies in other areas, and the reason the Grizz never truly threatened for a title is because their piss-poor outside shooting did them in.

And these Warriors play far better defense than those SOL Suns ever did.



You made a good point here:



I agree that Curry's injury is having a large impact on the Warriors. They don't play as a defense-first team, so when the offense fails to wear out the opposing team they get uncomfortable.

But in that case, you can't use two bad games by the Warriors (with a less-than-100% Curry) to completely invalidate their style of play and the fact that they won a title and 140 regular season games in 2 years. Seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Key phrase "Best Chance".

It's rare for teams that lack an inside offensive presence (whether that inside scoring presence is a penetrator or post player), an inside defensive presence, and rebounding to win the title. The exceptions off the top of my head are the 2011 Mavs (they still had Chandler, who was a great paint anchor during that run. Dirk also played more in the post, as well) and the 2015 Warriors.

There's no "revisionist history" here. Name all the teams that won titles who weren't above average in those three areas?

[daslicer]

Curry missed a couple of uncontested layups & couldn't shake off Adams. If he is 100% then he's just shook or worn out from guarding WestBrick.

This is what I think is going on. Westbrook has him rattled mentally and has destroyed his confidence. Curry missed a few free throws in this game which is rare since he shoots above 90 percent from the line which shows he's shook.

[TheDoctor]

If any team can come back from 3-1 it's this Warriors team. With that said, OKC looks like it has put all the pieces together and it would take an epic breakdown for them to choke away three games in a row.

The thing I saw in the Spurs series was the OKC role players find their confidence. 2014 was so special because Green/Mills/Splitter/Bobo/Marco et al were playing great at the same time. When guys like Roberson are contributing offensively and Waiters is knocking down clutch shots it makes OKC great. On top of that, the Thunder found a great coach in Donovan. When every team in the league was focusing on getting small enough to defeat the Warriors he valued rebounding and protecting the rim. We had to listen to pundits talk about how D Bag Green was the future of NBA bigs and Donovan is proving all of them wrong in two playoff series.

I believe both the Raptors and Cavs are better equipped from a roster standpoint to compete against the Thunder. The Raptors would be an interesting series. Biyombo and Valanciunas are big enough to rebound with OKC and Lowry/Derozan are the middle class version of Westbrook/KD. Unfortunately, unless the Love injury is something serious, I still think the Cavs advance. After beating a 67 win team then moving on to dismantle a 73 win team the Thunder's confidence is going to be at an all time high. They should be favored going into the Finals regardless who they face.

To the OP's question, the Spurs had a better roster to handle OKC on paper. Between Pop's unwillingness to change the bench rotation and Tim's decline the Spurs fell short. I can empathize with the angry feelings towards the officials, but the Spurs had a great chance to win Game 2 and 5 in spite of the refs. Game 5 was more disappointing because the Spurs couldn't score down the stretch. Offensive possession after offensive possession of an ineffective Tony Parker sealed the Spurs fate. After the first game the Thunder out rebounded the Spurs by an average of 10 rebounds per game. Just not good enough.

It is cathartic to see Draymond be the biggest negative on this Warriors team.

Well put :toast


Curry didn't look injured when he scored 40 points (16-32, 17 in OT) and dished out 8 assists in a game 5 win at Portland and he certainly didn't look injured when he scored 29 points (10-20) and dished out 11 assists in game 6 series clincher vs Portland. He's NOT injured. He's just playing better competition that happens to have two wing defenders (not named Green and Leonard) with athleticism that have been able to slow him down. He's struggling to shoot over the top of Durant and he can't get to the rim and finish against Westbrook.

This^ tbh. Big bodies and length has always bothered Curry and the Worriers. This is no surprise. From the Bucks to the Nets to the Pistons to OKC they all have tons of it and love to pound the paint. Unlike the Spurs, they all gave the Worriers real problems during the regular season. Granted, OKC lost all 3 games but not before leading by double digits and melting down in the 4th.

[Kawhitstorm]

This is what I think is going on. Westbrook has him rattled mentally and has destroyed his confidence. Curry missed a few free throws in this game which is rare since he shoots above 90 percent from the line which shows he's shook.

So I guess he has Tony Porker-itis:lol

[Kawhitstorm]

Where in my post did I mention the Dubs? I was talking about beating OKC.

What the point of beating OKC if they can't beat the Duds?:wakeup

[ViceCity86]

The 2014 Heat were ranked 24th in defensive rebounding percentage. The Spurs were ranked 4th. Those Heat always had trouble stopping players in the post, which is why Spoelstra conceived of that swarming defense to compensate for their lack of size. And in 2013, Parker was chewing them up with penetration (Danny and Neal got all those great looks off Parker penetration) until he strained the hamstring.

