ESPN Insider/Hollinger: Spurs vs. Thunder: Advantage SAS

My head says Spurs but my heart says Thunder.

The last thing I want to see if San Antonio winning another strike-title.

But the Thunder are too sloppy and not nearly as good in close games as the Spurs.

They'll probably win 2 games by double digits, but the Spurs will win all the tight games and take the series in 6.

 

depends on how tony parker plays and how leonard defend durant

 

SA: 1st Offense, 11th Defense
OKC: 2nd Offense, 9th Defense

 

Actually it's:

SAS: 1st Offense, 17th Defence, 9th Rebounding
OKC: 2nd Offense, 3rd Defence, 5h Rebounding

OKC got arguably best defence in NBA, because they are only West team in top 6.

Also:
Serge Ibaka amassed 241 blocks during the regular season. The Spurs, as a team, only accumulated 293.

Now Ibaka won't have big series, because Durant will at power forward position for most of series to exploit the fact that Spurs have no center. So I don't see him playing more than 23-25 minutes a game, but it tells you who got better presence inside. OKC was 3rd in defending post ups this year, which is pretty good if you consider the fact that they never double.

 

What stat are you using for defense? Efficiency wise they were 9th and the Spurs were 11th.

 

Field goal defence

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/t...r-game/sort/fieldGoalPctOpponent/seasontype/2

 

Well San Antonio believes in not allowing 3 pointers and free throws so they naturally would allow a higher FG% overall.

 

Spurs in 6. The Thunder's time will come next year.

 

Ibaka's playing time will be determined by how well he D's up Duncan. Basically, whoever of Perkins, Ibaka and Collison plays the best defense on TD will get the most floor time. Ibaka no longer bites on every pump-fake and he has the foot speed to stay in front of TD, but we'll see. If Perkins is healthy, he should have the most success.

 

Not outcome in this series would surprise me.

 

They have this guy named duncan. I don't care what position they list him as but he plays center.

 

My point is that why Durant will be able to play at power forward, because Spurs will play with Diaw or Bonner at that position. This will cause a lot of missmatch for them.

 

He's a rookie. And he's not already one of the best wing defenders in the game.

 

And rookies cant be good defenders? tell that to chandler parsons. Anyhow fair enough if you dont think hes up there with the best, thats subjective. The fact that hes got a 7'3 wingspan isn't.

 

You can put Diaw/Bonner on Dequan Cook or Thabo Sefolosha

 

Durant is 6'10 with an almost 7'5 wingspan. His standing reach is a good 4'' longer than Leonard (9'2 vs 8'10).

To me, length doesn't mean as much as skills. But if we are talking about length alone, Durant is one of the longest wing player ever.

 

You said he is ALREADY ONE OF THE BEST DEFENDERS IN THE LEAGUE. That's ELITE status. You reserve that statement for Lebron James/Iggy/Tony Allen/Marion/Artest.

A good defender is fine. Which means Durant won't be stopped, b/c he already faced 2 of the BEST wing defenders in the game. Nobody on the Spurs will stop this guy.

 

The Spurs are good, no doubt. Pop is also better than Brooks.

But, I don't think OKC is getting enough credit here. They have the interior presence to slow Duncan, while putting an incredibly athletic lineup on the floor if they move Durant to the 4. I also think Westbrook's brute strength and athleticism will give Parker fits. Keep in mind the Spurs drew the two easiest match ups for them in the playoffs so far. The Jazz were lucky to be a playoff team with horrible backcourt play, and the Clippers never stood a chance. If they had faced Memphis in round 2, it would have been in a much tougher series because of Gasol and Randolph.

This series goes at least 6 regardless of who wins it. I'm pulling for OKC because of Durant, but it wouldn't shock me if the Spurs win either.