Posted:
#1
The Spurs are on their last leg, or so they’d like us to think. Train was right (a couple of days ago) when he said/predicted Pop would pull a rope-a-dope against the Thunder in game 4. And the rope-a-dope continued well into the postgame comments, with Manu all but conceding the series: “They’re too big, too fast, too athletic. It will take a perfect game to beat them. Sure, we’ve won big games like this but we’ve also lost them. Etc, etc.” Is this all a strategy to inflate the Thunder’s ego and confidence to the point where they overlook the tired, old, slow and predictable Spurs: a team whose key players are well past their NBA prime? Maybe. If Pop, a military man and a history buff, learned anything from that series two years ago, it’s that the Spurs lost that series when they lost game 5. From the end of game 3 (in this series) to the midway point of game 4, you could already see Pop planning for game 5. He not only rested his starters (something he didn’t do in the previous series) but he also forced the Thunder to play theirs (and that’s to say nothing of the psychological mind games/warfare going on between Pop and his players, and the Thunder). In that series two years ago, the Spurs were down to the Thunder by 10-12 points for most of the 3rd quarter (in game 4), but Pop went for the win in that one, and it cost him dearly. Not only did the Spurs lose that game, but the starters logged heavy minutes. Game 5 came two days later (just like in this year’s series) and the Spurs lost that pivotal game, in a close contest. In a series that is tied 2-2, the winner of game 5 wins the series about 80% of the time.
In essence, then, game 5 will be the Spurs’ game 7. They will hold nothing back, in this one. The Spurs will go all out to win this game no matter the cost, in terms of minutes played, or players’ egos, or risk of injury, etc. Pop will throw the kitchen sink at the Thunder in the hopes of confusing them long enough to win this game. Win this game and now you just need one more. Win this game and all the pressure reverts back to the Thunder. Win this game and you guarantee yourself a game 7 at home, where home teams win 80% of the time. Win this game and you wash away the pain of two blowout losses, and the fear that this Thunder team owns you. Win this game and you have a legit shot to make the NBA finals and win the trophy that rightfully belonged to you. And if you lose this game… Oh, there are not enough words in the English language to describe the pain and devastation that this team would feel. Lose this game and the series, as well as a promising season, are, for all intents and purposes, over! The Thunder will have owned you once again, and once again they will have come back from 2 games down to beat you in 4 straight. Game 6 will simply be a formality. If there is anything more painful than that game 5 loss from a couple of years ago for the Spurs, it is how they lost game 6. All but counted out, the Spurs fought valiantly in that game, and should have won it, if not for the fact that every big call went against them. The league had its heart set on a Durant vs. LBJ matchup by that point, and nothing would get in its way; especially not the old, boring Spurs. The Thunder outshot the Spurs 31-18 from the line in that game, which all but sealed their fate. So, this is it, for the Spurs. It’s game 5 or bust.
As for the Thunder, well, they are probably telling themselves that they’d be up 3-1, if Ibaka had played the first two games. They also know that even if they lose this game, the next game is at home and that they will likely win that one. The Thunder will come to this game as confidently as Robb Stark attends the Red Wedding at lord Frey’s castle. And we all know how that one ends.
The Play: Spurs -4
Hot Forum Topics