Of course GS is better than the SSOL Suns, but some of the flaws are similar in how both teams relied on pace and long range shooting in lieu of controlling the paint.

The Heat should of 3-peated,but it was 2011 they blew,not 2014.

[ViceCity86]

So far

Spurs 101.3
Thunder 100.8

Thunder 112.5
Warriors 104.8

[Hoops Czar]

So I guess he has Tony Porker-itis:lol

Until you start coming up with intelligent takes, I'm going to start calling you KiwiStorm because like the real deal, your best takes come during the regular season. :lol Curry's not 34 and he's moving fine with and without the ball. The problem with penetrating guards is once they get their shit blocked, they tend to think twice about the way they approach the paint and many times, end up altering their shot in a negative way. 16 blocked shots with over 2/3's of their overall shots in the paint being contested over the last two games will cause players to miss layups.

[Kawhitstorm]

Until you start coming up with intelligent takes, I'm going to start calling you KiwiStorm because like the real deal, your best takes come during the regular season. :lol Curry's not 34 and he's moving fine with and without the ball. The problem with penetrating guards is once they get their shit blocked, they tend to think twice about the way they approach the paint and many times, end up altering their shot in a negative way. 16 blocked shots with over 2/3's of their overall shots in the paint being contested over the last two games will cause players to miss layups.

Same thing happened to PRIME Porker against OKC in 2012 when Brooks put Thabo on him after he torched 'em in Gm 2 ala Curry.:wakeup

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Actually, it does help when you make your shots. As evident in game 1. The gameplan was fine. Even with the spurs all shooting below their averages, they were in fighting chance each loss. The shots were there, the players didn't capitalize. On the other side, the thunder role players made the most of their opportunities.

Game 6 was a massacre while the Spurs had no chance in Game 4 after the Thunderefs finally got the crowd and refs into the game roughly one quarter of the way into the 4th period.

[Mnky]

Game 6 was a massacre while the Spurs had no chance in Game 4 after the Thunderefs finally got the crowd and refs into the game roughly one quarter of the way into the 4th period.

So admittedly, game 4 was an anomaly and in game 6 they had a strong comeback but went flat again in the 4. Even if we count game 6 anyway, that's one game.

[TD 21]

Maybe it's because they're younger, so it often goes unnoticed, but the Warriors aren't all that athletic. Like the Spurs of the majority of the past half decade, they're heavily reliant on ball and player movement. The Thunder's defensive IQ/precision has now caught up to their vastly superior athleticism and the result is, they're swallowing the Warriors whole.

Hopefully, if/when the Thunder finish the job, in game 6, the Warriors, the majority of the media and closet fans, who thumbed their noses up at everyone who didn't relentlessly slobber over the Warriors for the past two years and acted as if they were jealous, in denial, antiquated or some combinations thereof, are humbled.

[Beaverfuzz]

Spurs match up much better vs the Thunder, and that's with Porker as the PG.

[phxspurfan]

I think if the Spurs and Thunder were to play another series right now the Thunder would win in 5. No matter what, Spurs weren't going to have any answer for the size of Adams/Kanter without changes to the roster.

This Warriors series really solidifies that the Thunder were the better team.

Shows that all that matters is peaking at the right time. All year I felt Warriors were like 07 Suns, peaking in the Regular Season. Unfortunately Spurs also peaked in the reg season as well (before Duncan got hurt).

[phxspurfan]

The 2014 Heat were ranked 24th in defensive rebounding percentage. The Spurs were ranked 4th. Those Heat always had trouble stopping players in the post, which is why Spoelstra conceived of that swarming defense to compensate for their lack of size. And in 2013, Parker was chewing them up with penetration (Danny and Neal got all those great looks off Parker penetration) until he strained the hamstring.

Of course GS is better than the SSOL Suns, but some of the flaws are similar in how both teams relied on pace and long range shooting in lieu of controlling the paint.


SSOL Suns had prime Shawn Marion and prime Amare. They did fine with rebounds and points in the paint. They just didn't get clutch performances like we got and got Donaghy'd out of the series (and of course made stupid choices like running onto the court).

SSOL Suns was the best Suns team ever (better than MVP Sir Charles/KJ/Majerle even) but 07 Spurs also had prime big 3 + Bowen, big shot Rob, and the ball bounced the Spurs way. We couldn't stop the Nash/Amare pick n roll, but Amare alone couldn't win that series for them.

2 time MVP Nash btw was no slouch, even compared to Curry. He was 50/40/90 and a better playmaker, by a little bit. He just didn't have unlimited range like Curry. But he was more clutch than Curry in the postseason.

[Seventyniner]

Key phrase "Best Chance".

It's rare for teams that lack an inside offensive presence (whether that inside scoring presence is a penetrator or post player), an inside defensive presence, and rebounding to win the title. The exceptions off the top of my head are the 2011 Mavs (they still had Chandler, who was a great paint anchor during that run. Dirk also played more in the post, as well) and the 2015 Warriors.

