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Imho, it's gonna be Spurs vs. Clipps in the WCF, tbh....
OKC will win the series
LAC will win the series
I have no doubt these two will meet in the Western Finals this year. Both teams are playing at such a high level, thanks in part to their chemistry and commitment to a winning brand of basketball. It also doesn't hurt when your best player (CP3 and Durant) puts their personal accomplishments aside (unlike Kobe).
Clippers have the best point guard in the game. He IMO is the leagues MVP. OKC has the best and unstoppable scorer in the league. Clippers has a deeper bench, OKC has the better coach (slightly).
Who would you take in a 7 game series?
Perkins-Jordan
Ibaka-Griffin
Durant-Caron Butler
Sefalosha-Jamal Crawford
Westbrook-CP3
Bench
Kevin Martin-Bledsoe
Collison-Lamar Odom
Eric Maynor-Matt Barnes
Thabeet-Turiaf
Notables
G.Hill, C. Billups.
Amazing match up if you think about it. Ibaka and Griffin on the block. CP3 and Westbrook on point. All world defender in Sefalosha vs a scoring machine like Crawford. Off the bench, you have hustle players like Collison and Odom, Kevin Martin and Bledsoe.
I think Clippers takes this in 6 games with or without Homecourt. They are just rolling right now and OKC has regressed a bit with Kevin Martin and Perkins playing worse than last year.
Imho, it's gonna be Spurs vs. Clipps in the WCF, tbh....
Spurs vs OKC
This year the playoffs are going to be some of the most exciting in recent memory tbh.
In the west, the semifinals are going to feature any combination of OKC, San Antonio, Memphis and LA Clippers imo. Those series' are gonna be EPIC. There really is no way I could overstate the epicness of those impending matchups. And that's not to mention the first round which will feature young and upstart teams like Houston and Golden State.
Out east, Miami will probably still end up with the number one seed despite coasting. A lot can change between now and the end of the season but a Miami-Milwaukee first round matchup would be exciting to watch as Milwaukee gives them everything they can handle. The jury is still out on the Knicks with their recent slip-up. It'll be interesting to see how they handle business in the playoffs as a top 3 seed imo. Indiana is a very impressive young team. They will make noise in the playoffs. Chicago is suddenly playing very well, how will that change with the acclimation of Derrick Rose? It could only make them better imo. They will win more games and end up a top 4 seed (they're currently 5th). Brooklyn of late has been playing well. With the recent slip up of the Knicks, they could very well draw Brooklyn in the first round, an exciting inner-city matchup.
I can't ing wait.
Great matchup for sure if it were to happen. FYI Maynor is currently a 3rd stringer. Jackson is the full time backup at point. Another unknown that Brooks is starting to experiment with is Liggins. Liggins is Tony Allen 2.0. Tough as nails, great great defender and tremendous energy. He could be a guy OKC would maybe rely more on than they currently do in a 7 game series.
I'm not calling anything yet only because anything can happen, injuries, slumps, ref help, etc. I can guarantee it will definitely be a fast paced match up and give the edge to the Clippers because Barnes has a way of getting under players skin and he plays that rough house D, something Kevin Durant is not used to. If you stop Kevin Durant, you stop the Thunder, simple as that.
Clips in 6
unless the two teams clash in the first or 2nd round, a clippers vs. OKC WCF will be a lock. spurs will struggle against monkeyball imho
Spurs in 6
Barnes is balling for sure. I hope this trend continues well into the playoffs.
The Western Conference is so wide open, any of the top 4 could win it. I actually think the Grizz might do well against OKC. If the Thunder keep relying on the jump shot, with the rebounding Memphis has I can see it being a close series.
In OKC v Clips, obviously OKC would win out on that one. Perkins would dominate Blake defensively in the post, and Blake isn't going to carry a team shooting those jump shots.
Clippers are massively overrated IMO, this is still basically the team the Spurs swept last year. Factor in their terrible free throw shooting with Jordan and Turiaf, I don't see them beating any of the other top teams in the West.
Ridiculous. This team has improved so much from last year. The addition of Barnes and Crawford and even Odom has changed the dynamics of the Clippers. Last year, they were a .600 club. This year? They're on pace to win 77% of their games. Both offense and defensive ratings are improved, chemistry is a LOT better. Bledsoe is playing like a starter and Paul is definitely like a runaway MVP this year.
This Clippers team is built to beat the Spurs. The only team standing in their way is the equally young and explosive OKC team.
Not even close.... we got rid of redundant players like Mo Williams and Randy Foye and utter scrubs like Brian Cook and Ryan Gomes, and brought in the best bench in the league.... not only that, but the defense has improved by leaps and bounds.....
Don't get more wrong, I don't mind the Clippers. If it does come down to OKC vs Clips, I hope the Clips win it. I just don't really see it happening, if for no other reason than opposing teams can just hack your bigs like we did last year. I think the Clips were up double digits in the first half of a game last year, Pop started hacking the Clips front line and I think we were ahead by half time. If it were just one you could manage, but Jordan, Turiaf and Griffin (to a lesser extent this year) are all liabilities from the charity stripe
Still putting my money on the Lakers
Griffin's gotten better at free throw shooting, and I've noticed this year that DJ actually makes his freebies in clutch time in the 4th, for some reason...
Clips in 6.
sorry spursfan, but too many teams have highlighted your flaws this year, and your ceiling is round two I think.
Predictions are just made to be proven wrong. Your favorite today is often your underdog in 3 weeks. People said Miami had too many holes last year. SA looked absolutely untouchable at times. Both OKC and LAC could win the conference. I wouldn't bet too much money against SA, Memphis, or Denver putting a kink in OKC or LACs plans though.
Local writer in OKC suggesting we should try and pick up that little midget flopper JJ Barea. I have to agree that would improve OKCs chances
Agreed. Not giving up on them completely, but it's obvious some major changes have to be made for them to compete with LAC and OKC.
Thank you!
I wouldn't call them overrated but it is a long season. But they are most definitely not the same team we swept. Jordan, for example, is far more of a defensive presence then what he was last year: the end of an alley oop pass. Clippers keep playing the kind of ball they are playing, they are gonna do fine. Now if the Grizzlies don't trade away Randolph and Gay, they could looking at the WCF as well.
spurs in 4 tbh
Clips are better than last year
OKC is not, no Harden. No matter what a regular season record says. They beatable allright.
still, would take monumental effort from Memphis/Spurs to avoid a Clips/OKC showdown.
I take the Clips
I hope for Spurs, and I still believe if we are healthy and make a few trades, we can take on anyone. still, it's a longshot.
I wouldn't be shocked if it is Clippers vs OKC, but if I happen to be in Vegas this summer, i'm going to put money down on OKC. Not that I think they deserve it or better, but I've seen enough BS with them the past two years that I think it will be a safe bet tbh.
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