Spurs: Ibaka will not change the outcome of the series

[Thebesteva]

Wanna make a ele bet on that?

Didn't think so quit talking out your ass

Miami V Spurs ELE bet? Im for it. Let's do it cat man, or r u gonna be a welching got?

[StrengthAndHonor]

It would change a lot of things. Ibaka is their 3rd scoring option and their best defender. His 14 ppg, 10 rpg, 4bpg against the Spurs is severely missed.

Serge did a great job containing Griffin in the Clippers-Thunder series, holding him down to 42% in their 1on1 match-ups.

[spurraider21]

Miami V Spurs ELE bet? Im for it. Let's do it cat man, or r u gonna be a welching got?

Not worth it. IIRC he welched in an nfl forum bet

[Thebesteva]

Not worth it. IIRC he welched in an nfl forum bet

Oh yeah that is him isnt it. LOL that makes me laugh right meow

[ambchang]

He's not coming back is he? Strange thread le...

True, should've been "would not have made ..."

That said, I fully expect to see Ibaka play in at least one game this series.

Also, I expect okc to win game 3.

[Thebesteva]

Wanna make a ele bet on that?

Didn't think so quit talking out your ass

What's it gonna be cat man? I dont need your stupid ELE bet that you'll welch from anyway. Lets make it realistic, if I win I pick an avatar and sig of my choice that you have to use on your n0 lyfe scrub account. I know you're idea of a good saturday night is posting here so theres no chance of you following through with an ELE bet anyway

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

What's it gonna be cat man? I dont need your stupid ELE bet that you'll welch from anyway. Lets make it realistic, if I win I pick an avatar and sig of my choice that you have to use on your n0 lyfe scrub account. I know you're idea of a good saturday night is posting here so theres no chance of you following through with an ELE bet anyway

deal and vice versa

[Thebesteva]

deal and vice versa

Ok its a deal. If Miami wins then I win, if Spurs win then I lose. Sound good? You have to have the AV and Sig on till the regular season starts again, since I know you wont do it any other way. Dont welch out boy

[spurraider21]

Ok its a deal. If Miami wins then I win, if Spurs win then I lose. Sound good? You have to have the AV and Sig on till the regular season starts again, since I know you wont do it any other way. Dont welch out boy

man, i woulda done a sig/avy bet with you. make you rock the armenian flag and

[Thebesteva]

man, i woulda done a sig/avy bet with you. make you rock the armenian flag and

I wouldnt mind doing that , I couldnt make you put a bad sig and av on though

[rogues]

I wouldnt mind doing that , I couldnt make you put a bad sig and av on though

Don't make a bet with Frizzell..he's a known welcher, tbh..

[LkrFan]

I am sick and tired of hearing how big of a deal missing Ibaka is.

Note that I am not saying:
1) He will not make a difference
2) The Spurs will win this series

What I am saying is, given what has transpired so far, Ibaka would not have made a 20+ point difference in either of the first two games, and here is why ....

1) Ibaka is a fantastic defensive player, and he would likely have been a primary defender on Duncan. If he played in Game 1, in which Duncan was dominant, he would have forced Duncan out of the low block, but that would allow the Spurs to penetrate into the paint even more so. The issue about the Spurs scoring so many points in the paint in Game 1 wasn't just them missing Ibaka, it's also because their perimeter defense sucked. They allowed Parker, Ginobili and Kawhi to waltz into the paint unimpeded, if Ibaka came over to help, the Spurs would have just passed it out for a perimeter shot or for a dunk/layup inside. To top it off, the Spurs had 16 fastbreak points, and scored 21 points off TO, Ibaka isn't going to do much about those.

2) People point to 2012 and 2014 RS as some sort of "proof" that the Thunder would be a lot better vs. the Spurs if Ibaka was available, but you are comparing apples to oranges. The Spurs had no problems scoring in 2012 playoffs vs. OKC (they had 99+ points in 5 of the 6 games), they had trouble stopping them on offense. Sure Ibaka was hitting everything in that series, but the real difference on offense that year was Harden.