There's no "revisionist history" here. Name all the teams that won titles who weren't above average in those three areas?


The 2013 Heat were 23rd in total rebound%, obv well below average.
https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/total-rebounding-percentage?date=2013-06-20
(https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/total-rebounding-percentage?date=2013-06-20)For comparison: 2015 Warriors 16th, 2014 Spurs 15th, 2012 Heat 12th. No correlation at all for the last 6 years. Teamrankings doesn't go back past 2011 though, and I know the 2009-2010 Lakers were huge on rebounding (especially offensive) like this year's Thunder.


I don't know how tight your definitions of "inside offensive presence" and "inside defensive presence" are. I'm not sure Bosh counts as either; he did much of his damage as a small-ball 5 that could space the floor and guard the perimeter on switches. It's hard to imagine a team that has a complete zero for both of those. Shaq, Duncan, Pau surely count and that covers nearly all the rings since 1999.


I can't even agree with "best chance" though. The Grizzlies formula mostly failing in the playoffs plus the Warriors winning the title last year makes me lean away from such absolutes. A damn good team is a damn good team, regardless of if they prioritize defense, rebounding, shooting, or whatever.


I'll admit that "revisionist history" was the wrong term for me to use. But it seems that you're just proclaiming that the strength of the best team of the moment (OC) is what the entire league (or even just the Spurs) needs to do. Would you change your mind if the Warriors come back and win the series? Especially if it's playing their own way? Or if the Thunder lose in the Finals?

[phxspurfan]

Well put :toast



This^ tbh. Big bodies and length has always bothered Curry and the Worriers. This is no surprise. From the Bucks to the Nets to the Pistons to OKC they all have tons of it and love to pound the paint. Unlike the Spurs, they all gave the Worriers real problems during the regular season. Granted, OKC lost all 3 games but not before leading by double digits and melting down in the 4th.


Heat too. Whiteside took it to them IIRC in the reg season. GS won I believe but they were shook that game too.

[tholdren]

spurs could have won if gregg would have told kl and lma to stop being jump shooters and not played david west. not too hard to figure out, really

[SAGirl]

Although I agree that Pop relied way too much on what are effectively role players in Duncan and gino and even Tony, who played his role the worse, This team was definitely capable of a deep playoff run. The role players had a horrible shooting series. They all shot below average, and though the thunder have a good defense, spurs were missing wide open shots constantly. A poor shooting series will do that against any opponent. Spurs were keeping the thunder relatively in check defensively until they lost their will to fight due to the bad shooting.
Bad shooting was a result of LMA and Kawhi having too heavy of a burden with little support, which is why 2 guys by themselves don't win. Both the only ones tasked with imposing their will and scoring against set defenses, plus the boarding the boxing out, the defense, etc. It was too much for them without help. Danny was the only one consistently making plays. Tony only had a couple of good games, Tim only showed up for his retirement game, Manu is done, etc. With even one of those guys in a better state, hell yea. I have said with 2015 Timmy we win that series, same as with early season, or 2014 Manu... but those guys are gone. Some here thought Kawhi and/or LMA should have played 44-48 minutes. It would not have mattered IMO (but to each his own, opinions are like a butthole everyone has one, so I have mine too).

The bench was terrible scoring bc they had no inside presence, there was no big to run a damn quality PnR, Manu cannot turn a corner and get into the paint. He has maybe added 3 years to his career in his twilight bc he is still as superb PnR passer, but he did not have a fricking competent big to run it with this season. That might be more significant than Anderson who was a roleplayer tasked with defense for 3-5 minutes and standing in a corner. By the way he wasn't open, bc everyone in the bench could be guarded one on one. The bench could not score without LMA and Kawhi at all, and I have seen numbers that indicate that Kawhi's efficiency was significantly worse when playing without LMA. I wonder why? From having to carry a motherfricking TOSB bench is why!

We didn't have the depth quite honestly and I wonder why guys were missing shots bc over half the roster is done.

[Mnky]

Bad shooting was a result of LMA and Kawhi having too heavy of a burden with little support, which is why 2 guys by themselves don't win. Both the only ones tasked with imposing their will and scoring against set defenses, plus the boarding the boxing out, the defense, etc. It was too much for them without help. Danny was the only one consistently making plays. Tony only had a couple of good games, Tim only showed up for his retirement game, Manu is done, etc. With even one of those guys in a better state, hell yea. I have said with 2015 Timmy we win that series, same as with early season, or 2014 Manu... but those guys are gone. Some here thought Kawhi and/or LMA should have played 44-48 minutes. It would not have mattered IMO (but to each his own, opinions are like a butthole everyone has one, so I have mine too).

