Although I understand the fear of most Spurs fans when it comes to this possible matchup, there are several things that the Spurs have now that they didn't have in 2012:
1. The emergence of Kawhi Leonard on the offensive and defensive end----Whether he'd be guarded by WB or KD (Sefalosha will cover TP), Leonard will make either one of them work on the defensive end. I'm pretty sure we will see Kawhi postup WB more often in this series.
2. Danny Green--You could say that he's gone cold in two consecutive series now, but it doesn't take a lot to for him to heat up. The Spurs fell against the Thunder in 2012 because Green shot very poorly. If Westbrook is on him, the Spurs should run a ton of hard screens just to wear Westbrook out. It would be funny if Brooks decides to leave Green open in the perimeter, especially after seeing how Green torched the Heat in the Finals
3. Tiago Splitter-- He will have a tough time against Ibaka and Pork, but Splitter won't be completely useless in this series. I'd expect him to punish OKC in the PnR and I would dare Brooks to employ that hack-a-Splitter strategy again.
4. Boris Diaw's aggressiveness- Boris is more aggressive now on the offensive end than in any point in his career if I remember. OKC would pay dearly if they leave him wide open or if they switch a smaller guy on him.
5. James Harden-No need to explain this.
Spurs are deeper and more talented now than in 2012 while the Thunder have pretty much stayed the same, especially when Harden left.
but today's durant is more established and experienced than he was 2 years ago imho, and the refs are giving OKC more help than ever before. I'd rather play monkeyball than OKC in the conference finals at least a series vs. monkeyball will be fairly whistled.
Back in 2012 it was Boris Diaw who dismantled OKC for the first two games before hiding under a rock for the next 4 games. If anything, Boris Diaw's play will be huge
Hard to say. If he plays like he did in the first round he'll be their best big in the series. If his balls shrivel he'll fit in on the bench well enough.
Personally I'm hoping to see Baynes vs Adams at some point.
Hard to say. If he plays like he did in the first round he'll be their best big in the series. If his balls shrivel he'll fit in on the bench well enough.
Personally I'm hoping to see Baynes vs Adams at some point.
I get your point, but to say that the Spurs have no chance against MacVeigh City is totally absurd. The Spurs will be underdogs, but they have HCA, their bench is deeper, and their best players have finally reached peak form.
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