Let's face it . . .

[Mikeanaro]

This season Tony Scorpion Parker will take hero ball to the next level...

It is my nature!

[cd021]

Most games were pretty close and Memphis had one of the tiest offenses to make the WCF in awhile. Who's gonna stop Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and now Jackson? I'll wait for it got.

Your point was wrong, obviously. Good job throwing in " got" though like you won your argument You never brought up offense, how convenient you change your point after I debunked it.

Green has stopped Westbrook=Last season-4 Games, 23.0 PPG ,36%FG, 28 3pt, 22 FGA per game.
This season-2 Games-18.5 PPG, 39% FG, 18 FGA Per Game

Leonard-Durant-41 mpg, 50% FG %,16 FGA, 23 PPG (5 below his average, 1 of those games, Green was the primary defender)
This season-2 Games-43 % FG, 18.5 FGA, 20.5 ppg) (5 below his average, 1 of those games, Green was the primary defender)


Splitter-Ibaka-4 Games-50% FG 10 FGA per game, 13.3 PPG
This season-2 Games-44%FG-14.5 FGA Per Game, 15.5 PPG

Ibaka numbers aren't over the moon. So far this season, he has scored 15 ppg against us but is shooting 44% on 14.5 shots. The Spurs will live with that. They'd rather Ibaka take 14 than Westbrook or Durant take 6 or 7 more a game. That is usually how we defend and it usually works.

Jackson? He has played very well but even you should know, the post season is an different animal. He's not going for 15 a game in a postseason series against us. He is better than I expected but not as difficult to stop as Harden was.

The chances of us beating them are far from slim. Based on our last 6 meetings since the WCF we have actually played excellent defense against them. Save for 2 double digit losses ( both had Leonard DNP). We nearly rallied to beat them in OKC with De Colo running point after Parker left mid way in the second half. Games have been very compe ive.

[spurs10]

The Thunder are nowhere near to peaking.

It's hard to say what their peak is, as they haven't ever done anything...

[thunderup]

It's hard to say what their peak is, as they haven't ever done anything...

I'll say this: this rendition of the Thunder feels as complete a team as any other, more than the 2012 version. There are more pieces capable of producing. Russ and KD's continued supers om will be tough for anybody to handle and add varied role players capable of producing.

[cd021]

Spurs were going to lose even with Kawhi, tbh..

OKC is peaking right now, they can't really get any better, they are the best team in the league at the moment..Durant is having one of the best seasons in the post-Jordan era, Westbrook/Ibaka are doing what they do, and their trio of ugly-ass role players, Jackson/Lamb/Adams, are playing as well as they could possibly play, tbh..

The Spurs have a great record, but aren't playing anywhere near their best level, obviously..Parker is noticeably worse than last season, Green is having an atrocious year, Splitter's offense has gone downhill, and the Spurs have yet to figure out how to utilize Parker and Leonard on the floor together..

Realistically, even with everything reverting to the norm, the Spurs could beat the Thunderefs in a series, but they still need a long SF/mobile big to be considered equal to them, and for any chance to beat Miami this year IMO..

I agree. Its pretty becoming painfully obviously that Leonard isn't comfortable being nearly as aggressive when Parker is on the floor. Late last season he was averaging 15 a game post all star break. Parker missed 8 or 9 games and all of a sudden Leonard is going 20 and 10 against the Thunder twice.

The best option seems to be extending his minutes and play him 7 or 8 minutes with the 2nd unit.

[AFBlue]

Agreed. Id also take Thabo over green and ibaka over splitter

Thabo-Green is a wash if Danny stops trying to put the ball on the floor.

I'd rather have Ibaka too tbh, but that's where it stops. I'd rather Kawhi than Jackson, Ginobili than Fisher, Beli than Lamb, Diaw than Perkins...and on and on.

Spurs are just a deeper, more talented team imo.