The bench was terrible scoring bc they had no inside presence, there was no big to run a damn quality PnR, Manu cannot turn a corner and get into the paint. He has maybe added 3 years to his career in his twilight bc he is still as superb PnR passer, but he did not have a fricking competent big to run it with this season. That might be more significant than Anderson who was a roleplayer tasked with defense for 3-5 minutes and standing in a corner. By the way he wasn't open, bc everyone in the bench could be guarded one on one. The bench could not score without LMA and Kawhi at all, and I have seen numbers that indicate that Kawhi's efficiency was significantly worse when playing without LMA. I wonder why? From having to carry a motherfricking TOSB bench is why!

We didn't have the depth quite honestly and I wonder why guys were missing shots bc over half the roster is done.

Bruh, you seem like it still hurts... :lol
We got next year homie. :toast

[SAGirl]

Bruh, you seem like it still hurts... :lol
We got next year homie. :toast
:toast cheers thanks!
nah I am quite fine and enjoying OKC's run but I am kind of against all the blame Pop, LMA, Kawhi or Anderson crew. Losing proposition I know. I just think a lot of old timers don't want to admit the big 3 were probably the most to blame. Nothing we can do bc its father time, but why not admit it and instead blame Pop, blame the two young stars who even had us in position to win those games to begin with and Anderson who played 3-5 minutes in real games with the limited role of providing some defense and standing in a corner? Nah! Those different crews are just deflecting.

[midnightpulp]

The 2013 Heat were 23rd in total rebound%, obv well below average.
https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/total-rebounding-percentage?date=2013-06-20
(https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/total-rebounding-percentage?date=2013-06-20)For comparison: 2015 Warriors 16th, 2014 Spurs 15th, 2012 Heat 12th. No correlation at all for the last 6 years. Teamrankings doesn't go back past 2011 though, and I know the 2009-2010 Lakers were huge on rebounding (especially offensive) like this year's Thunder.


I don't know how tight your definitions of "inside offensive presence" and "inside defensive presence" are. I'm not sure Bosh counts as either; he did much of his damage as a small-ball 5 that could space the floor and guard the perimeter on switches. It's hard to imagine a team that has a complete zero for both of those. Shaq, Duncan, Pau surely count and that covers nearly all the rings since 1999.


I can't even agree with "best chance" though. The Grizzlies formula mostly failing in the playoffs plus the Warriors winning the title last year makes me lean away from such absolutes. A damn good team is a damn good team, regardless of if they prioritize defense, rebounding, shooting, or whatever.


I'll admit that "revisionist history" was the wrong term for me to use. But it seems that you're just proclaiming that the strength of the best team of the moment (OC) is what the entire league (or even just the Spurs) needs to do. Would you change your mind if the Warriors come back and win the series? Especially if it's playing their own way? Or if the Thunder lose in the Finals?

Defense rebounding percentage is more important than offensive rebounding percentage, since the former typically defines how well you are limiting second chance opportunities. The Spurs could've been a great offensive rebounding team if they chose to, but Pop elected to go with the strategy of not crashing the boards so the team could get back on defense faster to better defend the fast break. I'm not dismissing offensive rebounding, the repeat Lakers won titles on the strength of it, but defensive rebounding percentage seems to correlate stronger with post-season success than o-rebounding. Go to bbref and see for yourself. The teams with the highest defensive rebounding percentage will also generally rank highly in SRS. Another strong correlation is 0-3 feet shooting percentage.

Even though the Heat were below average in two of the "crucial" areas, they were best team in the league at attacking the paint with Lebron and Wade (best 0-3 feet percentage in the league). Furthermore, those assholes should've been 1-and-done, but per par for our Spurs, we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. That's why there's always "exceptions," because of chokejobs, hot streaks, etc, but generally, a team whose greatest strength is outside shooting but who are below average in those areas doesn't usually fare well in the post season.

If Golden State can pull it out, I might change my mind. Hell, my mind was already changed, since I thought they were pretty much the GOAT team, with these playoffs just being a glorified victory lap for them, but the Thunder are showing us that size and speed still kill, and possibly still kill more effectively than shooting 40 threes a game. Furthermore, they caught a break last season. I think if Irving had played, Cleveland wins the title.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

SSOL Suns had prime Shawn Marion and prime Amare. They did fine with rebounds and points in the paint. They just didn't get clutch performances like we got and got Donaghy'd out of the series (and of course made stupid choices like running onto the court).

SSOL Suns was the best Suns team ever (better than MVP Sir Charles/KJ/Majerle even) but 07 Spurs also had prime big 3 + Bowen, big shot Rob, and the ball bounced the Spurs way. We couldn't stop the Nash/Amare pick n roll, but Amare alone couldn't win that series for them.

2 time MVP Nash btw was no slouch, even compared to Curry. He was 50/40/90 and a better playmaker, by a little bit. He just didn't have unlimited range like Curry. But he was more clutch than Curry in the postseason.

