Abaka's coming back

[EVAY]

We just have to run them up and down the court as fast as possible for as long as possible…to try to put as much stress on him as possible.

[wildchild]

Good move..even if he can't contribute at a high level, his return could still spark the team, since they desperately need some type of energy booster, tbh...

For a game, not for all this series. It's just an emotional move like Brandon Roy return in Game 4 against the Suns, an injured player can't help in playoffs.

[jag]

We just have to run them up and down the court as fast as possible for as long as possible…to try to put as much stress on him as possible.

...or just stick to the gameplan. You know, play good team defense and penetrate and move the ball on offense.

[EVAY]

Lol pop & co also said he would be back the first two games

Oh, come on, man!! Admit it.. the notion that they were lying is not nearly as far fetched as your first couple of lol's would have indicated.

Pop and Parker were off by one or two games…Brooks was still saying AFTER game 2 that "Ibaka is not coming back". One or two games vs. rest of the season. hmmmmm!

[crc21209]

Meh...not surprised. But even then, he won't be able to play 30-40 mins right? Best case scenario for them would be him playing anywhere between 12-24 mins, which probably still won't be enough..

[hommeaetage]

Brooks and co were lying, there's no way around that. My guess is they thought they had enough to split the series at SA and give Ibaka enough time to rest the injury. It's either that or Brooks/Presti are willing to jeopardize a young man's career to save their own butt which would be pretty bush league imo

[baseline bum]

Seriously, if he plays it'll basically be 5 on 4. That was not a minor injury by any means.

Why assume Presti was telling the truth when he discussed the severity?

[Budkin]

Good move..even if he can't contribute at a high level, his return could still spark the team, since they desperately need some type of energy booster, tbh..

Hopefully he tears his calf and ends his career, though..

This could end so badly for Ibaka and the Thunder.

[Budkin]

Why assume Presti was telling the truth when he discussed the severity?

Why would they sacrifice 2 games? Why not bring him back for Game 2 if the injury was not severe?

[baseline bum]

Why would they sacrifice 2 games? Why not bring him back for Game 2 if the injury was not severe?

Because he had less rehab days and wasn't ready?

[T Park]

Orrrrrrrrrrr, he could have just improved and the original diagnosis was not accurate.

HGH is a of a drug

[FvckMavs]

Or they didn't expect a 35pt-beat down and thought they had a chance in game 2 even without him.

Because he had less rehab days and wasn't ready?

[InRareForm]

painkillers...

[hommeaetage]

Spurs need to just stick to the gameplan. 90% of the time they get beat is because they get away from it. Also this might be the perfect game for MVParker to make his appearance because Danny won't go 7/10 from 3 on Sunday

[InRareForm]

Vegas line still the same: Thunder -2

[cd021]

Not saying he wasn't hurt at all but they knew of the 3 days off between games 2 and 3 and they knew he had a good chance to return at this moment. They declared him out for the series and made a point to reiterate that over and over again. Bush league

People don't magically go from "out for the season" to "day to day". OKC knew it wasn't that bad. It was bad enough to miss a week or two but that's not what they said.

david lee last playoffs

[T Park]

At this point, floating this story only really makes sense if they intend to play Ibaka in Game 3. I guess they could hope that they can win Game 3 with some better attention to detail and more shot making from guys who may play better at home (and without Ibaka), but if they somehow come up short in Game 3, I can't imagine they're bringing Serge back down 0-3.

We'll see. The Spurs expected to have to beat the Thunder with Ibaka, and now they will likely have to do that. If anything, one would hope that the looming specter of an Ibaka return would help to refocus the Spurs and remind them that there's still a lot to be done in this series.

That's assuming they lost focus. From today's interviews it doesn't sound like it...

[Budkin]

Ibaka decided it was bout dis life tbh.

[th3answ3r]

hyperbolic time chamber, they put him in

[Budkin]

That's assuming they lost focus. From today's interviews it doesn't sound like it...

This. Danny Green just shrugged and said they planned for him to play in game 1.

[I. Hustle]

He doin' too much. He aint about dis life.

[crc21209]

http://m.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/....html?mode=jqm

Official statement from Presti:

"At present, Serge has yet to complete a full basketball workout, but is walking and doing light basketball drills. With this new information, and in an effort to keep his status current, we are now listing him as day-to-day with the understanding that there is a possibility for him to play in this series"

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

Great, now even if the Spurs win, the storylines will be about how much of a warrior Ibaka is and how despite what he'll do, the fact that he played will make this one of the greatest playoff performances of all time.

[I. Hustle]

Duncan: Aron, sweep the leg!
Baynes: Yes, sensei!

[naico]

The question remains: who's nuts is he gonna assault?