I'm not doubting Westbrook and Durant again. I picked against them in this last series. Had the Spurs in 5 and they proved me wrong and as great as Golden State is it's not like they blew the doors off OKC in the regular season. They all went down to the wire. OKC showed they could execute down the stretch and lock down defensively as well. They obilerated really what was an all time great team in San Antonio. They scored at will. Off ball movement, off pick and roll, forcing turnovers and getting transition buckets, and they got it done down low as well.
Well to be fair, his teammates weren't purposely feeding him the ball the entire game, this was a playoff game, and it as OKC, not Utah.
Spurs couldn't score against GS this season ( would have been a gentleman sweep too ) OKC can give GS more fits but every time KD and Russ won't be on the floor together , Warriors are going to go on huge runs . I agree with you on the 5 games prediction .
Kind of sucked seeing Duncan get his shot blocked by Ibaka there at the end. He looked so defeated in that moment like he knew he was done.
Steph usually guards the worst perimeter player of the opposing team. I think the Blazers were a great matchup against the Warriors. They have 2 scoring guards who can attack Steph left and right. But the Warriors went small to make Steph's life easier. Steph ended up guarding Aaron Crabb... I see the Warriors will go small against Thunder's length.
The Warriors match-up nicely against both OKC and the Cavs. They've got multiple perimeter defenders to run at Durant AND a rim protecting big man. Hide Steph on Roberson, throw Klay at Russell and Barnes/Iguodala/Green at Durant.
Oh Lord that's depressing... I know Kobe would rather switch positions and go out in the playoffs swinging, but as a fan I'm glad his last moment wasn't like that.
I was laughing pretty hard when pop said this last night. And I think it was even better because Pop was expecting a 2nd question like they usually do but Doris just asked that one question
I believe Duncan will come back for one more... I saw his stats for the season and they were not bad. The Spurs just need that one dynamic wing that can create off the dribble. It used to be Ginobili. Respect San Antonio but personally I'm glad they were ousted.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-spurs-sent-packing-in-search-of-energy-boost Great, great piece from Ding and he nails exactly what's wrong with the Spurs: vitality. Leonard is great and Aldridge is really good, but neither of them have that spark that pushes the greats like Kobe, Magic, Jordan, etc. In all honesty I've seen more vitality in D'Angelo and Julius than I have in Leonard. That's not to say either is as good as he is now or will ever be as good as he is now (hard to say) but they've got the kind of life about them that can pick a team up. I don't think Leonard has that. Aldridge isn't good enough for that. They need an infusion of fun in the worst way otherwise they'll just become another mid-tier team that's always pretty good but never good enough.
Anything but more rings for the Kang. I still think GSW has a much better chance vs the LeCavs, but otherwise I would be rooting for Durant and Westbrook.
^Westbrook has that "spark"... That constant attacking, angry will to win mentality. From what I have seen, James does not either at least consistently.
man, I don't know...the spurs ran into a thunder team that decided to finally play defense and sports two of the five best players in the nba. I think THAT was their problem. leonard and Aldridge are the envy of about 27 other teams, personalities and all.
That's not the point really. I'd love for either of them here, but I don't believe they're the ones to lead you to the promise land. You need someone else who can lift up the team and let everyone feed off their energy.
But I think the Portland series in how they had to guard the perimeter players is going to really help them prepare for OKC in how they like to play with their scorers in Westbrook and Durant.