Nash was the best player in the NBA two years in a row, similar to Curry. Suns just had rotten luck in the playoffs. If they had gotten to play 2 injured contenders and 2 weak teams all during the same playoff run, they would have definitely won a title too.

[Mnky]

:toast cheers thanks!
nah I am quite fine and enjoying OKC's run but I am kind of against all the blame Pop, LMA, Kawhi or Anderson crew. Losing proposition I know. I just think a lot of old timers don't want to admit the big 3 were probably the most to blame. Nothing we can do bc its father time, but why not admit it and instead blame Pop, blame the two young stars who even had us in position to win those games to begin with and Anderson who played 3-5 minutes in real games with the limited role of providing some defense and standing in a corner? Nah! Those different crews are just deflecting.

Definitely need a youth upgrade, if not, just better role players. Big 3 for outplayed in all areas.

I'm enjoying OKC drop a deuce on people as well. Couldn't tell you how many people on here argued against Westbrook and how much of a negative he was for his team. :lol or how beta Durant was and how he can't win. This is the first time they've had legitimate depth.
Couch analysts and their statistics.. never touched a basketball in their life, believing they know the game better than professionals.

Kawhi and LMA is a great core to build around though. Excited to see where they go. Can't wait till draft night. Likely as ever to make some moves if they're looking to unload players. We also will have some interesting choice at 29 with all the players declaring early this year.

[Uriel]

Games 2 and 5 were decided by the slimmest of margins. If we had won either of those games, we probably would've won the series.

OKC is a great team and they're playing their best basketball of the season at the exact right time, but let's not pretend that they were light years better than us.

[hater]

I actually think game 4 was so winnable. We were dominating them but Durant decided to go in raw. He looked like TMac vs Dpurs out there.

[DPG21920]

^^^ Admission OKC just found a groove defensively as a team, have size athletes and Russ and Roberson were tiring him the F out.

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736205962470690817

[ceperez]

Games 2 and 5 were decided by the slimmest of margins. If we had won either of those games, we probably would've won the series.

OKC is a great team and they're playing their best basketball of the season at the exact right time, but let's not pretend that they were light years better than us.

I agree, Spurs could have beaten OKC despite not getting a lot of mileage from the bench and not have a good game from Duncan for most of the games.

Problem moving forward is OKC role players are young and will get better. Spurs role players are old and will only get worse.

[kobyz]

Spurs can't win close games...

[SAGirl]

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736205962470690817
Apparently so did we in our series and guys didn't knock them down whether they tire guys out with their energy forcing them to expend a lot of energy on defense, it's not a coincidence.

[DPG21920]

Apparently so did we in our series and guys didn't knock them down whether they tire guys out with their energy forcing them to expend a lot of energy on defense, it's not a coincidence.

I think a lot of time it is. Shooting can have a big variance especially over a short period of time. People get focused on the result and want to attribute it to something. Sometimes, guys miss. That doesn't mean OKC played terrible defense or anything, but beyond the eye ball test, both SA & GS missed makeable looks.

It happens.

[SAGirl]

I think a lot of time it is. Shooting can have a big variance especially over a short period of time. People get focused on the result and want to attribute it to something. Sometimes, guys miss. That doesn't mean OKC played terrible defense or anything, but beyond the eye ball test, both SA & GS missed makeable looks.

It happens.
They got a lot of easy looks with all the TO Russ had too. Can't play good defense if you are turning the ball over at that rate.

[K...]

Definitely need a youth upgrade, if not, just better role players. Big 3 for outplayed in all areas.

I'm enjoying OKC drop a deuce on people as well. Couldn't tell you how many people on here argued against Westbrook and how much of a negative he was for his team. :lol or how beta Durant was and how he can't win. This is the first time they've had legitimate depth.
Couch analysts and their statistics.. never touched a basketball in their life, believing they know the game better than professionals.

Kawhi and LMA is a great core to build around though. Excited to see where they go. Can't wait till draft night. Likely as ever to make some moves if they're looking to unload players. We also will have some interesting choice at 29 with all the players declaring early this year.

Those people were right though, there is no crow to eat.

Unt guitar dude and hater called Adams being a menace, Harlem called Westbrook. But no one called Roberson and waiters. No one imagined kanter not being abused. Westbrook and Durant have never worked together this well. We are either setting sudden maturity or a rare convergence of two guys checking their ego.

[DPG21920]

They got a lot of easy looks with all the TO Russ had too. Can't play good defense if you are turning the ball over at that rate.

Sure, but even outside of that, GS getting quality looks pretty consistently.

Watch the video:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=15744840

[SAGirl]

Sure, but even outside of that, GS getting quality looks pretty consistently.