[TheGoldStandard]

I think we can all agree that this Spurs team has a lot more to give especially on defense. I know we are only in December but something has to give even for pride these guys need to want to win one against a team like OKC because we know they are capable of so much more. I don't see the Spurs making any moves at all, way too late in the season to get someone who will make an impact so what we see is what we are going to get but something is wrong with Danny Green. I don't think we can call it a "slump" the guy flat out just doesn't contribute and defensively he hasn't been remarkable only average at best. I was actually pretty proud of TP tonight, for having a few games off he was aggressive and got to the foul line which is rare against OKC, had nothing to do with heroball. Shoot half the team didn't want to shoot the ball to begin with, passing up on open shots to try to make the extra pass, and one too many passes to passive Tiago Splitter who is useless offensively.

[TXstbobcat]

We will just have to settle this in a seven-game series in the playoffs.

[Johnny RIngo]

Spurs have their best player at the wrong position. PGs don't lead teams to championships. TP isn't a 1st option, franchise talent. Robinson had Duncan to carry him to a championship when he turned 37. Duncan, at 37, was still carrying TP in the Finals. Kinda embarrassing but it is what it is.

TP had everything go right for him last playoffs - favorable matchups(no OKC), Green hitting 3s at an unreasonable rate in the Finals, Duncan turning back the clock, Leonard stepping up big. All this and he still choked in the final two games. Yeah Manu was terrible but TP didn't exactly shine either. TP should have done the reasonable thing and apologized for his Finals performance. Rest his body during the summer and promise the fans an even better season next year. Instead, he spends the summer playing worthless FIBA(probably to get his confidence up after the chokejob) and will probably be battling fatigue all season. Really, really disappointed in TP thus far.

We're going to need Leonard to keep improving, Manu to be more effective against the top teams, Duncan to get back to his 2013 levels, Green to regain his confidence, and Splitter to learn how to contribute more on offense to make another Finals run. Lots of room for improvement still.

[DMC]

Thabo-Green is a wash if Danny stops trying to put the ball on the floor.

I'd rather have Ibaka too tbh, but that's where it stops. I'd rather Kawhi than Jackson, Ginobili than Fisher, Beli than Lamb, Diaw than Perkins...and on and on.

Spurs are just a deeper, more talented team imo.

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.

[DMC]

It's hard to say what their peak is, as they haven't ever done anything...

You can't really say that honestly. They backdoor swept the Spurs the last time they met in the WCF, and would have probably been in the Finals again had Russell not gone down. I'd say they've done something. Since this Spurs team isn't the 2007 version, they've done just as much nothing tbh.

[HI-FI]

Spurs have their best player at the wrong position. PGs don't lead teams to championships. TP isn't a 1st option, franchise talent. Robinson had Duncan to carry him to a championship when he turned 37. Duncan, at 37, was still carrying TP in the Finals. Kinda embarrassing but it is what it is.

TP had everything go right for him last playoffs - favorable matchups(no OKC), Green hitting 3s at an unreasonable rate in the Finals, Duncan turning back the clock, Leonard stepping up big. All this and he still choked in the final two games. Yeah Manu was terrible but TP didn't exactly shine either. TP should have done the reasonable thing and apologized for his Finals performance. Rest his body during the summer and promise the fans an even better season next year. Instead, he spends the summer playing worthless FIBA(probably to get his confidence up after the chokejob) and will probably be battling fatigue all season. Really, really disappointed in TP thus far.

We're going to need Leonard to keep improving, Manu to be more effective against the top teams, Duncan to get back to his 2013 levels, Green to regain his confidence, and Splitter to learn how to contribute more on offense to make another Finals run. Lots of room for improvement still.

bingo.

I just hope this fatigue for Parker is something he can overcome or get the necessary rest. As much as I on the guy, we still need him now.

[jbspurs]

LOL! "time to rebuild."

Exactly! After a regular season lost ...

[phxspurfan]

Spurs have their best player at the wrong position. PGs don't lead teams to championships. TP isn't a 1st option, franchise talent. Robinson had Duncan to carry him to a championship when he turned 37. Duncan, at 37, was still carrying TP in the Finals. Kinda embarrassing but it is what it is.