As for the 2014 RS, RS and playoffs are two different animals, especially when it comes to coaching. RS games were more based on individual talent, in which teams didn't have as much time to prepare for each other and can just "wing" it. Playoffs on the other hand, requires a lot of preparation to exploit your opposition's weakness as well as magnify your strengths. Brooks is not even in the same league as Pop as a coach. The only reason OKC won in 2012 was because of the massive talent difference. With Harden out of the picture, and the improvement of Green and Kawhi, the talent level has narrowed. Ibaka is not going to make up for that by himself.

2013-2014 WCF winner gets a big fat *PERID

[Thebesteva]

Don't make a bet with Frizzell..he's a known welcher, tbh..

Man, Im one of few people that would actually go through with the bet. What a cat loving got, you can already tell he has one foot out the door. The funny part is he was telling me I dont have the balls to do it

[chunticakes]

Man, Im one of few people that would actually go through with the bet. What a cat loving got, you can already tell he has one foot out the door. The funny part is he was telling me I dont have the balls to do it

Yeah that got welched on a bet when his god Newton got his pushed in by New Orleans last year. He was supposed to take a two week hiatus or whatever but he didn't last 2 days without posting his re ed Newton >>> Joe Montana takes.

[ambchang]

2013-2014 WCF winner gets a big fat *PERID

Why?

[Thebesteva]

Yeah that got welched on a bet when his god Newton got his pushed in by New Orleans last year. He was supposed to take a two week hiatus or whatever but he didn't last 2 days without posting his re ed Newton >>> Joe Montana takes.

I can already tell he's welching. Welchers have a way of not wanting to confirm on the stipulations of the bet and just kind of hope their team wins. I root for Spurs or anyone to beat the heat but there's no chance in anyone will this year.

[Splits]

I root for Spurs or anyone to beat the heat but there's no chance in anyone will this year.

You're talking out yo ass if you really believe that and have watched these playoffs. If the Spurs continue playing at the same level they have since Mavs G7, Heat don't stand a chance. I'd put my entire GIF collection on the Spurs over Heat, not that you have anything comparable to offer.

[Thebesteva]

You're talking out yo ass if you really believe that and have watched these playoffs. If the Spurs continue playing at the same level they have since Mavs G7, Heat don't stand a chance. I'd put my entire GIF collection on the Spurs over Heat, not that you have anything comparable to offer.

You do realize I believe the league is rigged for the most part right? I think in a non rigged league I would take the Spurs. However, what the NBA wants is ALWAYS what they get. I think time and time again its been proven that whatever story line benefits the NBA is the one that coincidentally prevails. Heat win, book it

[Splits]

You do realize I believe the league is rigged for the most part right? I think in a non rigged league I would take the Spurs. However, what the NBA wants is ALWAYS what they get. I think time and time again its been proven that whatever story line benefits the NBA is the one that coincidentally prevails. Heat win, book it

I would be onboard if last year's Finals had been rigged. It wasn't, it was a fairly officiated series, Heat won fair and square.

I do think the league rigs who gets there, or at a minimum provides influence, but once the Finals are on they can only do so much, the viewership is 10 X from the conference finals and the last thing they want to do is lose the casual fan and the associated revenue.

[spurraider21]

You do realize I believe the league is rigged for the most part right? I think in a non rigged league I would take the Spurs. However, what the NBA wants is ALWAYS what they get. I think time and time again its been proven that whatever story line benefits the NBA is the one that coincidentally prevails. Heat win, book it

if the league always got what it wanted, the spurs wouldn't have been to 5 finals

[Clipper Nation]

You do realize I believe the league is rigged for the most part right? I think in a non rigged league I would take the Spurs. However, what the NBA wants is ALWAYS what they get. I think time and time again its been proven that whatever story line benefits the NBA is the one that coincidentally prevails. Heat win, book it

Sure looked like the league wanted the Spurs to win last year, seeing as how the Heat shot a record low amount of free throws in a 7-game series and all, but Miami won anyway....

Unlike Dad Killer, Kirby, and Durbeta, Kang has had to win in spite of the refs....

[spurraider21]

Sure looked like the league wanted the Spurs to win last year, seeing as how the Heat shot a record low amount of free throws in a 7-game series and all, but Miami won anyway....

Unlike Dad Killer, Kirby, and Durbeta, Kang has had to win in spite of the refs....

manu got hacked in 6, and Green got hammered on that last 3

[Thebesteva]

I would be onboard if last year's Finals had been rigged. It wasn't, it was a fairly officiated series, Heat won fair and square.

