******Spurs vs. Thunder******

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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Pahdz • 11:31a, 4/26/16
AG
quote:
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We split the first 4 and finish it out in 6 in OKC. Shades of 2014.
Is Ibaka getting hurt again?
Nope, the NBA started calling goaltending. No surprise, his numbers are down across the board the last couple years.
You're the sole reason I hate posting in these threads

Ibaka thinks he's a guard or something. Only plays when he wants to. If he doesn't get offensive touches or makes a few shots early he checks out for 3 quarters (see last night).
Keep posting, bro.

Ibaka looked like he was going to be a world killer four years ago. I seriously thought we were going to have a guy put up 20/10 with 4 blocks and hitting 40% of his threes. He had that night where he went 11/11.
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GatorAg03
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 11:42a, 4/26/16
AG
I think Ibaka could be just that, but he just doesn't get the touches and he hasn't developed a back to the basket game quite as much as he should.

Do you take touches away from Westbrook or Durant and change their game to get him more touches? They would have to change their style tremendously in game, to really facilitate Ibaka's post development, imo.

You can't go run and gun and then all of a sudden slow it down and feed the post. He is an ok shooter, but isn't really a pure stretch four, which would fit better with their style.

A team could be pretty good with just OKC's post player if they made that the emphasis, but you almost minimize their capabilities by insisting westbrook and durant get the vast majority of the shots.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to GatorAg03 • 11:54a, 4/26/16
AG
They play so much ISO ball, that their offense is never cohesive. 48 minutes of hero ball is definitely not conductive for role player development.
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Andy07
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12:16p, 4/26/16
AG
That's where coaching has really failed OKC. No reason Ibaka couldn't get a ton of touches to develop in the regular season especially with the KD injury last year.
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Sher Thing
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12:34p, 4/26/16
AG
Spurs have really struggled to score this year during stretches. I predict a lot of close games that come down to the last few possessions.
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West Texan
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2:25p, 4/26/16
AG
Go Spurs Go!
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Chipotlemonger
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2:50p, 4/26/16
AG
When will we find out Saturday's game time?
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MGS
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In reply to Chipotlemonger • 3:40p, 4/26/16
quote:
When will we find out Saturday's game time?
Schedule Update: If Game 7 is needed in Hawks-Celtics series, Spurs-Thunder Game 1 will be at 8:30/c on Saturday. If not -- Game 1 at 7:30
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Chipotlemonger
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In reply to MGS • 3:44p, 4/26/16
AG
Thank you! A night game!
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Obi Wan Ginobili
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In reply to Pahdz • 4:03p, 4/26/16
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We split the first 4 and finish it out in 6 in OKC. Shades of 2014.
Is Ibaka getting hurt again?
Lest ye Thunder fans forget getting beat when you had Ibaka and Tony was out....

...but that's none of my business....
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The Collective
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4:11p, 4/26/16
AG
Durant called the Dallas defense gimmicky. I hope Pop goes in dry on that son of a *****.
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PLUM LOCO
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4:49p, 4/26/16
AG
KD looked human last night. Westbrook went off, probably had a lot to do with cuban mouthing off.

JMHO
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Chipotlemonger
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In reply to The Collective • 6:03p, 4/26/16
AG
quote:
Durant called the Dallas defense gimmicky.


Heard that on The Ticket today. It's called playoff basketball! You do everything as a team that you can to win and stifle the other team's offense!

Yes, I am a Spurs fan relocated to Dallas.
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tbirdspur2010
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In reply to aggie_2001_2005 • 6:42p, 4/26/16
AG






GO SPURS GO
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AZAggie44
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6:59p, 4/26/16
AG
quote:
I think Ibaka could be just that, but he just doesn't get the touches and he hasn't developed a back to the basket game quite as much as he should.

Do you take touches away from Westbrook or Durant and change their game to get him more touches? They would have to change their style tremendously in game, to really facilitate Ibaka's post development, imo.

You can't go run and gun and then all of a sudden slow it down and feed the post. He is an ok shooter, but isn't really a pure stretch four, which would fit better with their style.

A team could be pretty good with just OKC's post player if they made that the emphasis, but you almost minimize their capabilities by insisting westbrook and durant get the vast majority of the shots.

Yes, you absolutely should take touches away from Durant and especially Westbrook to help facilitate the rest of the team. It will help in long term development for the role players, and it would make the offense flow much smoother because all they do now is play rec-ball and out-talent the other team.

