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two garbage teams. denver plays no defense. same style as last years run n gun spurs. wont amount to come playoff time
Denver has a 13 game win streak going and have beaten tougher teams than the Heat (who have the luxury of playing in the Leastern Conference) while doing so, which makes their streak more impressive. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are 16-6 since trading away Rudy Gay as we all know the Grizzlies have always been a better team without him. Each team has an uber-talented front court, each are good at rebounding (Denver ranks 2nd overall and Memphis is 10th) and each has depth at all positions. Other than those qualities, Denver is different in that they're an up tempo team that likes to get up and down the floor because of their freakish athleticism. Memphis, meanwhile, is a bruising team that can play a very efficient half-court game and plays hard-nosed defense. What we also know is that we've long been struggling against big and very athletic teams who rebound and I'm sure Denver knows that and can exploit those weaknesses better than the Thunder, in my opinion. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, know they can beat us in the playoffs without Gay and pose the same problems we faced when they took us out in the first round in '11. The Thunder are obviously a very good team but we match up well with them, especially since this time they don't have Harden. I'm not saying we can't beat either team in a 7 game series but they can definitely beat us just as well as the Thunder. Anyone agree?
two garbage teams. denver plays no defense. same style as last years run n gun spurs. wont amount to come playoff time
I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorists, but OKC is the bigger threat because they get to the line way too much, deservedly or not. Although I'm not as worried as I was last year.
You guys will handle us in six games regardless of the officiating. Without the beard to bail us out we aren't going anywhere this year.
considering OKC has Durant and a proven TP-defender in Thabo, I still see them as the biggest road block.
Dirkbaka and Kendrick Dirkins tend to show up against the Spurs tbh
The Thunder are still the biggest threat to the Spurs in the West, but the more I watch them the less scary they look.
For some weird reason, I just don't find Durant a scary prospect. Obviously he's the second best player in the league, but there's something about him that I feel the Spurs can contain as long as the refs let the Spurs play.
Now Harden on the other hand I still have nightmares about. When we played the Rockets earlier in the season I was worried any time he had the ball. He effortlessly glides in to the lane and either scores, gets fouled or both. Must be how other teams feel playing against Manu tbh.
If anybody Memphis. The only reason OKC lost tonight is because like they do with Miami they play right into the hands of their opponents. They let teams like Denver run on them, and when they try to run as much as they do they start making alot of mistakes. Denver won't be able to beat a team that is focused on the halfcourt sets and slowing down the game. Denver simply can't play like that.
Memphis on the other hand plays playoff basketball every night. For them, the game never changes. With them though, they simply won't have enough scoring to beat the Spurs. If it comes down to them getting out of a scoring hole they simply won't be able to do it. Their perimeter shooting is terrible.
OKC can beat the Spurs. They have the superstars and the bench to do so. Tonight is a speed bump for them; maybe even tomorrow. I think the Spurs have a much better chance this year but really OKC should be the favorites until the Spurs can prove otherwise.
OKC doesn't worry me these days as much as Denver.
Splitter has gone from "I can't shoot FTs so my offensive game is shot" to "I'm gonna post Ibaka up with impunity".
Leonard does a great job on Durant (he still shoots well, but Leonard rarely fouls and he generates a lot of turnovers)
Sefolosha can defend Parker but the Spurs close out with Ginobili as a tertiary scorer and secondary playmaker. Martin can't create much for others and best operates as a weak side scorer.
good to see you not being a got for once.
I still think Thunder will get their usual 5 vs 8 treatment in the playoffs, so I still worry about that. But if all things are even, I think Harden's absence will be huge.
and tbh, I think Denver could be the toughest series.
Perhaps it's because without Harden, the Thunder are even more of a jumpshooting team than they were last year? In the half court it seems like the Thunder almost exclusively shoot jumpers.
