Western Conference Finals: (1) San Antonio vs. (2) Oklahoma City

Yeah, he is definitely the X factor with the Thunder. They really have no chance without him it appears.

 

Westbrick took 8 more shots than Durant and scored the same number of points on one of Durant's worst shooting nights ever.

 

Or Harden. Amirite

 

Does Scott brooks lose his job here?

 

We will see Spurs don't have Gary Neal that's about it but what the nba does is they keep Miami in games so that late in games they always have a chance to win. That's one of many reasons they are sooooo tough to beat in 4 games unless Lebron totally dissappear Ala Dallas Mavericks.

 

Yeah, I'm starting to see why he was kept over Harden. Harden is the superior offensive player by far but Ibaka's defense still makes the Thunder a contender. Without him, they are looking like first or second round fodder.

 

they really enjoy their retirement, having fun

 

Harden is nothing compared to Ibaka. Harden would have helped OKC into a 60+ loss shooting 3 of 38 if he was out there.

 

They could've kept Harden and dropped Perkins instead of Ibaka

No matter... its ova for the night

 

Miami stays in most games because they attack the paint.
A jump shooting team like the Rockets and Thunder have a large tendency to get blown out when their three point shots aren't falling.

The refs don't factor in as much as you think.

 

Nah, u just have Spurs now firing on all cylinder (i.e. Danny Green was not hitting 60% from 3's in that series, Tony Parker seems to have woken up during the Blazers series)

 

With Ibaka, Thunder were still a contender, without him they are not. Harden would help the Thunder right now offensively, but they would still be losing by a lot because of the absence of Ibaka's defensive presence.

 

WB/Ibaka are 2 way players. Harden is a one way player. Not a hard decision really.

 

Sadly, probably not.

 

No, the Heat stay in most games because they defend. In fact, when you defend, you'll be in almost EVERY game.

Defense is a requirement to go deep in the playoffs and win championships. And some offense.

 

True, but it looked like the ultimate choice was between Ibaka and Harden. Oh well, last two playoffs, Thunder's chances have been derailed by a key injury. Sucks for them.

 

I don't get why people debate keeping Westbrook over Harden or Ibaka over Harden when they could have easily had all 3 right now.

 

Its a combination of both, really.
I have my doubts Miami would be where they are now, and would have accomplished what they have in the past two seasons if Wade and LeBron didn't tone down their outside game in favor of getting to the rim.
Defense be damned, Miami is really effective at scoring in the paint.