People love to rag on Westbrook, and while some of it is unwarranted, the guy's style of play is terrible for team basketball, and severely limits OKC's ceiling.
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Pahdz
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In reply to AZAggie44 • 7:30p, 4/26/16
Westbrook will never fit that mold. He has improved his style every year in the league, and had great assist numbers this season. It's been great to watch him grow from his rookie season up here. The challenge is building a team around his talents, not confining him to a style that negates his ability.
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Ulrich
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In reply to Pahdz • 8:12p, 4/26/16
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Westbrook will never fit that mold. He has improved his style every year in the league, and had great assist numbers this season. It's been great to watch him grow from his rookie season up here. The challenge is building a team around his talents, not confining him to a style that negates his ability.

In the language of business, that is suboptimization. Westbrook is a freakish talent, but his teams will never be more than the sum of their parts. The great teams are better than any of their individual players.
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West Texan
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In reply to Ulrich • 9:27p, 4/26/16
AG
quote:
quote:
Westbrook will never fit that mold. He has improved his style every year in the league, and had great assist numbers this season. It's been great to watch him grow from his rookie season up here. The challenge is building a team around his talents, not confining him to a style that negates his ability.

In the language of business, that is suboptimization. Westbrook is a freakish talent, but his teams will never be more than the sum of their parts. The great teams are better than any of their individual players.


I disagree about Westbrook. He doesn't need to change the way he plays, his role needs to change. If they had someone else to be the primer ball handler that was a true distributor to let both KD and Russ play off the ball, I think that would make their offense much more dynamic. Russ is a fantastic athlete and scorer, who has some pretty good assist numbers. But, he's not great at truly setting up his teammates. Let him play off the ball some and I think OKC would be much scarier.
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Pahdz
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9:38p, 4/26/16
Russ playing off the ball eliminates two of his deadliest strengths, the speed at which he attacks the rim in transition and his deadly pull up when he has defenders backing off to guard the rim.

Not saying it's right, but it's what makes him so tough to fit in a mold.
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West Texan
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In reply to Pahdz • 9:44p, 4/26/16
AG
quote:
Russ playing off the ball eliminates two of his deadliest strengths, the speed at which he attacks the rim in transition and his deadly pull up when he has defenders backing off to guard the rim.

Not saying it's right, but it's what makes him so tough to fit in a mold.


He doesn't have to become Danny Green and never put the ball on the floor, but in the half court, a different ball handler could add something to the offense more than just a high pick and roll for Durant/Westbrook and hope they get to the rim.
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Ulrich
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In reply to Pahdz • 9:48p, 4/26/16
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Russ playing off the ball eliminates two of his deadliest strengths, the speed at which he attacks the rim in transition and his deadly pull up when he has defenders backing off to guard the rim.

Not saying it's right, but it's what makes him so tough to fit in a mold.

If they ran more action off the ball so that he tended to get the ball with the defense already out of position those skills would be even deadlier. It would also save his legs for late game situations and conversely make the defense cover all five guys all game which is draining against talent like OKC has. At some point he has to start thinking about life after losing a step, too.

I don't think anyone is recommending that Russ limit himself to catch-and-shoot (although if they decided to try that in the next series I'd be ok with it), but there are some things they could do offensively to make life easier for everyone.
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West Texan
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In reply to Ulrich • 9:53p, 4/26/16
AG
quote:
quote:
Russ playing off the ball eliminates two of his deadliest strengths, the speed at which he attacks the rim in transition and his deadly pull up when he has defenders backing off to guard the rim.

Not saying it's right, but it's what makes him so tough to fit in a mold.

If they ran more action off the ball so that he tended to get the ball with the defense already out of position those skills would be even deadlier. It would also save his legs for late game situations and conversely make the defense cover all five guys all game which is draining against talent like OKC has. At some point he has to start thinking about life after losing a step, too.

I don't think anyone is recommending that Russ limit himself to catch-and-shoot (although if they decided to try that in the next series I'd be ok with it), but there are some things they could do offensively to make life easier for everyone.


Thank you for phrasing much more clearly what I was trying to suggest. Hell, if okc would run the zipper cuts we used to run for Parker where's he'd come off 3 different screens and catch the ball on the left slot with either a big switched on him or set up the pick and roll from there, he'd be more effective imo.
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CFTXAG10
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9:57p, 4/26/16
AG
I have Spurs in 6 on the NBA Playoff Challenge, but I think they can handle em in 5. OKC doesn't have a lot of depth and a pretty awful Mavs team gave em fits at times. Pop is fixing to give Billy D a proper introduction to the NBA Playoffs.
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GatorAg03
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10:05p, 4/26/16
AG
In my opinion it is pretty critical to question Westbrook's game, when he had averaged more triple doubles since Magic Johnson. He is a great player and will give my Spurs all they want this series.

