Yes, but looking at his stat line he almost always has 3-4 assists per game. He's doing something right.
Yeah, the Spurs went through more pain and suffering than the Thunder have so far, but that doesn't have anything to do with who's going to win this series. OKC not having gotten their face bashed in as many times as the Spurs have doesn't make Kevin Durant any easier to guard.
Based on recent games where he showed no offense, fog-headed errors, and pretty good defense, SJax will continue to be insignificant, including insignificant minutes.
Even the SJax Spur of 2003 was known for "keeping both teams in the game".
interesting...
Westbrook can be neutralized by clogging the lane. Same way TP can be.
Duncan needs to dominate like he did past 2 series and we have a great chance. If somehow Duncan is neutralized, someone else needs to step up big.
Jackson. Manu. Let's pray these 2 are ready to step up.
I hope somebody kicks this ugly beard man's ass and his stupid flopping.
If the most talented Spurs team can't beat OKC then how did the past teams ever win les?
I assume you mean most offensively talented Spurs team.
It could be argued that the 2005 Suns team was more offensively talented than even this years Spurs team. And they failed vs. a not so offensively talented 2005 Spurs.
But this is OKC vs. Spurs both are offensive juggernauts yes, but at the same time it's possible whoever plays better defense will win.
This team is leagues beyond those Suns teams on defense, though. The Suns didn't have a clue how to defend properly. Can you imagine them holding the Clips scoreless for 8 1/2 minutes? I can't.
A better comparison in terms of style, though I apologize for it, is the Showtime Lakers. They led with their offense and could score like crazy, but they could still make stops in the playoffs with the game on the line.
Are we anywhere near as good as some of those Showtime teams? We definitely haven't proven we are yet. Ask me again a month from now.
You don't have to go back that far. Both in '05 and '07 when the Spurs beat the Suns they did it by outscoring them while getting enough stops to win the game. Even the Lakers did against the Suns two seasons ago.
Um, no. Totally disagree with a lot of that.Calculations are in. Unfortunately the Spurs are not the favorites. According to the simulations, OKC is favorite to win in 6.
Some notes:
- OKC big 3 are much better than Spurs big 3. TP-Brick cancel each other out. Durant is better than TD. Harden is way, way better than Manu at this point.
- OKC frontline is as good as Spurs frontline. Ibaka/Perk/Nazi will handle TD/Splitter/Diaw pretty well.
- Spurs being deeper won't make a difference at this point. Spurs HCA won't make a diff either.
- OKC swept the mavs and toyed with the lakers. That is stronger than sweeping both lowly Jazz/injured Clips.
- OKC got the hunger and clutch to match the Spurs.
- our "rookies" kawhi/green need to improve or at least maintain their level and Spurs got a chance, either of them drops performance and this could get ugly.
now for the good news, the salvation to the series:
IF Jax gets his together and becomes the Spurs 3rd/4th best player, it's ova
that's a huge IF
Harden is playing better than Manu up until now, but if the real Manu turns up (and he usually does when the team needs him) it's a wash.
Our frontline is better than OKC's - they have no post scorer, our guys are better passers, as good on the boards, OKC have a slight edge in shotblocking (Diaw and SPlitter are better shot-blockers than Perk and Coll). BTW, Collison will play far more than Nazr. With Timmy on a mission he's still by far the best big on the floor, and the only game-changing big. Also, our bigs are a matchup nbightmare for theirs - Tim's midrange game is trouble for Perk, Diaw running around the perimeter draws Ibaka out of his comfort zone, and Splitter is a big, better version of Collison. Oh, and we have Grizz, who's played very well against OKC, to throw at them.
Why does the advantage of our depth suddenly disappear? Our depth is a major advantage against their thin bench since we can keep throwing fresh players at them who are better than their guys. Home court advantage certainly will matter if it comes down to game 7.
Agreed that OKC had a tougher preparation, but they didn't "toy with the Lakers" - Fakers could easily have been 3-1 up with a few breaks.
OKC is more hungry than we are? No way! I've rarely seen a team with so much hunger and chemistry as this Spurs lineup, and you can bet Timmy is desperate for his 5th ring to equal Kobe, Jax wants another one, and Diaw and the young guys all want their first. There is no hunger deficit.
I think it will be a very close and hard-fought series, and if we don't take care of the first two games at home we could lose it, but it's as much the Spurs' series to win as it is OKC's. If we win the first two I'm confident we'll win the series. My only worry is rust in game 1, but both teams will have to fight that - let's hope we come out on top.
Last edited by RuffnReadyOzStyle; 05-24-2012 at 10:43 PM.
When the teams met before the Spurs were good offensively. I think the key difference now is the Spurs are much better defensively. OKC might not be ready for that type of defense.
El Che hates to be right
let's just hope for a miracle
El Che with the call.
El Che needs to be wrong...
Hate to admit it also, but he was right, doesn't negate that calling yourself "el che" makes you a got though
well the way it is playing out is actually much worse than I thought.
I thought OKC big 3 were going to dominate to win (which they are) but I thought Spurs role players would at least bother to show up.
what is really happening is Spurs role players are getting stepped on like pathetic roaches and along with Duncan + Parker are mentally defeated.
only bright spots are Manu + Jackson. but that won't be enough.
not to mention KD is a cold blodded mofo. no way he lets his team lose game 6
I hope so. My 2nd option was Spurs in 7
ElNono right bout Manu
true I had forgotten to account Manu's tremendous testicle size in the equation.
but still I would say Manu >> Harden
tbh, what did us in was the vaunted "depth" disappearing in a whim... Ibaka going 11 for 11, and Sefolosha dropping 19 points were the difference in game 3 and 4... none of our scrubs outside of Khawi showed up...
That's why depth is overrated in the playoffs, and why all sane coaches shorten their rotations. Pop outsmarted himself.
Wow, absolutely spot on.- Spurs being deeper won't make a difference at this point. Spurs HCA won't make a diff either.
- our "rookies" kawhi/green need to improve or at least maintain their level and Spurs got a chance, either of them drops performance and this could get ugly.
Spurs "deep" bench is all but gone. And green has dropped dramatically and things have certainly gotten ugly.
Pop outsmarted himself twice.
Series was 2-2 with a home game. It wasn't 1-3 or 0-3, it was 2-2 with homecourt. Yet with starting Manu, that was a straight up panic move. He showed that the Thunder were in their heads. He was admitting to his players that they aren't good enough to beat the thunder with the same lineup that got them to the WCF. And when he admits that, his young players (mainly Green) confidence is nowhere to be seen.
Yeah Manu, Parker, Duncan can keep us in the game, but it was the success of our bench that would win us the games.
green is playing the game in his head, instead of on the court.
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