Watch the video:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=15744840
Won't watch it bc I watched the game. Can't stop everything bc GSW moves the ball well, if you take out all the easy looks bcc of the TO, OKC wins the game.

[DPG21920]

Those people were right though, there is no crow to eat.

Unt guitar dude and hater called Adams being a menace, Harlem called Westbrook. But no one called Roberson and waiters. No one imagined kanter not being abused. Westbrook and Durant have never worked together this well. We are either setting sudden maturity or a rare convergence of two guys checking their ego.

Also, people are obsessing over the results. What if OKC didn't get blown calls in their favor vs SA and lost those games is anyone saying anything?

How about the fact WB shot 37% from the field vs SA? Sure he does a lot of other things, but people act like because OKC won that everything they did was gold and that is just not true.

How about the fact OKC gave up more uncontested shots than contested vs SA? SA missed good looks, but now because of the result "all credit to that amazing OKC defense".

It's not to knock OKC - they have played amazingly well overall and while they have had really good fortune (FT disparity, 50.50 calls in their favor, teams missing good looks) they have done way more good than bad and have had everyone step up when they needed to.

[DPG21920]

Won't watch it bc I watched the game. Can't stop everything bc GSW moves the ball well, if you take out all the easy looks bcc of the TO, OKC wins the game.

Well that is incredibly stubborn and you have already admitted you just hate GS :lol. I will leave it at that then since it's not a real conversation but a biased one.

Last note, you can't just eliminate their TO's. OKC only had 2 more TO's than GS so if you take away those from them as well, GS still generated better looks overall.

[SAGirl]

Well that is incredibly stubborn and you have already admitted you just hate GS :lol. I will leave it at that then since it's not a real conversation but a biased one.

Last note, you can't just eliminate their TO's. OKC only had 2 more TO's than GS so if you take away those from them as well, GS still generated better looks overall.
Ok DPG. I respect you and all but GSW will lose next game. Their win wasn't really that impressive and they will be crushed at OKC. I think they even are the mentally weaker team too, or more prone to get carried away by bad calls.I was more impressed by OKC in its defeat than GSW in their win.

[DPG21920]

Ok DPG. I respect you and all but GSW will lose next game. Their win wasn't really that impressive and they will be crushed at OKC. I think they even are the mentally weaker team too, or more prone to get carried away by bad calls.I was more impressed by OKC in its defeat than GSW in their win.

I don't disagree at all, in fact I said the exact same thing last night in the game thread and on Twitter:

736037358030585856

736036506884657152

736036613042536449

The difference is, I don't hate one of the teams so much I can't even bring myself to discuss it objectively. OKC has been better, but again, I personally just hate analysing the result without looking at the process. It's empty to me and pointless (to me I mean, others don't care about it that much and it's cool).

[SAGirl]

Also, people are obsessing over the results. What if OKC didn't get blown calls in their favor vs SA and lost those games is anyone saying anything?

How about the fact WB shot 37% from the field vs SA? Sure he does a lot of other things, but people act like because OKC won that everything they did was gold and that is just not true.

How about the fact OKC gave up more uncontested shots than contested vs SA? SA missed good looks, but now because of the result "all credit to that amazing OKC defense".

It's not to knock OKC - they have played amazingly well overall and while they have had really good fortune (FT disparity, 50.50 calls in their favor, teams missing good looks) they have done way more good than bad and have had everyone step up when they needed to.
For our series, yes we had a very small margin for error and blown calls that went against us did us in. I think it was a winnable series but I am not sour about it bc I saw an OKC team that played as a team better than I had seen them b4 and their effort was sufficient to win. Once Donovan figured us out there wasn't much Pop could do to hide the guys who were done.

I think our chances to win it all after that series were slim anyways bc old age really did Timmy and Manu in. The next series against GSW would have been even more of a challenge. One always roots for the team but when you get to the postseason and guys the team relied heavily upon look done as or very injured, and role players don't show up, one can tell it just wasn't our year.

[DPG21920]

For our series, yes we had a very small margin for error and blown calls that went against us did us in. I think it was a winnable series but I am not sour about it bc I saw an OKC team that played as a team better than I had seen them b4 and their effort was sufficient to win. Once Donovan figured us out there wasn't much Pop could do to hide the guys who were done.

I think our chances to win it all after that series were slim anyways bc old age really did Timmy and Manu in. The next series against GSW would have been even more of a challenge. One always roots for the team but when you get to the postseason and guys the team relied heavily upon look done as or very injured, and role players don't show up, one can tell it just wasn't our year.

I agree (especially on the 2nd part), but the first part is chicken/egg (with regards to Pop). Like the video I shared w/ regards to GS/OKC, what is a coach to do when the offense is generating the looks it wants (and open ones at that) but guys are just missing shots they have proven they can make all year?

