****Western Conference Finals - Spurs vs. Thunder****

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Ulrich
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10:16a, 5/28/14
The Spurs got their butts kicked though. Big difference between losing tight games and getting slaughtered. The Thunder have also done it differently in each game (good defense + refs in game three, great shooting and defense in game four).

I'm hoping that the Thunder will wear down a little. That was a monster effort from Westbrook on both ends and he played 45 minutes.
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Sher Thing
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10:19a, 5/28/14
Each game takes on a different style. Yeah the Spurs looked horrible and got their butts kicked but that really doesn't matter. Losing at the buzzer could arguably be a worse situation tbh. The Spurs got blown out in b2b games against Detroit in 05. It happens. Well see how they respond but the point still remains. Being 2-2 with HCA is an ideal situation for any team that makes it to conference finals.

Luckily, the Spurs don't have to win a road game to win the series. That's what they earned through 82 games.

[This message has been edited by Sher Thing (edited 5/28/2014 9:20a).]
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Frok
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10:22a, 5/28/14
As a neutral fan it's been interesting to see people's reactions to this series. A week ago this series was over and we were already talking Heat/Spurs re-match. Now I see OKC fans on other sites declaring this series is over. I bet game 5 will be close and hard fought. Kinda glad I don't have a dog in the fight because those kind of games give me a near heart attack.
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Ulrich
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10:26a, 5/28/14
quote:
A week ago this series was over and we were already talking Heat/Spurs re-match.

A week ago, Ibaka was out for the season.
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Sher Thing
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10:29a, 5/28/14
Ibaka coming back and essential having no issues physically certainly changed the series.

For one, he's obviously a great player that gives the Spurs fits and two, the energy and confidence it brought to OKC just having him on the court and playing well made them believe again. Even when it was announced he was playing Spurs fans weren't that worried because they figured he'd be around ~60% healthy but it's literally comical at this point. The guy wasn't limited at all in Game 4. He's fine.

With Ibaka in the lineup I don't think anyone had this series going less than 6 or 7 games.
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Pahdz
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10:33a, 5/28/14
quote:
Oh, and the last part of my strategy, if KD and Westbrick get in rhythm, hack an Adams until they take his ass out.

Make Ibaka play on his fake-injured leg all game long.


Yeah because faking an injury to dig yourself into an 0-2 hole is what the Thunder's goal was all along.
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GatorAg03
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10:36a, 5/28/14
Going into the postseason I predicted the Spurs would beat the Thunder in seven and thought that game 7 would be a coin toss. Once Ibaka was out and the Spurs were cruising it was easy to see the Thunder were done. Now that Ibaka is back to 100% the series is back to a coin toss.

The refs have made a huge difference in both games 3 and 4. I am not saying the Spurs would have won with neutral refs but both games would have been much closer.

The Spurs starters shot 8 FTs in Game 4 while the Thunder starters shot 27 FTs. The Mills three in game three and the Westbrook out of bounds steal in game 4 were huge momentum swings. There are so many examples but how the refs call the games is huge for both teams. I don't think having the refs playing such an important role is good for the Spurs.
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nbbob
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10:42a, 5/28/14
Gator do you realize there were more fouls called on OKC in the two games combined?
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Ulrich
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10:42a, 5/28/14
quote:
Oh, and the last part of my strategy, if KD and Westbrick get in rhythm, hack an Adams until they take his ass out.

I was actually pretty surprised they didn't try this midway through the 4th quarter. The choice was between a shooting foul on Westbrook (50/50 he would get a bucket + 80% on the free throw ~1.7 points per play) or a non-shooting foul on Adams (60% free throw shooter = 1.2 points per play). Aside from the huge points per play disparity, he might lose his temper... I don't know if he is a hothead, but I know that a lot of those "irritation" guys tend to have tempers.
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Sher Thing
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10:45a, 5/28/14
quote:
Yeah because faking an injury to dig yourself into an 0-2 hole is what the Thunder's goal was all along.


Of course not but the fact that they declared him out for the season is a joke. He isn't limited in anyway right now. Either the training staff is full of idiots or they knew the swelling would go down in a week or two and decided to declare him out anyway.

