Western Conference 2013 vs 2012

[Embedded]

I'm watching the OKC vs. LAC game, and this comes to mind.

I think the Spurs have gotten better - I think Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard will do better this time, and have shown improvement and Tiago Splitter has become our Iron Man and is playing at a much higher level than last year.

OKC doesn't have James Harden anymore and that is huge. Kevin Martin is NOT James Harden. He has shown sometimes to be mentally fragile, and he can't take over a game like the Bearded One. In the guts of a playoff game I think he might disappear.

Sometimes it seems like the L.A. Clippers are pretenders. They don't make in-game adjustments, and if you shut down their running game they can stink it up. I think they were trying to trade a couple of players to strengthen their TEAM.

Memphis gave up Rudy Gay

I know there's a lot of hooplah, but I like our chances this year.

[bklynspursfan]

Gotta be healthy... That's our biggest obstacle

[HarlemHeat37]

Contrary to the opinions of most die-hard basketball fans that over analyze early regular season success, the Clippers and Grizzlies were never legit contenders..

The obstacle for the Spurs remains the same as last year, OKC..the other teams are irrelevant, unless the Lakers get their totether(which appears to be a realistic possibility)..

[Leetonidas]

Clips and Grizz were never in the discussion like HH said imo, OKC is the only obstacle standing between the Spurs and the first finals appearance since 2007

[benstanfield]

Thunder are a bit worse. Chuck and Durant aren't improved enough to make up for beard loss.
Clippers aren't significantly different.
Grizz aren't significantly different. Healthy ZBO this year but traded Gay for Prince.
Jazz aren't significantly different.
Spurs aren't significantly different. Better D but shaky health.
Houston/Golden State/Denver are interchangeable, gonna win a few games & maybe a series.
Mavs
Lakers

[racm]

I was watching the OKC @ DEN game and the Thunder clearly missed Harden in that one.

Westbrook set a tone early by attacking the basket, but then made a crucial error by pulling up for a jumper in transition.
Martin was a non-factor, going 1-7. If Harden were there he would have gotten to the FT line, or made up for being cold through hustling for loose balls or something.
The Thunder went to Durant as usual in crunch time, but instead of setting up a play to get him an open shot they let him isolate on Gallinari. Result: two bricked jumpers, and one successful drive.

[KaiRMD1]

Tiago went from always being injured to playing EVERY GAME this season. He's gotten better and doesn't even care to sit. Gotta hand it to him, he's shown major dedication to getting better. Much respect to him.

[Darkwaters]

Gotta be healthy... That's our biggest obstacle

Ditto. Thats always our biggest rival.

[TheGoldStandard]

The Spurs can get to the Finals if our wing players show up in the playoffs, last year Manu and Jax showed up against OKC but Green, Neal, Leonard never showcased what makes them dangerous. If Green can knock down 3s and Leonard can defend, hustle, get steals, hit the corner 3 and create when he has opportunity we'll have a great shot at a Finals appearance. As for Neal, keep him away from the PG spot

[timtonymanu]

Yep health WILL always be our main obstacle.

As far as teams go, the West has been pretty weak since 2011. The Spurs will definitely have an easier time making it out of the West than winning the whole thing, tbh. The Heat remain on a league of their own.