Last year they stepped up because they had less pressure on them. The ball movement and fluidity on offense was a beautiful thing to watch with James Harden. Harden was the head of the snake last year in every way you can spin it. He's gone. We got a very inefficient approach of hero ball that will be our failure ultimately.
You guys just need your role players to step up and hit shots. Had you guys made some of those corner threes in games 3-6, the series would have gone seven games.
You know the biggest part Parker brings to the Spurs offense? It's shots at the rim and corner 3s. Without him, the Spurs attempt more 3s above the break, and it shows - Leonard's 3P% has plummeted since Parker got hurt.
Those corner 3s dried out when Brooks put Sefolosha on Parker.
If we beat you all or Denver I can chalk that up as an accomplishment this season as expectations have steadily lowered the more apparent it became that we aren't the potent machine we were with James Harden.
I've been saying for months now that Denver is a scary team. Now that they've gotten on a groove with all those home games recently, they look very potent. I would not be the least bit surprised if Denver represents our conference against the cHeat.
TBF, that Thabo on Parker adjustment was masterful. However, I remember the Spurs still being able to get into their sets despite the increase in difficulty in doing so with Thabo on Parker. Yall's Danny Green and Gary Neal ultimately the bed with their missed shots.
Denver is a regular season team, tbh..
Their half-court offense is mediocre, they can't shoot, their bigs are hustle guys that are exploitable on both ends, and they don't have a star player..
They are a team that lives and dies by the fast break..I would expect Pop to successfully strategize against a team with an abundance of flaws..
Memphis isn't a scary team..Z-Bo isn't as good as he was in 2011, they don't have any other consistent shot-creators, the Spurs are better than 2011 and they should have revenge on their minds, tbh..
OKC is still the roadblock..Durant + Westbrook + refs + Ibaka/Collison/Perkins automatic jump shots against the Spurs is still scary..
No. But Nuggets/Grizzlies are very talented teams...
Miami's streak is easily more impressive, tbh..they beat all the best teams that Denver defeated, in addition to winning 10 more games..
spurs, when healthy, are the best in the west, and quite honestly the only team that can beat the heat imo. but if the refs want okc in the finals, that's that.
harden > westbrick
i knew it the moment they got rid of him. i was like, "okc ed up." that dude is for real. i want him on the spurs, thanks.
I have to admit, your "Not Worried Here" should be stickied for its unbridled iness and tiness. least you are admitting that you were full of hot air.
as for Denver, I believe i said on here the last time they played the Thunder that they were a bad matchup for them, because they have the athleticism but better ball movement and smarter BBIQ (well not McGee). I respect the Nuggets but they're still an obstacle to overcome.
I don't hate the Heat, definitely not a fan either. They're basically a team of mercs so hard to respect them. What I do hate is that the West is about to become a blood bath but the Heat have an escalator ride to the Finals.
Tbh, the Finals could end up going two ways:
1. Miami realizes that they're up against a team that went through a tough playoff run and they lose
2. The Western champion is gassed that they end up bowing out in an anticlimactic Finals.
So true. Whoever comes out of the West will likely have had to play at least one Game 7, maybe even two. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Heat go 12-0 and waltz in to the Finals well rested.
The Grizzlies won't make it out of the first round and Denver may be the team to oust them. Denver is solid if they're running so I can see them taking a game or 2 in a series against The Spurs but they're not winning a series we're deep and we can slow the game down and kill them on the inside. OKC is the biggest road block and if they sleep on some of the teams that they may have to face they may get bounced and we'll have a much easier road getting to the Finals.
Number 2 is likely to happen.
It doesn't make a difference..
Miami played a 7-game series against Boston and a grueling 6-game series vs. Indiana, yet they completely destroyed OKC in the Finals, after the Thunder had an easy 1st and 2nd round..
Off the top of my head, the 2008 Celtics went through 2 7-game series' and a 6-game series, yet they completely dominated the Lakers, despite LA having a cakewalk to the Finals..
I have never heard of a team losing in the Finals because their road to the series was more difficult than the opposing Finals participant..
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