How exactly have OKC got significantly better? Their Offense is as good as far as Durant and Westbrook co-exist and Harden contributing, besides that there's nothing there. On top of that they lost their only true PG, Eric Maynor, for the rest of the year. Their defense is about average because they struggle mightly towards teams that play with a grind out half court style like the Spurs. Now im not betting on Spurs or Lakers to come out on top, because this year the West is pretty unpredictable. Spurs are always unreliable due to the age factor and Lakers are too inconsistent and their road play is horrible. But I do see the Lakers turning it around but I still don't trust Mike Brown's offense at all.
OKC is coming out of the West period. People look at 1 or 2 games in the reg. season to predict the playoffs, and that's just misleading. The Lakers aren't a great road team; they lost to 2 of the worst teams in the L on the road, and needed OTs to beat below average road teams the past 2 games. If you can't win on the road, you're not going to win your conference point blank. The Spurs aren't going to beat OKC in a 7 game series period. The Spurs are like that great reg. season team that gets exposed in a 7 game series.
Murry armed this team for a 1st-round war w/ LA. Other than Ibaka-Perk, Camby-Bert is the strongest defensive counter to a Pau-Bynum frontline out West. Sessions is one of the worst defensive PGs in the league, and would actually have a much tougher time containing Gogi than K-Low, IMO. The Sessions acquisition has been overhyped by the left coast media. He's not going to work wonders for a Kobe-centric offense, and LA loses juice in the experience, leadership, and chemistry departments. McHale also has the ability to throw multiple looks at Kobe w/ Lee and Parsons on the perimeter. If we're at full-strength and riding a wave of confidence, we could topple the Lakers in 6 or 7.
I think it would at least be competitive because Pop is that much of a better than Brooks and they match up well. They're 8-2 against the Thunder in their last 10 meetings. They're also not far behind record wise at the moment.
Also the spurs core is a 3 time nba champion. They lost last year coz manu was playing on a broken arm and timmy got some knee issues. Also that machtup was terrible for them. They will bounce back, with capt. Jack i can c them in the nba finals. Pop is by far the best coach in the game, Tp is playing mvp-like , they have a very deep bench, and are playing better d.
I agree it would be tough exactly for those reasons. Pop vs. Brooks in the playoffs is scary and makes me wonder just how good OKC would be if they had a good coach. That said, OKC would beat the Spurs if they brought their "A" game effort. While tonight was scandalous, it's indicative of how OKC's played since the All-Star break. Right after the Hawks game, I predicted OKC would lose 2 or their next 5 home games. But I imagine they'll snap out of it well before the playoffs. The Spurs this year are just another example of Pop's greatness. Either tonight or earlier in the week, one of the national announcers asked another "Is Pop really that much smarter than the rest of us"? Doesn't matter who is on the floor, they will execute the plan. Period, end of story. When they do that, good things happen. But I just can't see the Spurs winning 3 playoff series and going to the Finals.
Thing is, can Duncan and Parker and Manu play 35+ minutes efficiently every game over a 7 game series? OUtside of Parker, it's highly debatable. And I just don't see how they can contain WB/KD over a 7 game series either. In this condensed season, people too much stock over particular reg. season games.
OKC is one team. Even though, they've handled the Clippers well, during the season, I'm not sure how it will play out in a hectic playoff series. I'm not sure they can beat the Lakers in a series. Gasol and Bynum are going to be overwhelming for them, and they really have to contain Kobe. The Nuggets may give them alot of trouble, if there full roster is present, same with the Grizzlies and Mavs. The Spurs turned into the Atlanta Braves, after the last title, they'll make the playoffs with alot of wins, but will lose to a team on a bad matchup or a team who is on fire going into playoffs.
Get ready to se Kobe chuck/stink it up and rarely feed the bigs and be like "y u no make that shot". Same old story once they get eliminated. "pau u suck" all over the media.
Sorry, the playoffs are separated by a day of rest, every game. Older teams like the Spurs and Lakers are going to thrive in that environment. They've held their own and excelled during the regular season playing back-to-backs and 4 games in 5 days scheduling. They will actually get more rest during the playoffs.
Sorry, Tim Duncan averages 28 minutes per game. It's going to be difficult to elevate to 35-36 minutes per game of playoff intensity and expect the same production, even with multiple days of rest. Manu has played what? 15 games? Parker as your best player isn't going to lead you out of the WC. The Spurs are good during the reg. season b/c of their depth, and ridiculously great coaching. Unfortunately, in the playoffs, your best players play 38+ minutes. Depth isn't going to matter much. I see several reasons why the Lakers won't come out of the West 1) Kobe is primarily a jumpshooter. 2) The Lakers don't get to the line as much as OKC (primarily b/c Kobe is a jumpshooter). In the playoffs, you need easy points (and the FT line is the best way to get them) 3) They can't win on the road consistently. If the Lakers were .500 on the road, I would give them a better chance. 4) They have ZERO bench. The drop off from the starting lineup to the bench is stifling. Although starters play major minutes in the playoffs, the Lakers' bench sucks so bad that it'll hurt them. However, it's a good sign that Kobe has conceded to Bynum more and more the past few weeks. If Kobe curbs his shot attempts to 17-18 a game and be more of a facilitator, maybe I'll change my mind.
Kinda agree with what you're saying. But If I had to put money on it, I'd say you'll change your mind. LA will be in Finals
Period. Lol. Tmac 1 making stupid predictions as usual. How was your year after year "tmac will be back in form" predictions again?
