it's not that hard Bruno
we are going to hate them very very quicly
Well see. Jordan Martin were good.
it's not that hard Bruno
we are going to hate them very very quicly
Depends how the series goes...
Blogtable: Who Wins The West?
At this point, who’s your favorite to win the West — the Spurs or the Thunder?
Steve Aschburner: San Antonio. I had picked OKC when the season began, but Gregg Popovich‘s deft management of the schedule and his guys’ minutes — and the play and indoctrination of their young guys — switched me over.
Fran Blinebury: The Spurs have been strong, steady and improving all season and their back-to-back sweeps in the first two rounds have only reinforced that opinion. They have the deepest roster and the best mental makeup of any of the remaining teams. I’ll go one step further right now and declare San Antonio winning in The Finals, too.
Scott Howard-Cooper: San Antonio is my favorite. It has changed since I picked Oklahoma City at the start of the season. But it has not changed since the start of the playoffs. After watching the Spurs a lot near the end of the regular season, it was impossible not to be very impressed. What has happened in the two rounds since has fortified the belief.
Shaun Powell: The Spurs bring the perfect blend of young and old, experience and youthful exuberance, half-court sets and full-court tempo and most of all, Gregg Popovich, the straw who stirs this margarita. They’ve been on a two-month peak with no signs of slowing down. True, they haven’t exactly beaten Goliaths in the postseason yet (Jazz and Clippers), but they look solid. And while I don’t want to call this Spurs’ team the best of the Pop Era, because they haven’t won anything yet, I will if they do.
John Schuhmann: I like the Spurs in five or six games. I just don’t think the Thunder are good enough defensively to really slow down San Antonio’s pick-and-roll attack. Plus, in the postseason, the Spurs’ own defense has been improved. The Jazz and Clippers were both top-10 offensive teams in the regular season, and San Antonio held them each to under a point per possession in their sweeps. The Thunder are better offensively than either, but the same can obviously be said about the Spurs’ and Thunder’s first two opponents.
Sekou Smith: If I wasn’t sure exactly what the Spurs were working with before the playoffs started, I’m convinced now. They haven’t lost a game since Valentine’s Day or whatever, so they’re bound to hit a few hiccups now that they have to deal with the one team in the league that’s looked almost as invincible since the playoffs started. While I love the Thunder’s explosiveness and toughness, I’m just not sure they have enough to counter the Spurs’ depth and balance. So if we’re just going with a favorite, I’m going to go with the Spurs.
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/0...s=iref:nbahpt1
Do you even follow the league? Wade has been the best SG in the league since '06. By '09, it wasn't even legitimately debatable. Durant had a better season, no question. Wade had nagging injuries, is breaking down and is at the point where he's not going all out in the regular season anymore; he's pacing himself. At his best, he's still a more dynamic player.
Iverson is a better example. Four time scoring champion, one Finals appearance. Was he ever widely regarded as a top two player? Not to anyone who knows anything, he wasn't.Funny you bring up McGrady who also never got past the 1st round while KD is leading his team to its 2nd straight WCF appearance. KD, again evidenced by his play this season, is already a better all around player than Melo ever was.
Paul is physically and positionally limited. There's only so much of an impact he can make defensively.Same can be applied to your #4 Chris Paul
Improved or not, the point remains. The two things that separate James from Durant and always will, are his play making and his defense.Like I said, hes improved his playmaking and if Westbrook doesn't dominate the ball so much in that offense, KD prob has more chances to make plays for others instead of playing mostly off Russ.
I'm sick of this whole "closer" nonsense. Some made up term that's come into existence the past few years. But, to answer your question, depends what you mean: Guy you'd want creating/taking the last shot or guy you'd want as the primary ball handler/creator in the final 5 minutes? If it's the former, Durant would be near the top. If it's the latter, he doesn't rank.Name a better closer in the game right now...Wade, who missed a point blank layup in Game 3 against the Pacers? CP3, who was deferring to the Clipper bench against Mem Game 7 and turning it over against the Spurs? the only guy i can think of is Dirk and KD bounced him with a game winner as well.
Learn what "spin the question" means before you use it.Spin the question however you want. Poll a GM on who theyy want out of those group of guys going into a playoff series or a playoff game and the overwhelming majority is going with Kevin Durant.
Wade was up there for a while then he ran into some injury issues.
Spurs will continue to play the team defense just like Duncan will continue to be the Duncan we've seen the past few Weeks. That's why I say theone thing we should worry about is Parker and manu's offense.
I never said we'd have to score a total of 105+ to beat the thunder.
and I never said anything about a total number of points.
I said our best guards have to be nails from jump shot land.
if manu can nail 2-3 threes and Parker a high mid range rate, we win.
If wesomehow change who we are and stop playing the level of d we been, and Duncan blows goats, but those two guys are hitting those jump shots, we prob don't win, but still have a shot. I don't see that happening.
If we continue to play d, Duncan does his thing,.and our two best guards are not hitting jump shots at a good rate, we lose.
Scores could end up being 86-93 ish but the major factor is the guys getting the most minutes making those jump shots, and that's Parker and manu more than anyone else
You gotta admit though, better one series than 6 years.
Disagree. Not if Durant and Westbrook aren't being slowed down. Manu and Parker don't have enough firepower to just simply outshoot those guys.
Disagree again. If Durant and Westbrook are inefficient, the Spurs depth will generate enough offense from other sources even if Manu and Parker aren't terrific.If we continue to play d, Duncan does his thing,.and our two best guards are not hitting jump shots at a good rate, we lose.
I guess this pretty much summarizes the differences of opinion.
I expect some mid-late/late game TP heroics, if the spurs cant get them in 4 games it will be settled in 5 with the thunder winning 1 in the home court.
What is your prediction for this series?
im pessimistic. But I tend to get sports pessimistic whenever the stakes get very high.
Im not sure if you're positive or negative about this series outcome, but I definitely hope you are right and I am wrong.
I think if the Spurs win the first two at home, they take it in five.
If they split the first two at home, then it will either be Thunder in six or Spurs in seven.
I know that's not much of a prediction, but it's as far as I'm willing to go.
Another thing in the Spurs favor is Durant's late game clutch shooting should go back down to the mean.
Me too, this series is too hard to predict IMO, the games will be close and could go either way.
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