With that said, I do think the Thunder are a team where the team sum is less than the individual parts. They also have a bit of the rockets GM philosophy where they sign good players without thinking how they will fit and just expect them to mesh equal to their individual talents.

They need a couple more role players that will do the dirty work in addition to running more of a deliberate system that incorporates both their talented posts and their talented perimeter players a bit more. Durant and Ibaka are the two players that I think need to change more than Westbrook, both need to get many more of their touches from a deep post position for example instead of so many perimeter shots. It's just hard to develop that type system though when you have such an iso offensive mentality, especially with the game on the line.
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West Texan
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10:13p, 4/26/16
AG
I don't think anyone is questioning Russ's game, talent, or ability. He's a freak of nature athlete with some great basketball skills to go with it. The way he's being used and his role is being questioned. The Thunder are incredibly predictable offensively, especially in crunch time which I think is the reason they've blown so many 4th quarter leads this season.
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GatorAg03
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10:17p, 4/26/16
AG
No doubt. I just think all those assist and triple doubles show that Westbrook has expanded his game to include more assists/creating more for his teammates this year. It is primarily in crunch time, they go back to iso ball and refuse to get the ball in the post.

I blame Ibaka and Durant for that more than Westbrook, but perhaps that is a bit misguided since Westbrook is the point guard. You still have to have someone cutting or posting or else it won't matter what he Westbrook does.
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Guitarsoup
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10:18p, 4/26/16
AG
http://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-Duncan-Leonard-not-getting-star-7375569.php?t=6c518a7023927fc3fb&cmpid=twitter-premium

Duncan: Kawhi needs to get star treatment by refs now that he is a Star.

Kawhi: "I don't even think about it, really," Leonard said. "I'm not playing to get fouls."

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TheDino
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8:47a, 4/27/16
AG
I'm pretty worried about this series. I think OKC is deeper than they were in '14. And the Spurs offense isn't as deadly as back then. The first 5 games of the series were blowouts where the home team won easily. Game 6 was the only close game. And it came down to Derek Fisher having to play huge minutes in crunch time. The Spurs would run screens until Fisher was mismatched on Duncan, etc.

My prediction is Spurs in 6. However, I would not be surprised if it goes 7 and OKC pulls out the win.
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tmaggie50
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 8:50a, 4/27/16
AG
quote:
http://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-Duncan-Leonard-not-getting-star-7375569.php?t=6c518a7023927fc3fb&cmpid=twitter-premium

Duncan: Kawhi needs to get star treatment by refs now that he is a Star.

Kawhi: "I don't even think about it, really," Leonard said. "I'm not playing to get fouls."

Harden: Then what the F are you playing for?
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Pahdz
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9:35a, 4/27/16
There was a lot of discussion on local radio here yesterday about playing Roberson on Leonard instead of having Durant matched up with him. I'll be curious to see if Donovan goes that way though. Would make some sense.
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Chipotlemonger
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In reply to Pahdz • 9:39a, 4/27/16
AG
quote:
There was a lot of discussion on local radio here yesterday about playing Roberson on Leonard instead of having Durant matched up with him. I'll be curious to see if Donovan goes that way though. Would make some sense.


Whatever makes sense, the Thunder tend to do the opposite.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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10:53a, 4/27/16
AG
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Sher Thing
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1:21p, 4/27/16
AG
I'm less worried about KD/Westbrrok than I am about the OKC bigs vs ours. Adams is a guy that tends to give us fits and he's going to be an absolute handful down low. Lets hope TD can turn back the clock a little bit. Diaw and West are just too small down low. I'm sure Pop will play these first two games out with our normal big rotation but if we are having serious trouble down low then Boban could play a big role for us in this series.

And I'm aware that our bigs are more skilled players, I am talking about more on the glass and more specifically- the offensive glass.
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Guitarsoup
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1:46p, 4/27/16
AG
Why is Kanter such a small part of the team now? He was a 19/11 guy after he was traded to OKC last year. This year he got paid, then is getting just 20mpg and putting up 13/8. Is he sitting because his defense is that bad?
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Pahdz
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 2:01p, 4/27/16
quote:
Why is Kanter such a small part of the team now? He was a 19/11 guy after he was traded to OKC last year. This year he got paid, then is getting just 20mpg and putting up 13/8. Is he sitting because his defense is that bad?
That mostly had to do with the fact he was the #2 option for OKC last year with Durant and Ibaka being out. He and Serge had a little time together but most of his games were with him being the #2 option behind Westbrook.
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