So here we are again...

[Trainwreck2100]

if gasol or randolf go 15-15 it will be a very difficult win for the Spurs

[313]

OKC, yes... yet we "magically" swept both The Jazz and The Clips like butta' last year.


I'd have to say that I feel better about this year's Spurs. Sure... they played sloppy and were gassed out after last night's game, but hey... they had been playing every other day since The GS series began. They barely got 2 full days of rest before going into the WCF to play The Grizzlies in game 1. They're a more fired-up and blood-thirsty bunch right now, and seem to be peaking at the right time. I certainly hope it continues, and pray there will NOT be another repeat of last year, obviously. I'm sure revenge is definitely a major motivator for them as well.

Haha agreed but I meant "opponent" (referring to okc, hence why I said last years team had A tougher opponent. It autocorrected to opponents for some reason)

Anyway, we all knew last year's team had to come down to earth eventually, although we surely didn't expect a Backdoor sweep lol

This team has a year of more experience, and aren't folding under the bright lights (...yet?)

Add the fact that the Grizzlies couldn't break 90 points in an OT game, and I'm pretty confident.

[Typical London Boy]

I seem to recall feeling very, very relieved that we held on to the Game 2 win over OKC last year, as we really struggled to hold the lead and OKC honestly looked like the better team. And so it proved, although I would've been shocked if you'd told me there would be a backdoor sweep.

I really don't see the Grizzlies as such strong compe ion, and no way can I see them winning four straight. So yes, I think that the 2013 Spurs have a much better chance of progressing to the finals, but mainly because their opponents are inferior.

Sadly, I don't give us much of a chance against the Heat and fully expect Miami to get the job done. Obviously, I'd be ecstatic to be proven wrong!

[txstr1986]

The emergence of Leonard is the biggest reason that I think this year's Spurs are better. Also, we're playing much better defense this year than last year.

[LongtimeSpursFan]

It was the 20th win in a row and the 2nd against a great OKC team
2012 by far

Truth. Many in the media had declared the 2012 version of the Spurs as one of the greatest teams ever. Their level of basketball smarts/chemistry was unmatched.

[Arcadian]

Yeah, I agree with most that we have a better chance of winning the conference finals, but a worse chance of winning the Finals. Ah well...

[emanueldavidginobili]

Russell Westbrook James Harden and Kevin Durant...I feel much better about getting past the Grizzlies

[Keepin' it real]

I felt better about the 2012 Spurs because they were on a 20-game winning streak. They were the best team in the NBA ... until Game 3 of the WCF. I still look back on that and wonder WTF happened? Unbelievable. And that Game 6 officiating. I try never to about officials, but that was just too much.

But I do feel better about the level of the opponent this year. Harden killed the Spurs in 2012. I see no perimeter player even half as good as him on the Griz roster.

[spurraider21]

2012 spurs looked better. were winning with more style points. and had the giant winstreak leading right up to this point. 2013 spurs are much, much better defensively and that makes us a better team

[tesseractive]

It was the 20th win in a row and the 2nd against a great OKC team
2012 by far

[Obstructed_View]

Up 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals...Which team did you feel better about at the moment they won game 2?

Perhaps most people will say 2013 because it's happening now, and we all know how 2012 ended. But I honestly felt better about the team in 2012, because they looked great in game 2 against OKC. At that point, I thought we had a real shot at the le. But I think we have a chance this year as well.

I was worried what would happen to the Spurs once they lost a game, and if it would shatter their confidence. I don't worry about this team that way. They're likely not going to sweep Memphis and they damn sure all know they aren't going to sweep Miami.

[BillMc]

Yeah at 20 games in a row 2012 is tempting, but 2013 for the DEFENSE. Last year, if they stopped our O we were in trouble, but now we have the D to win "ugly" ball.

[Juggity]

The degree to which the big 3 run out of gas is shocking, more so than last year.

