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GM1: Oklahoma City at San Antonio


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This will be a tough series for OKC but think about this:

 

The Spurs have swept the Jazz and Clippers to start the playoffs. Very impressive. No doubt about it.

 

But the Thunder have lost just one game against Dallas and the Lakers. That's just as impressive, or more impressive IMO.

 

I say Thunder in 7. I think the star power of Durant and Westbrook and the youth, athletic defense of Ibaka and Sefolosha will ultimately be the difference.

 

We really have two great C.F. this year. And the finals will be great to watch too, no matter what the matchup is.

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Did I hear this correctly? The team thats sweept in the first two rounds has never won a Conference Finals. That's amazing.

I don't think you heard that right cause the lakers swept in 2001 and won a ring.

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Did I hear this correctly? The team thats sweept in the first two rounds has never won a Conference Finals. That's amazing.

 

You're a Lakers fan. You should know that is incorrect, haha. 2001 ring a bell? ;)

 

As far as the game goes, the Spurs have been taking awful care of the ball, which is the one thing that they especially needed to avoid in this series. I don't remember the last time I saw them commit this many turnovers in a half. If they want to win this game they are going to have to do a much better job taking care of the ball, especially with Durant and Westbrook starting to heat up towards the end of that 2nd quarter.

 

On the bright side for San Antonio, Ginobili played his best half of the playoffs so far. It is definitely an encouraging sign to see him play like he did in that half after struggling for the first two rounds.

 

I do like the pace this game is being played at even if it was a sloppy half. If this is the type of ball we are seeing with both teams coming off an extended layoff and a bit rusty, I can't wait to see how great the games will be when they are both playing at their best.

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As for the game, the Spurs look horrible. Credit to OKC, but I haven't seen the Spurs turn the ball over this much in a half all season.

 

 

Hopefully this is a repeat of the Clippers game 1. Spurs looked rusty and out of sync in the first half, then turned it on in the 3rd.

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Does anybody else think it is pretty funny how commentators keep on bringing up how many close games the Thunder have played in the playoffs so far and playing it up like it is some huge advantage for them in this series?

 

I mean, I'm sure Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich are terrified of playing close games and can't handle playing in high pressure situations.

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Does anybody else think it is pretty funny how commentators keep on bringing up how many close games the Thunder have played in the playoffs so far and playing it up like it is some huge advantage for them in this series?

 

I mean, I'm sure Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich are terrified of playing close games and can't handle playing in high pressure situations.

 

 

It was pissing me off TBH. The "Battle Tested" Thunder didn't show up in the 4th.

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The scary thing is that the Spurs really only played well for one quarter in this game and still came away with a fairly easy win (forget the final score, this game wasn't as close as it suggests since the Thunder's three pointers with the game already out of hand made it seem closer than it was) behind the strength of that one quarter.

 

I'm not suggesting that it will be a cake walk for them because I still think this series goes 6 games, but I do fully believe San Antonio will win this series and should be the favourites for the championship. It is just scary how good this team is that they can play sloppy, mistake prone basketball for 3 quarters and still come away with a relatively easy win against a team as good as the Thunder.

 

What I really liked from the Spurs was the way they forced Perkins into a significant offensive role. They kept on giving the Thunder no choice but to pass the ball into him. I remember reading a tweet from somebody that mentioned this and couldn't agree more. It really was great defense by them.

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The scary thing is that the Spurs really only played well for one quarter in this game and still came away with a fairly easy win (forget the final score, this game wasn't as close as it suggests since the Thunder's three pointers with the game already out of hand made it seem closer than it was) behind the strength of that one quarter.

LOL, that's exactly what I said to my girl (who is a Thunder fan), and she just hates me right now. Wasn't really trying to tease her about the loss, though...but she knows I'm right. The Spurs should not have won, but they did...and that's what championship teams do.

 

What I really liked from the Spurs was the way they forced Perkins into a significant offensive role. They kept on giving the Thunder no choice but to pass the ball into him. I remember reading a tweet from somebody that mentioned this and couldn't agree more. It really was great defense by them.

Yep, and that's what LA's plan was after Game 1 (to let Perkins and Ibaka beat them), but it didn't happen because the Lakers were horrible defending the pick and roll, and Westbrook had no problem pulling up for mid-range jumpers.

 

The Spurs can defend it, however, and defend it well. They manipulate it. That will be the deciding factor, really.

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Does anybody else think it is pretty funny how commentators keep on bringing up how many close games the Thunder have played in the playoffs so far and playing it up like it is some huge advantage for them in this series?

 

I mean, I'm sure Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich are terrified of playing close games and can't handle playing in high pressure situations.

same rhetoric when talking about the Lakers size advantage against the Thunder because Ibaka/Perkins don't have a history of playing dominating defense or anything :lol:

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