However, the Spurs are so fucking boring. Basketball purists love that shit because it's tremendous defense and a solid, meticulous attack... but it's unwatchable.
Not that I'm expecting you to, but you haven't been watching the Spurs
this season, have you? They were the second best offensive squad this season, like third in points in the paint, first in 3point fg%, and were just fucking fun to watch. It wasn't the same old half court offense this year, the Spurs had legs and used them, used them better than the Thunder, and I'll get to this in a minute.The defense caught up to the offense at the end of the season, but nowhere near the level it was five years ago. But Kwahi Leonard will be one of the best defensive players in the next few years.
The difference with the Spurs running the Clippers and the Thunder is that the Clippers don't have that violent mid-to-long range shot, whereas the Thunder barrage will put 30 pts up in any given quarter and leave you playing catch up
The same barrage that the Spurs outraced twice this season? The same barrage that is behind the Spurs in every major offensive category except free throw percentage? The same barrage that led the league in 3 point...wait...that was the Spurs... The Spurs bench dropped 114 on the Suns and Golden State while the starters sat the last two games of the season. The Spurs have a deeper bench, better and more outside threats than OKC and so on. Spurs are ten, eleven deep. OKC isn't.
especially with Westbrook playing the way he's playing,
Ummm his numbers are nearly identical to his season averages, so, umm that's that...
because their bigs are too solid scoring from inside contested or not.
Tim Duncan outproduces Ibaka and Perkins combined offensively. Splitter and Timmy outproduce the four main bigs in OKCs rotation. Kenyon Martin and Blake Griffin> OKC's bigs offensively, and the Spurs handled them just fine.
You talk about Russell being patient. Again, I don't expect you to, but you aren't watching the Spurs this season. No team was better at making the extra pass then the Spurs. Every time the Jazz or the Clips made a run and even took the lead in some cases, the Spurs played clam, cool and collected and extinguished the spurt and went ahead by an average of 6+ points.
We can break it down like this:
Better offense: Spurs. The stats suggest so, the record suggests so. The Thunder are an incredibly close second, but second isn't first.
Better defense: Spurs. See above.
Better coach: Spurs. If you try and debate this, I hate you.
Better pedigree: Spurs. Track record. Again, championship teams don't blow a four game lead with 12 games to go and push their stars to the max til the end of the season. Spurs were basically on cruise control at the end of the season and absolutely dominated. 10 straight, +10 differential or better, starters averaged like 9 minutes less than the Thunder's starters last 10 games of the season.
This is homerism, but it's also backed by fact. I don't think the Thunder are going to be pushovers, but I do think you are over rating them a bit and you haven't really watched the Spurs much, if at all. Westbrook, as well as you claim he is playing, mentally broke down last year against the Mavericks, a notoriously mentally weak team. Do you think he can prevent pouting against arguably the mentally toughest team in the league? The Spurs completely removed Chris Paul from the game last night, Paul is better than Westbrook, I don't think Westbrook is this renaissance player you make him to be and he can be handled. Spurs can throw Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili at him. 8 legs> 2 legs.
It's going to be a a slug fest, but it is what it is. The Spurs have the pedigree, offense, depth, coaching and mentality to beat the Thunder. Spurs in 6. Short term, the Spurs are a NOW team. The Thunder take on Miami next year in the Finals. But if the Spurs stay healthy, they win.
Even if Miami makes it to the finals, they just aren't playing well enough to beat a team that quick, explosive, and athletic in OKC or a team in San Antonio that hasn't lost a game in over a month.
They wouldn't beat the Spurs for the same reasons you cited they not being able to beat OKC.
I really liken the Thunder to the late 80s Pistons. They knocked on the door and almost got in but the wiley, cagey, more experienced Celts closed it fuckin shut on them. They took that experience and kicked the fuckin door down two years after that. That's how the Thunder are, just not as tough as those Pistons, who were the fucking Steelers of the NBA then.