I do think the league rigs who gets there, or at a minimum provides influence, but once the Finals are on they can only do so much, the viewership is 10 X from the conference finals and the last thing they want to do is lose the casual fan and the associated revenue.

Heat did win fair and square in that series. However, the league WILL NOT ALLOW certain storylines to not go through. Its been proven over and over. When it was Lakers V Celtics, I bet $1k on the Lakers to win and I had no doubt as I knew the NBA would not allow the rivalry to die off with the Celtics winning two times and in LA at that in 2010 to pretty much settle the debate. It was obvious the league was gonna give those certain calls at the end to LA, in which it did, and ultimately LA won. Same reason why I knew Celtics were going to win in 08.

Sure looked like the league wanted the Spurs to win last year, seeing as how the Heat shot a record low amount of free throws in a 7-game series and all, but Miami won anyway....

Unlike Dad Killer, Kirby, and Durbeta, Kang has had to win in spite of the refs....

I know you're a Korean and like to only look at numbers, however, you have to watch the games without biased which is hard for you to do. When you watch, its not about the amount of free throws ,in fact it has nothing to do with free throws. It has to do with who they call fouls on, when they call fouls, and in whose favor. Its about the timing of the calls and calling fouls on specific key players at the right moment.

Just because you check that Heat got only 10 free throws in a game doesnt mean they didnt have a game officiated in their favor. If you didnt believe this, then you heat fans wouldnt make threads last year about how the heat barely get free throws and people still think its rigged.

[DMC]

I am sick and tired of hearing how big of a deal missing Ibaka is.

Note that I am not saying:
1) He will not make a difference
2) The Spurs will win this series

What I am saying is, given what has transpired so far, Ibaka would not have made a 20+ point difference in either of the first two games, and here is why ....

1) Ibaka is a fantastic defensive player, and he would likely have been a primary defender on Duncan. If he played in Game 1, in which Duncan was dominant, he would have forced Duncan out of the low block, but that would allow the Spurs to penetrate into the paint even more so. The issue about the Spurs scoring so many points in the paint in Game 1 wasn't just them missing Ibaka, it's also because their perimeter defense sucked. They allowed Parker, Ginobili and Kawhi to waltz into the paint unimpeded, if Ibaka came over to help, the Spurs would have just passed it out for a perimeter shot or for a dunk/layup inside. To top it off, the Spurs had 16 fastbreak points, and scored 21 points off TO, Ibaka isn't going to do much about those.

2) People point to 2012 and 2014 RS as some sort of "proof" that the Thunder would be a lot better vs. the Spurs if Ibaka was available, but you are comparing apples to oranges. The Spurs had no problems scoring in 2012 playoffs vs. OKC (they had 99+ points in 5 of the 6 games), they had trouble stopping them on offense. Sure Ibaka was hitting everything in that series, but the real difference on offense that year was Harden.

As for the 2014 RS, RS and playoffs are two different animals, especially when it comes to coaching. RS games were more based on individual talent, in which teams didn't have as much time to prepare for each other and can just "wing" it. Playoffs on the other hand, requires a lot of preparation to exploit your opposition's weakness as well as magnify your strengths. Brooks is not even in the same league as Pop as a coach. The only reason OKC won in 2012 was because of the massive talent difference. With Harden out of the picture, and the improvement of Green and Kawhi, the talent level has narrowed. Ibaka is not going to make up for that by himself.

It doesn't exactly work like you're saying.

If Ibaka is in the paint, the Spurs aren't in the paint as much. That puts them further out, and that puts KD and RW where they are accustomed to being. With Serge out, someone has to try to fill that gap and there's no one there who can defend the paint and score from both inside and outside. he could very well make a 20+ ppg difference if he is locking down the paint and being another person that the Spurs have to defend against both inside and out.

Serge's absence is the difference in this series. I am convinced of that.

The perimeter defense sucked because they had to watch the paint as well. It all goes hand in hand.

[spurraider21]

i'm more in line with what DMC is saying. the entire dynamic of the spurs offense changed once it was learned ibaka was out. the paint area which had always appeared inaccessible to the spurs against OKC is suddenly a gold mine, and the only way OKC can prevent layups is by giving up wide open threes.