Sometimes there is not some big fancy adjustment (although there were some obvious tweaks that could have helped) when you are a coach and counting on guys to execute better. Offense is not about making shots go in (that is the result). It's about generating the most open & high percentage looks you can get which in turn gives you the best probability of the desired outcome.

I think Pop could have helped with some adjustments but at the same time I don't blame him because like me, he was probably in shock that the guys were just missing and didn't want to change anything when the offense was functioning well with shots they were comfortable with .

Same with Kerr.

[DPG21920]

But in answering the OP, I think SA definitely played OKC better while at the same time OKC is playing much better this series as well. It's both which is why you see OKC dictating pace, scoring a ton and blowing GS out.

Spurs played OKC very well (better than GS has) & I also think OKC wasn't playing as well as they could vs SA so games were all close (because SA wasn't playing particularly well in the area of making shots/rebounding).

[SAGirl]

I don't disagree at all, in fact I said the exact same thing last night in the game thread and on Twitter:

736037358030585856

736036506884657152

736036613042536449

The difference is, I don't hate one of the teams so much I can't even bring myself to discuss it objectively. OKC has been better, but again, I personally just hate analysing the result without looking at the process. It's empty to me and pointless (to me I mean, others don't care about it that much and it's cool).
I watched the games though which has firmed my subjective opinion. The fact I don't go through the process as you do, revisiting the game doesn't make my point less valid. You can't stop everything in a team that moves the ball as well as GSW does and on the road OKC aggravated their situation with really bad TO at times they could have put GSW away. The bad calls like in our games also came at different times, specially early to force OKC into a slow start. Get GSW didn't put them away. Like I said they just really weren't impressive and OKC never gives up. They will respond with runs of their own + kept their minds in the game through the blown calls. I thought Russ made a few TO in a row in the 3rd and looked tired like he should have sat. In those situations in OKC Dion Waiters or Foye would pitch in a few possessions. On the road the ratepayers weren't there at the same level, but they will show up at OKC. Moreover OKC is not scared by this team. They played like they really thought they could close out that series on the road.

With regard to the GSW, they were active defensively, yes they forced TO, their roleplayers showed up. Mo Speights for example and Livingston did for them what our bench failed to do, bought them rest, kept momentum in their favor. They played a good game, but OKC will play better at home and even their best game at home by GSW was not sufficient to break their competitive spirit. So bottom line, I can give you my opinion and review w/o watching the video you shared bc it wasn't going to change my opinion.

[DPG21920]

Well, if the tide turns and GS wins again, studying the games and what actually happened and why vs just the result will give you insight (is why I do it).

[SAGirl]

I agree (especially on the 2nd part), but the first part is chicken/egg (with regards to Pop). Like the video I shared w/ regards to GS/OKC, what is a coach to do when the offense is generating the looks it wants (and open ones at that) but guys are just missing shots they have proven they can make all year?

Sometimes there is not some big fancy adjustment (although there were some obvious tweaks that could have helped) when you are a coach and counting on guys to execute better. Offense is not about making shots go in (that is the result). It's about generating the most open & high percentage looks you can get which in turn gives you the best probability of the desired outcome.

I think Pop could have helped with some adjustments but at the same time I don't blame him because like me, he was probably in shock that the guys were just missing and didn't want to change anything when the offense was functioning well with shots they were comfortable with .

Same with Kerr.
With regards to Kerr, I have no response really bc I am not a GSW follower. This season I only watched their games against us, the series against OKC and some games against the Rockets and Blazers, and of those that I watched of their earlier series I only watched portions. I have no idea what adjustments he can make.

For ourselves, I have my own opinions and I have listened curiously to others. I think Pop could have done things too, but he's stubborn and he stuck to the guys who he had trusted in the past, which is why to me the decline of the big 3 was the biggest factor. I think if was Chinook who said it best, they were our depth. We need better/younger depth that is going to improve with experience and even improve in the postseason. It doesn't matter if the chicken or the egg came in first if we were not at our best and didn't have the best chance to win it all anyways for me. I would have liked to have seen us advance but we weren't really at our best, so what can you do?

[SAGirl]

Well, if the tide turns and GS wins again, studying the games and what actually happened and why vs just the result will give you insight (is why I do it).
I do that with our games bc I care and know our team very well. These teams I am watching as a casual fan. Donovan has impressed me with what he's done with his team but it's not like I know the team that well either.

[spurtech09]

If Spurs were to play them again Im pretty sure Spurs could win the series....Minus the cheating refs....

[DPG21920]

Well, if the tide turns and GS wins again, studying the games and what actually happened and why vs just the result will give you insight (is why I do it).

Well, I am not totally surprised at all. I mean, it's still an amazing thing but there were plenty of signs even in the losses for GS that they were fully capable of winning games by doing much of the same.

Dion Waiters/Roberson regressed to their means over the last 3 games (not a shock).

