Let's face it . . .

[Brazil]

Parker was 6/26 that game, and he could made 26/26 but his playing hurts the team badly, I hate him as a point guard, dude would love to be a 6´5¨ SG and plays like one, every time he has the ball fools around and at last second if he doesnt see the shot gives you a horrible pass with no time to think, most times the ending is a big brick.
I dont care if this forum is full of trolls idiots or genius like you, there are lots of guys here who hate Porker and I am one of them.
No rings since 2007 and time is sleeping away with stubborn Pop.

welcome back tdmvpdpoy !

[boutons_deux]

Spurs are 21-6, are 0-6 vs playoff teams, including some blowouts, including at ATT.

It's "only Nov, or Dec" for the other 6 teams, too. This is essentially the same team that was NBA Finalist from 6 months ago.

[rascal]

We were even losing to teams in April last year and we still nearly won the le. I stopped taking the regular season seriously.

Last year was a fluke with all the injuries to the top teams in the west.

[rascal]

OKC is better this year than last. Jackson and Lamb don't have to replace Harden, they just have to replace Martin, and they're doing a damn good job of it, I didn't expect them to. Last year Martin and Jackson averaged 42 mpg and scored 19.3 per game. This year Jackson and Lamb average 45.5 mpg and score 21.8.

Another key difference is Adams. Even as a rookie, he's light years better than the back-up center feces of years past like Thabeet or Nazr. Another big off the bench who can give 20 minutes a night and not hurt the team, they didn't have that before and it gives them different options. , he's bigger and stronger than Baynes and manhandled him. And Baynes is a decent enough older banger prospect, but he's easily outclassed compared to Adams. Ayers would have been similarly clowned.

Parker is worse this year, much worse. If he doesn't overcome his National Team Flu, this team can't win.

Lamb and Jackson are good players. OKC is better than last years team.

[r0drig0lac]

We were even losing to teams in April last year and we still nearly won the le. I stopped taking the regular season seriously.

so let's pretend that every team we face did not have a key injury on the way?

[ElNono]

Funny thunderup calls Harden a choker and loser while looking the other way when it comes to Abaka, tbh

Sure, he made the jumpers against the Spurs then his asshole shrunk heavily against Miami. Last season he couldn't hit and cost them at least a game against the Rockets.

The jury is still out on Reggie Jackson and Lamb, especially when teams lock in on them.

The best teams in the first two months of the season have been Portland and Indy, yet I don't see either in the NBA Finals, tbh

[Raven]

Joseph has played several minutes the last few games, Ayres has been wearing out the court, and Baynes (not Splitter) got the start the other night with Duncan out.

I'm not sure what games you've been watching.

Joseph has not played meaningful minutes yet, this year. I don't consider Baynes or Ayres as potential assets this year tbh, they are not going to play in the play offs with Diaw, Tiago and Timmy already locked in, more likely Bonner plays. Green and Leonard have been playing 10-12 minutes less than they are supposed to given their age and flaws.

[james evans]

Not cliff-jumping or anything, but if the Spurs truly want to make it back to the Finals, they do need to pull off a trade. As presently constructed, they will have to hope for some other team to knock off OKC. They simply won't beat them in a playoffs series this season whether they have home court advantage or not. People have been saying for awhile that we need to trade for a backup SF, but in my mind, to beat the Thunder or the Heat we will need another big that can score next to Duncan. He looks pretty damn good this season, but he has regressed just a bit from the guy who was looking to slam it on everyone just a year ago. You can say how valuable Splitter is on the defensive end all you want, but his offense is just pitiful. He has no confidence and only makes the shots that are spoon-fed to him. I don't know who the Spurs can trade for, but I'd like to see someone come in who can actually score down low.

splitter for gasol. since laker fans claim he's a pussy and soft, i'd like to see kobe play with splitter. like i said before, i'm not afraid of the thunder. they aren't as good when the refs aren't calling fouls every other possession. leonard was out last night and we stuck around to the end. i just have no fukin idea what defense popovich is teaching guys like green, ginobli, and even when neal was there in having them shut down the paint but give up wide open 3's.. especially when u have tim and splitter down low on teams with NO LOW POST PRESENCE!!!!