Either way that point is moot. What's fact is he isn't limited in any way and he's fine now. He's an incredible healer or whatever you want to call it. He's fine though.
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Guitarsoup
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10:45a, 5/28/14
Adams shooting 38% in the playoffs. Looking at .76 points per possession there.
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Sher Thing
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10:46a, 5/28/14
quote:
Gator do you realize there were more fouls called on OKC in the two games combined?


This is a total cop out. Most OKCs calls are coming in the fourth quarter when the game is already over. Anyway I'm not going to complain about officiating since it's out of our control.
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Ulrich
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10:49a, 5/28/14
No doubt the Thunder knew Ibaka was coming back for this series. I almost wonder if they were gaming their own team, fans, and press, but that Presti tipped the Spurs off behind the scenes to avoid taking a competitive advantage from the lie. They were awfully confident that Ibaka was coming back and Presti spent several years with the Spurs.
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Ulrich
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10:51a, 5/28/14
quote:
Adams shooting 38% in the playoffs. Looking at .76 points per possession there.

On only 23 attempts. He was 58% in the regular season with a much larger sample size.
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Sher Thing
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10:51a, 5/28/14
Ibaka is fine. His fake limp in game 3 was playing right into the crowd. He was flying around like his normal self last night. No issue whatsoever. He has a sore calf as do many other players right about now.
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DTP02
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10:51a, 5/28/14
quote:
quote:
Oh, and the last part of my strategy, if KD and Westbrick get in rhythm, hack an Adams until they take his ass out.

I was actually pretty surprised they didn't try this midway through the 4th quarter. The choice was between a shooting foul on Westbrook (50/50 he would get a bucket + 80% on the free throw ~1.7 points per play) or a non-shooting foul on Adams (60% free throw shooter = 1.2 points per play). Aside from the huge points per play disparity, he might lose his temper... I don't know if he is a hothead, but I know that a lot of those "irritation" guys tend to have tempers.


Yeah, me too. I know Pop was liking what he was seeing ball movement wise on offense and didnt want to disrupt the offensive flow so as to build some confidence in the bench players, but a couple of trips resulting in a 1-4 from Adams and a couple of buckets (or Joseph making that easy layup) could have made things interesting.

It's academic, but I do wonder what Pop would have done if they'd been able to get the lead down to 8 or so. I think he'd have to bring the starters back in at that point, or a few of them anyway.
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GatorAg03
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10:52a, 5/28/14
I absolutely aware and watched every second. It is laughable to think that the last two games have been called evenly. If Parker got half the calls that westbrook got it would be a whole different ballgame. The Spurs offense is about spacing and cutting. If you can hold and grab without worrying about a foul being called then it makes it pretty easy.

This is the worse officiated series I have witnessed since the Mavs Heat Finals a few years back. I hate the Mavs but it is pretty clear they were royally screwed in that series, similarly to how the Spurs have been the last two games.
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TexAg2016
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10:53a, 5/28/14
Agreed. The refs are controlling the game.
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TexAg2016
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10:53a, 5/28/14
Agreed. The refs are controlling the game.
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Sher Thing
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10:55a, 5/28/14
quote:
If you can hold and grab without worrying about a foul being called then it makes it pretty easy.


This is exactly right. When teams are allowed to play this physical with the Spurs the Spurs just can't do the same things that they are accustomed to. Where the Spurs get hurt the most is NBA officiating is extremely inconsistent on a daily basis. What aren't fouls last night could all be fouls tomorrow.

Westbrook bodying up Tony all the way down the court all game is just frustrating to watch because he would have fouled out by the first quarter doing that in other games.

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DTP02
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11:02a, 5/28/14
Tony has to force the issue, though. Make them make the call, and make them make another one, and then Westbrook has to start giving him space. I don't like the way the game is being called, and I don't think it's fair to the Spurs, but you can only control what you can control. The Spurs were not as aggressive and did not play with confidence. That's what their focus needs to be.

[This message has been edited by DTP02 (edited 5/28/2014 10:19a).]
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Sher Thing
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11:06a, 5/28/14
Yeah I agree. The Spurs seem to want no part of the physicality. That's not the Spurs game but if that's the way they are going to officiate it the Spurs have to start playing more physical.

I feel like it will be a different game in SA though. I don't see them allowing Westbrook to just bully around defensively on the road. I mean it's insane how physical he was able to play. Give the guy credit he played a hell of a game and the officials weren't calling it.
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Guitarsoup
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11:07a, 5/28/14
quote:
Gator do you realize there were more fouls called on OKC in the two games combined?