GS started hitting more shots; both open (there were plenty of those) & contested (what they have done all year).

OKC missed some of the looks they were making (especially from 3) and again this is not a surprise. They were a very mediocre 3PT shooting team all year so them keeping pace in the first 4 games with GS was not a likely outcome.

The blown 4th quarter leads and TO's that they overcame vs SA/GS did them in vs GS as well.

The result is what people will focus on and I get it, but the tea leaves were there the entire time (but nothing is guaranteed obviously as we saw with OKC vs SA where the same signs were there).

[HarlemHeat37]

OKC had a nice stretch of luck in these playoffs, tbh..their defense was mediocre, just like it was during the RS, they allowed a ton of open looks, according to SportsVu, the other teams just couldn't capitalize..the 3-1 meltdown version of the Thunder was closer to the "real" OKC..

[DPG21920]

That's what I was saying. It's not that they played bad - far from it. But a tiger usually doesn't change it's stripes for long stretches. They could have lost to SA & ended up losing to GS. They played their usual ball and came up aces on a lot of coin tosses.

It's not a knock at all either. They are a damn good team and had a legit shot to win this series (even if it was a little fluky).

[HarlemHeat37]

^^It's just how basketball works, sometimes..

The ultimate result is very predictable in the NBA, but the ride to the finish line can be interesting..Andre Roberson having literally the best shooting stretch of his career is something you can't predict, but can be certain that it's only temporary..

[DPG21920]

For sure. But that's why analysing the actual process vs just going off of the result usually wins out. Sure, a team can overcome odds and do things differently over a small sample size, but usually the numbers don't lie over the longer term.

[Kawhitstorm]

That's what I was saying. It's not that they played bad - far from it. But a tiger usually doesn't change it's stripes for long stretches. They could have lost to SA & ended up losing to GS. They played their usual ball and came up aces on a lot of coin tosses.

They turned the ball over & took bad shots in Gm 2/Gm 5 against the Spurs, it's just that the Spurs could make 'em pay.

-In Gm 2, Patty Mills AIR BALLED what would have been a potential game winner after the turnover on the inbound.
-In Gm 5, they turned the ball over twice in the final minute but Porker missed two consecutive jumpers. (They also got bailed out by a bogus foul that resulted in two FTs for KD)

They also made up for their terrible shot selection by pounding the Spurs on the offensive glass but they couldn't play Kanter/Adams together in the WCF.

Curry badly outplayed WestBrick in the final 3 games of the WCF & that was all she wrote.

[spursistan]

They turned the ball over & took bad shots in Gm 2/Gm 5 against the Spurs, it's just that the Spurs could make 'em pay.

-In Gm 2, Patty Mills AIR BALLED what would have been a potential game winner after the turnover on the inbound.
-In Gm 5, they turned the ball over twice in the final minute but Porker missed two consecutive jumpers. (They also got bailed out by a bogus foul that resulted in two FTs for KD)

They also made up for their terrible shot selection by pounding the Spurs on the offensive glass but they couldn't play Kanter/Adams together in the WCF.

Curry badly outplayed WestBrick in the final 3 games of the WCF & that was all she wrote.

It is all moot..I'm kinda at peace with getting bounced because we were pretenders at core, and GSW would have shredded our sorry asses..

[DPG21920]

It is all moot..I'm kinda at peace with getting bounced because we were pretenders at core, and GSW would have shredded our sorry asses..

I disagree. SA defense was legit, even with hobbled Tim. Look at what SA did to OKC offense vs what GS did. SA had success vs GS on defense in RS as well. Could SA have scored enough? Doubtful, but I think SA would have made it competitive (even if not as competitive as OKC did).

[spurtech09]

I disagree. SA defense was legit, even with hobbled Tim. Look at what SA did to OKC offense vs what GS did. SA had success vs GS on defense in RS as well. Could SA have scored enough? Doubtful, but I think SA would have made it competitive (even if not as competitive as OKC did).
+1

[SAGirl]

I disagree. SA defense was legit, even with hobbled Tim. Look at what SA did to OKC offense vs what GS did. SA had success vs GS on defense in RS as well. Could SA have scored enough? Doubtful, but I think SA would have made it competitive (even if not as competitive as OKC did).
Scoring was always the issue with us outside the big 2 (see all the threads criticizing the committee, etc.) The other issue was the bench reliance on Manu and the turd towers.

[Kawhitstorm]

It is all moot..I'm kinda at peace with getting bounced because we were pretenders at core, and GSW would have shredded our sorry asses..

I agree but my point was that OKC looked LEGIT b/c Curry wasn't anywhere close to a 100% which snowballed into exposing GayMond & fueling OKC's transiton game b/c of their missed shots / turnover, otherwise even the Spurs could have beaten 'em despite Tim being crippled.