Playing defense is more tiring than not playing defense

[JR3]

I picked 2012 because we looked unstoppable.. its easy to look back now and act like you saw 4 losses in a row coming... We swept the first two rounds AND had won the first 2 of round 3. We were even down a ton on the road and came back against the clippers. I do agree with BillMc though that our defense is more reliable this year. I just couldn't see us cooling down like we did at the time. I was very confident last year. I guess I forgot that defense wins championships...

[elec99]

The 2013 team. Unlike 2012, a true measure of a team is how you play a game while trailing, and how you respond after a loss. We never recovered from a loss in 2012, and we were able to commit one of the biggest comebacks in history in 2013. A good vintage spurs team is one that can still win while playing poorly, thats this 2013 team.

[MinuteByMinuteSports]

Why is everyone so afraid of Miami? We are the only team in the West that has truly challenged them. I say we have a chance to beat them when they get to the Finals.

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

Why is everyone so afraid of Miami? We are the only team in the West that has truly challenged them. I say we have a chance to beat them when they get to the Finals.

I think that the Spurs may have a 40% chance of beating the Heat in the Finals while every other Western team had at best a 30% chance, but a 40% chance still doesn't give all that much cause for confidence.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

This year. Better defense. Worse opponent. Kawhi. Danny.

[Cry Havoc]

All comes down to the compe ion. Memphis is a considerably weaker team than last year's OKC team. That being said, the Heat are waiting this year and may be stronger than ever.

Wade looks to be about 80%. We can limit him pretty drastically, and with Leonard on LeBron.... oh who am I kidding, LeBron is gonna go off regardless of who guards him.

Still, if we can essentially limit Miami to what LeBron can do (similar to the 2007 Finals actually) I think we stand a chance.

[ffadicted]

I feel better about every single player in the roster right now then I did in 2012 tbqh.... Who honestly isn't playing better? Maybe Neal. Our defense is also miles miles miles better than it was the previous year, we all know what happens when you rely on outscoring opponents.

I won't lie and say I thought we were gonna lose WCF after being up 2-0 last year (especially not swept), but I feel this spurs team is substantially more sturdy than '12.

[Arcadian]

Who honestly isn't playing better?

Manu and Tony, right?

But this year's team is more Duncan-centric, which I like.

[Horry Hipcheck]

2012's edition looked prettier, blazing through a lockout shortened season and surgically disassembling just about every opponent they faced for the better part of two months, then running roughshod on the Jazz and Clippers, all while mounting head scratching statistics and looking just about unstoppable.

2013 is different. 2013's Spurs have seen more adversity, whether by injuries or tough losses or unexplained slumps. Losing Parker to that ankle sprain, cutting Jackson at the end of the season, getting hit with the controversy in Miami, etc. This Spurs team had to survive a conference race along the lines of World War II, and it took just about everything they had to secure the No. 2 seed. Yet, they're here again, up 2-0 in the WCF, despite everything that stood in their way before this. Even if they don't win this series, it's hard not to look at yet another throwback season from Duncan, the return of stubborn defense, and the staying power of Green and Leonard this postseason.

If you ask me, if ANY Spurs team since 2007's le group feels like a team that could win it all, it's 2013. Not because they're that much better than 2012, but because they're earning this run. They're playing brutal defense when they need to and they're locking down shooters that could kill them. They're getting battered and beaten and at times they're setting themselves up for a letdown. However, despite all of the reasons we as fans could point to as evidence that they're incapable of winning the le, none of them have kept them from being exactly where they were a year ago, and perhaps in even better shape to continue.

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

The only gripe I would have if the Spurs won the championship this year would be those grey jerseys.

2012's team would have won with the much better white jerseys!

[Johnny RIngo]

I think we stand a chance.

Not with TOSB Manu. He seems to have aged ten years from last season to this season(and he wasn't even that great last year).

[Prime Time]

2012 Team would have lost to Golden State in 6. They struggled on team defense big time, they were usually attempting to play 1 on 1 defense. 2013 plays more team defense. And how about Green/Leonard stepping up? (First 2 Games)
2012 Green- 5.0ppg, .250%.
2013 Green- 13.5ppg, .580%.
2012 Leonard- 12.5ppg, .476%
2013 Leonard- 15.0ppg, .632%