A lot of what is giving OKC the advantage isn't going to show up on the foul disparity.

Westbrook had 5 steals last night, and I believe all led to points. Three of those should have been called fouls because he was reaching/hacking and one happened when he was out of bounds and should have been the Spurs ball. That by itself is probably a 15-18 point turnaround in favor of OKC. Then add the goal tends that Ibaka got away with and that adds more points in favor of the Spurs.
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Pahdz
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11:23a, 5/28/14
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Either the training staff is full of idiots


Entirely possible, considering Westbrook's knee this year.

I saw plenty of grabbing by Parker on Westbrook last night that wasn't called, but oh well. Watch the way smaller guys like CP3 are allowed to molest Durant when they guard him. It's playoff basketball, nut the hell up. You guys sound like a bunch of Rockets fans. You've got a gaggle of titles and moan like you're still itching for your first.

Ulrich...that Presti thing doesn't even make sense.
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Pahdz
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11:24a, 5/28/14
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Then add the goal tends that Ibaka got away


According to Spurs fans, Ibaka has never had a clean block.
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mAgnoliAg
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11:25a, 5/28/14
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You guys sound like a bunch of Rockets fans
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Guitarsoup
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11:26a, 5/28/14
Even the TV announcers pointed it out on replay. Missed goal tends are a huge swing. Take points away from the Spurs and often start a fast break.

Ibaka is a great shot blocker, but gets away with more goaltending than anyone I have ever seen.
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Guitarsoup
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11:27a, 5/28/14
Easy to say that when your team is getting the benefit of all the calls, Padz.
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Houston Summit
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11:31a, 5/28/14
Funny, I don't recall hearing about how poorly the refs were in games 1 or 2. Weird how this is just now coming up
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Sher Thing
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11:31a, 5/28/14
quote:
Entirely possible, considering Westbrook's knee this year.

I saw plenty of grabbing by Parker on Westbrook last night that wasn't called, but oh well. Watch the way smaller guys like CP3 are allowed to molest Durant when they guard him. It's playoff basketball, nut the hell up. You guys sound like a bunch of Rockets fans. You've got a gaggle of titles and moan like you're still itching for your first.


Please. Plenty of us are having a legit discussion about the games. They allowed both teams to play more physical in OKC compared to SA. Not sure how anyone could disagree with that. OKC benefits from it and SA doesn't. It's pretty simple really. What's a foul and what isn't a foul is in the eye of the beholder. The NBA doesn't even know. It's all about what the officials think is that specific night.

It could have been a result of OKC being at home or it could have been the fact that they were down 0-2. Whatever it is the games were called much differently in OKC. Not saying they were called bad just saying they were called differently; in a style which favors OKC's game.
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Ulrich
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11:31a, 5/28/14
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Ulrich...that Presti thing doesn't even make sense.

How so? The Thunder gin up a little excitement by bringing back a guy who was supposed to be out, but they don't go so far as to lie to their opponent to gain an unfair advantage. I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, because there is no way they thought Ibaka was out for the season. He missed two games and came back 100%.
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GatorAg03
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11:32a, 5/28/14
So we can't complain because CP3 was able to molest durant? You just proved our point. Your best player wasn't getting calls because of a bigger star player and it was frustrating to you.

The same thing is happening to the Spurs but on a larger scale.

The difference is unlike Durant, Ibaka and Westbrook, the trio of Manu, Parker and Duncan have actually won a few titles and should get the benefit of the doubt. Westbrook is the most overrated player in the league without the officials help.
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mAgnoliAg
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11:32a, 5/28/14
quote:
Funny, I don't recall hearing about how poorly the refs were in games 1 or 2. Weird how this is just now coming up
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Guitarsoup
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11:33a, 5/28/14
quote:
Funny, I don't recall hearing about how poorly the refs were in games 1 or 2. Weird how this is just now coming up


Brooks was *****ing about Westbrook and Durant not getting bailed out enough when the Thunder lost by 35 in game 2.
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Sher Thing
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11:34a, 5/28/14
Brooks was on the podium after the game complaining about officials. What a dewsh. We're just fans. Their coach was complaining.

[This message has been edited by Sher Thing (edited 5/28/2014 10:35a).]
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