Monty McCutcheon will likely get games 1, 4 & 7 of the Finals again.

I don't particularly want Joey for game seven at home, but if we get Danny No Calls for game six, it might not matter.

Like a lot of the calls in this series, this should have either been an offensive foul call or a no call. A foul on Timmy is ridiculous there.

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Here's Westbrook's nut shot on Duncan (refs called a foul on Duncan). Can't see enough of the play to say whether it was intentional or not, but it was definitely painful.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/5/29/5763392/tim-duncan-russell-westbrook-kick-groin

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I wish Kawhi wouldve grabbed him and chunked West*****'s ass to the ground.

Which us funny as Barkley often says other teams should knock Tony to the ground.

Tony has shown plenty of times it affects him. Surprised Perkins isn't in there playing the bully. Not like he is good for much else.

Didn't get a chance to watch the game, just read the posts on this thread and a few highlights. Y'all really don't like Westbrook huh? I understand he gets calls to go in his favor, but dude is so much fun to watch (when he is not playing your team at least). When he is in the game, something exciting usually happens.

That being said, his out of control movements leave the refs in an awful position to make calls because he is so fast and out of control. Honestly, I don't blame the refs who don't have the benefit of replay and slow motion to call every play like everybody here does. I just want at least one close game in this series.

Now, now, ladies. There is enough flopping for everyone!

Do you have a slower replay, I can't tell if Manu got him with the tips of his fingers or a howitzer.

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Didn't get a chance to watch the game, just read the posts on this thread and a few highlights. Y'all really don't like Westbrook huh? I understand he gets calls to go in his favor, but dude is so much fun to watch (when he is not playing your team at least). When he is in the game, something exciting usually happens.

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As I've said about the Thunder as a whole, I find him painful to watch in a game. The highlights are awesome, but slogging through hours of noffense and free throws is a beating. Dribble for a few seconds, then head down bull rush. Sometimes he breaks through for the highlight, more often it's just a bad shot or foul.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 5/30/2014 12:39a).]

Any chance that gets reviewed by the NBA at Spurs prompting and Westbrook out a game? (Nut kick)

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Any chance that gets reviewed by the NBA at Spurs prompting and Westbrook out a game? (Nut kick)

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That would be nice but doubt it because the thunder are the darling child of the nba

Not flagrant enough.

Hoping for a new logo after the 50-point Red Mamba swing.



[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 5/30/2014 2:41a).]

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Y'all really don't like Westbrook huh? I understand he gets calls to go in his favor, but dude is so much fun to watch (when he is not playing your team at least). When he is in the game, something exciting usually happens.

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Here's my feeling. Russell Westbrook is basically the perfect AAU player.
Pros:
Outrageous athleticism
Ridiculous range
Ultra competitive and wants to win more than almost everyone in the league
Fearless shooter (can also go in the "Con" list)

Cons:
Ballhog
Plays undisciplined defense (he seems content to rely heavily on his athleticism, which can lead to lots of SportsCenter-quality steals, but when he screws up, it can also lead to easy shots for the other team)
Is often out of control, which puts his production into the hands of the refs. Often works out for OKC, but this isn't guaranteed.
He's a fine passer, but he doesn't see 2 and 3 passes deep the way the elite PGs in the league do.
He doesn't seem that interested in working within a more advanced system. He's happy to drive, drive, drive all game, every game. That's far from ideal for a PG. It's sort of working for OKC because the team is loaded with athleticism and several players that demand double teams, but they struggle to put up points against disciplined, high level defenses or when they don't get to the FT line. Westbrook needs to develop his pointguard skills to help the team take the next step and he isn't doing it.

I don't know. When you consider all that, I can't help but think about what a waste of talent he is when I watch him. He's one of the most physically gifted athletes in the league, but he isn't developing the rest of his game like he should. And that doesn't mean he has to ignore his athletic ability. LeBron makes it on SportsCenter quite a bit based on high flying dunks and fast breaks, but he is also a "basketball player." Same for Tony Parker (who's admittedly on the backside of his physical prime). With Westbrook, you just get the feeling that he has too much pride to change. He's doing it his way, win or lose. Which is a shame because he could be transcendentally good.

[This message has been edited by Deputy Travis Junior (edited 5/30/2014 3:02a).]

Brooks is unbelievable. What a joke. Can't take responsibility when his team loses. If the thunder lose this series, he should be canned.

Missing this on here. Credit to Guitarsoup for the first time I've seen this a while ago on this forum

Good game Spurs. Finish it in Six.

I'm not sure why Brooks had Jackson on the floor with the starters. Dude was tearing it up, and then got forgotten and Durant and Westbrook decided it was in the teams best interest if they took 80% of the shots. The bench scoring would have been closer if Jackson played when Westbrook sat down.

Im not really sure what fouling Westbrook hard would do. Hes clearly not afraid of hard contact. Foul him and you just bail him out and send him to the line. Once he starts going to the line, theres no stopping that. Fouling him hard is also like challenging a viscious competitor. I think its best to play him straight up and try to let him self destruct from frustration.

I can't say enough great things about Diaw. He has proved crucial these playoffs. He has guarded Dirk, Aldridge and will get some time on Lebron if we make it to the finals. He has stretched and spaced the floor in this series when the Spurs looked stagnant. He has been the most effective post up player with his back to the basket and he can step out and knocks down threes. He even has rebounded pretty well considering his height limitations.