TP had everything go right for him last playoffs - favorable matchups(no OKC), Green hitting 3s at an unreasonable rate in the Finals, Duncan turning back the clock, Leonard stepping up big. All this and he still choked in the final two games. Yeah Manu was terrible but TP didn't exactly shine either. TP should have done the reasonable thing and apologized for his Finals performance. Rest his body during the summer and promise the fans an even better season next year. Instead, he spends the summer playing worthless FIBA(probably to get his confidence up after the chokejob) and will probably be battling fatigue all season. Really, really disappointed in TP thus far.

We're going to need Leonard to keep improving, Manu to be more effective against the top teams, Duncan to get back to his 2013 levels, Green to regain his confidence, and Splitter to learn how to contribute more on offense to make another Finals run. Lots of room for improvement still.

TP tore his hamstring in the Finals, did he not? I'd blame Pop or Manu over TP for the Finals loss.

[BatManu20]

[Hoops Czar]

Lol...I don't really have a retort for that, other than to say you're probably in the significant minority.

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?

[Johnny RIngo]

TP tore his hamstring in the Finals, did he not? I'd blame Pop or Manu over TP for the Finals loss.

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.

[Chinook]

The team needs a capable third perimeter defender more than anything. Green is too small to defend Durant in a series, but KD only scored 17 points on 19 possessions. That's fine. The problem was that without Leonard, Green couldn't guard Westbrook or Jackson and no one else was even slowing them down. Perhaps this is why Pop has been trying to put Cory back in recently. Curious he didn't do so this game.

So the best realistic trade would be for a deep bench player whose only real skill is being an annoying defender. Royal Ivey is such a player, and he's free. Maybe there's a player like him or Beverly that can be had. Otherwise, Cory needs to develop in a hurry. The perimeter defense can't keep falling apart just because Leonard is out or Green gets benched.

[Baam]

The team needs a capable third perimeter defender more than anything. Green is too small to defend Durant in a series, but KD only scored 17 points on 19 possessions. That's fine. The problem was that without Leonard, Green couldn't guard Westbrook or Jackson and no one else was even slowing them down. Perhaps this is why Pop has been trying to put Cory back in recently. Curious he didn't do so this game.

So the best realistic trade would be for a deep bench player whose only real skill is being an annoying defender. Royal Ivey is such a player, and he's free. Maybe there's a player like him or Beverly that can be had. Otherwise, Cory needs to develop in a hurry. The perimeter defense can't keep falling apart just because Leonard is out or Green gets benched.

The problem is with Beli there's not enough room for all our SGs already, and PG defense is the least efficient (Beverley got owned by TP, Cojo got atomized by Curry in the POs) so we're talking about a SF... Back to square one and this weird off season where they didn't address the blatant needs...

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

yawn. Spurstalk melting down because we played an elite perimeter scoring team without our best perimeter defender?

OKC only sealed this game with a couple threes off of offensive rebounds. We got the stops, with Kawhi maybe we get the rebound and this is a much closer game.

Spurs scored easily enough on this OKC team. Our defence can only get better with Kawhi back.

This is an actually logical explanation. Thank you for not whining about how its "rebuilding time" and how this team is done for.

[Man In Black]

Look at that, actual hoop talk. It can be done.

[objective]

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.

[dorrrr]

Regular season means nothing, we don't play hard, defense is , pop's trying new stuff and saving energy. We'll be a whole new team in the playoff.

[DeadlyDynasty]

He's right...as currently constructed they can't beat OKC--especially w/o HCA. Also factor in another year of wear and tear, the fact that this playoff road won't likely be littered with opposing injuries, and things don't look too promising for SA. Should win 55+ games, but a WCF appearance is their ceiling barring any midseason transactions/catastrophic opposing injuries.

[GrandeDavid]

This is the proper viewpoint. The negativity is funny.

The Decemberists are clamoring to be heard yet will deny their comments come June.