[AFBlue]

Who would you rather have on the Spurs than Durant and Westbrook? Parker and Duncan? Seriously? When are people going to realize a good deal of Tim's shots are what basketball people call low reward attempts (long 2 pointers)? Tim is all we have, our best big, but he's getting obligatory touches when he's not the best option at the moment because there's a clique between him and Tony. I don't think Tim forces the issue, but Tony seems to look for Tim and all but ignores his perimeter shooters.

What evidence do you have to back this up? Tim may shoot more outside jumpers, but the majority of hos shots still come in the paint.

And the Parker/Duncan pick-and-roll is an effective play call to get penetration and free up perimeter shooters.

Offensively, I don't think there's anything wrong with the Spurs system or players.

[AFBlue]

About what? Reggie Jackson being a complimetary player or that I'd take him over Leonard? RJ is becoming a dynamic playmaker, probably leading the way for 6h man of the year. I've seen Leonard play for 2+ seasons now, when is he going to expand his skillset?

Kawhi is a top-5 SF in the league, who impacts the game on both ends. Jackson is an effective scorer and brings good energy off the bench, but he's the Thunder version of George Hill.

As for the skill-level increase from Kawhi, you need to take a closer look. When he was drafted he had no spot-up perimeter shot, no handles, no dribble-drive game, and no off the dribble pull-up jumper. He now has all those things and can continue to improve on them. The trick now is figuring out when he needs to be the alpha and assert himself on a star-laden team.

[TheGoldStandard]

It's tricky when you look at the role players of the other elite teams because we look on paper and see them as average players but they get lost in the shuffle compared to their "superstar" teammates. They have niches and can score and because the superstars dictate so much attention they get better looks and easier shots. Those roleplayers can go for 10 or 15 a night and we don't notice it with Westbrook chucking up 30 shots a night. Same thing with Miami.

Our rolepplayers do only one or two things well but since we don't have anyone that commands that kind of respect they're always locked on. Duncan in god mode last year and MVParker allowed for a lot of open shots last year but without them doing that kind of damage we get man defense and a breakdown in ball movement. I suspect the Spurs will improve but when the game slows down in the playoffs we better hope Parker, Manu or Tim enter their cheat code and go off.

[McGusto55]

The Thunder would sweep the Spurs in a playoff series. Not to mention having to get by Portland or Houston. Its been a good run. Time to rebuild.

I agree 100% wish Tim and manu would retire already so we don't expect to much from this team. ..Tbh

[EVAY]

Pop and Manu have gotten plenty of blame from the fans(myself included). But does it make any sense for Parker to be playing FIBA ball only a few weeks after suffering a supposed "torn hamstring" in the Finals? If the injury is as serious as you make it out to be, he should have been resting all summer and preparing for another NBA season. Instead, he pulled a 2012 Ginobili and prioritized his ty national team over the Spurs.

Oh, for god's sake. Please, spraining a hamstring in the middle of an every-other-day series of games is NOT the same as giving it three or four weeks rest before playing for a National Team. It is part of his contract that allows him to play for his national team. Last year his work with the FNT in the summer was cited as the reason he had matured into the leader of the Spurs team and leading the Spurs to the NBA finals.

Surely you understand the differences there, even if you don't want to admit it.

He is clearly not as effective this year, and I don't know it he will get over it or not, but I DO know that your reasoning is flawed and your conclusions regarding his responsibility for the way last year's POs ended is false. Last season he was playing at an MVP level year and was an ALL-Star. This year he will likely not be an All-Star and not be considered as an MVP. But NONE of that detracts from what he did for the Spurs last year. Gutting it out in the games after the hamstring sprain is something that you have no right to question unless you have done superior work in an NBA finals series with such an injury yourself.

[TD 21]

You're the opposite of a homer. You're a downer, writing us off when we have every chance of winning any series in the playoffs.

Wait until May.

I dunno who's in denial. You've been telling us how flawed the Spurs are every season, yet they've been contending for at least the past two seasons.