I really hope he doesn't get a huge offer in the offseason. He is only 32 so he still has some tread on his tires. I would love for the Spurs to lock him into a three year - 15 million dollar contract. He means more to the Spurs than he would most teams, but would be a huge addition to a team like Dallas, OKC or Miami.

Well he seems to get fouls if you breathe on him, might as well make the fouls count

It certainly appeared that Pop found the answer for Ibaka last night in keeping a stretch 4 on the floor and not playing Duncan and Splitter at the same time. Forcing Ibaka to choose to either leave the paint or stand alone under the basket while leaving a shooter unguarded was really causing OKC problems.

Westbrook is just the latest in a long line of combo guard/shooting PG's that are insane athletes and seem to dominate the league for a few years but the moment they lose even half a step to make them in to merely good athletes they fall into the abyss in a hurry. If you don't develop your game and completely rely on out athleting the best athletes in the world eventually it catches up with you and you end up with a combo guard that is a ball hog and shoots 40% from the field and 30% from 3. Much of Westbrook's game is simply bulling into the lane and expecting to get FT's regardless. It's terrible basketball.

I also agree with the point one of the announcers made last night that if they are going to change the rule on fouling the 3 Pt shooter to the extent where you can barely guard them then there needs to be an equal penalty for flopping. The league and game needs fewer FT's, not more.

Not sure what will happen in OKC but my gut tells me the Spurs take it. Kind of felt like they got their mojo back last night.

After both this series and the Mavs series, I have to say I feel infinitely better about our chances in the finals than last year.

I think the winner of this series beats Miami. I don't think they are nearly as good as the last couple years.

Lebron should take his talents to Houston and team up with Howard.

I too will feel really good if the Spurs make it to the finals. I felt like OKC was the one team that gave us the most trouble... the one team that, even if we were playing pretty good, could still beat us. I really hope that whatever we figured out last night carries over into game 6 and game 7 if necessary.

I'd love to see us play Miami, win 2 at home, split at Miami, and then blow them out in game 5. Timmy, Manu, Parker, Kawhi, & Diaw/Splitter on the floor for garbage time watching the clock tick down. We lift the trophy at home. Dream scenario.

This series is far from over, but I don't mind talking heat. The heat have more scoring threats than the Thunder, but their interior defense/rebounding shouldn't be as good as OKC.

I think Duncan, Splitter and Diaw will all have good series down low both in points and rebounding. Parker should live in the paint and be thankful he never has to see westbrook.

Bosh's three point shooting could cause some problems if he is on, but I think the Spurs would gladly live with that and have no problem going small to counter if Bosh refuses to get in the post. I have a hard time seeing how the heat are going to score with the Spurs improved bench unless guys like Allen, Chalmers, Bosh, Battier and Lewis are draining threes. Most those guys are on the downhill slide of their careers and provide sporatic scoring. Good luck having them chase around the Spurs shooters and still have legs late in games. Even young OKC is struggling with this.

On paper the heat aren't as good as last year and the Spurs are better than last year. We'll see if that translates. It is always hard to get a feel for a series before the first game, but I like the Spurs chances.

Spurs look damn near unbeatable at home. It's comforting to know they don't have to win in Miami. Granted, it'd be nice, but it's not a must. And 2-2-1-1-1 is a big plus.

I still think OKC wins game 6 and game 7 is a war.

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We have become incredibly bi-polar as a fanbase in this series. Currently manic.

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Probably due to the fact that the Spurs have been bi-polar in this series. Really, all playoffs.

Same. I expect two more blowouts for the home teams.

Based off what I've seen I would guess the Thunder easily win game 6. It seems to be the pattern of this series.

The encouraging thing about game 6 is that playing a stretch four has worked at the end of game four and all of game five. Basically the Spurs have been able to move the ball and get back in their offense with a four being a three point threat for spacing.

Again, it comes down to FTs. If OKC shoots 10-15 more FTs with Westbrook leading the charge with 10+ FTs on his crazy drives then we see a comparable result as games three and four, although I don't think the Spurs offense gets blown out with spacing they have found with the stretch four.

I actually would be surprised to see a Thunder blowout. I think it is either a Spurs win or a close game that the Thunder pulls out. The Spurs seemed to really get some of their confidence back and finally found an answer for Ibaka.

I think if the Spurs can withstand some runs from OKC they will pull away as well. OKC is playing such hero ball and on emotion that if things start going against them they could spiral quickly. They are just assuming they will shut down SA once they go home. If that isn't the case they could panic and Westbrook starts taking wild shots and having turnovers and suddenly the Spurs could run away and hide. I also don't think Pop wants to take a chance on a Game 7.

As for the Spurs/Heat the Spurs certainly seem to have the edge on paper. They can put Leonard on Lebron and Green/Manu on Wade and make them really work for their points. Duncan/Diaw should be able to cover Bosh. The Spurs should be able to dominate the paint. Of course, they may be calling it so that anyone that comes within 3 feet of any Heat player is called for a foul but the main strategy should be to force Miami's role players to beat the Spurs' role players and I don't think they can.