Except for perhaps Miami, there are no loaded teams in the NBA anymore. For the Spurs it's either what we have or being a lottery team.

If you were a OKC fan, I bet you would be ing too... "Look at all the talent we have and no rings to show for it! We should be beating an old team like the Spurs by 20!", etc etc etc

The Spurs are a work in progress, with the goal set to be the best team they can be come April. It will either work out or it won't. December games can only tell you so much.

Cliche Spurs fans like you. Given that they've done nothing but choke in recent seasons, there's little reason to think they even make the Finals if Westbrook stays upright.

The Thunder may not quite be loaded, but they're plenty good enough to dispose of this team in 5 or 6 games. Why does it always have to be "what we have"? Why doesn't the front office grow a pair for once, stop hoping to get lucky and attempt to change their standing?

I don't care what month it is. If you knew the game, you'd know this team causes serious problems for the Spurs and they're not going away, no matter what month it is.

[ElNono]

Cliche Spurs fans like you. Given that they've done nothing but choke in recent seasons, there's little reason to think they even make the Finals if Westbrook stays upright.

And you're the chicken little fan that has been freaking out before every series, and knee jerks over every loss. Heck, I don't even have to go back and look to know you were freaking out when they lost two in a row before the playoffs started last season, in which was clearly coasting.

The Thunder may not quite be loaded, but they're plenty good enough to dispose of this team in 5 or 6 games. Why does it always have to be "what we have"? Why doesn't the front office grow a pair for once, stop hoping to get lucky and attempt to change their standing?

Nobody said the Thunder are not a good team. They're a top team just like the Spurs. You'll excuse me if I don't take your prognostication seriously, but you have not put a cogent argument beyond mere opinion.

I don't care what month it is. If you knew the game, you'd know this team causes serious problems for the Spurs and they're not going away, no matter what month it is.

I watch the same games you do, but for some reason you panic a lot. Might be your way to vent your frustration, but you know pretty well the Spurs don't operate like that, and they're still easily a top 5 franchise in the game.

[quentin_compson]

I always found it a bit strange that people seemed to forget so quickly what a great season the Thunder were having last year before Westbrook went down with an injury. If that doesn't happen, OKC might very well have made it to the Finals.

The Thunder's length and athleticism clearly are not easy for the Spurs to handle. Ibaka was probably the best player for OKC against the Spurs in the two games so far this season. TD and Splitter need to have a strong presence under the basket offensively against the Thunder for the Spurs to open up the game for the shooters.
I think that Parker (in better game shape than he seemed to have last night) would be defending Westbrook better than he did last night in a playoff series, but then again, Durant is capable of much more than he did in the two meetings with SA this season.

The role player/bench battle might very well be quite decisive in a possible series, but that's hard to assess since both teams have potentially really good guys there. All in all, last night was just a regular season loss, but that doesn't mean that the Thunder are not a rather difficult matchup problem for the Spurs.

[Cry Havoc]

Premature ejaculation much diaz? Go wipe your hands bro. You're embarrassing yourself.

[RD2191]

Lol gots

[tmtcsc]

Please stop. The thunder aren't getting past us in the playoffs. Its friggin December and we have 3.5 months to right the wrongs. Not worried here.

[ezau]

And what? I'm 6'1 195 and would beat the out of you.

I'm 6'8 and 295 and will kill your entire family

[RD2191]

I'm 6'8 and 295 and will kill your entire family

LOL. Come at me bro.

[james evans]

uh oh.. fight fight!!

[rascal]

I'm 6'8 and 295 and will kill your entire family

I don't believe this.

[Baam]

I don't care what month it is. If you knew the game, you'd know this team causes serious problems for the Spurs and they're not going away, no matter what month it is.

Truth bomb.

I'm confident that they'll make a move but that offseason was so ty that I'm not confident it'll be a good one...

[Baam]

And you're the chicken little fan that has been freaking out before every series, and knee jerks over every loss. Heck, I don't even have to go back and look to know you were freaking out when they lost two in a row before the playoffs started last season, in which was clearly coasting.

Pop freaked out as well and cut SJax at that point in time because he felt the urge to change something...