Rise up CoJo

The Drive for Five begins Thursday. GO Spurs Go!!!

Well ****. Maybe we should let him rest game 1 and start Corey Joseph.

spurs in 7. it will go 7. nba will make sure of this.

Ernie: What can you say about [Coach Pop] and the job he's done this year.
Manu: It's ok.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svXHaQUeqKo&t=44s

Who knows how Tony's ankle will respond to treatment. He could be fine for game 1. He could be done for the year. Hopefully he has an Ibaka-like recovery.

https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/30E82927201084726042633076736_1634ee8aa8b.3.1.mp4

Real reason Durant fell.

Spurs in 6.

Spurs manned up and beat OKC at home with Parker on the bench. They are still better than Miami even if Parker can't go. Spurs will take this one and the legacy will only get larger.

And then they will be back next year for the repeat!

Heat in 5

I'm terrible at predictions (check the pick em thread) so SA fans should be happy that I'm predicting Miami in 6. *Edit* forgot the format changed.

[This message has been edited by Tajmaballer (edited 6/1/2014 12:03a).]

The Heat couldn't go 2-1 in Indiana. Y'all really think they go 2-1 in SA? Y'all are just trolling. Even if Parker is out. This goes at least 6 games.

Too many of you are just so butt-hurt that the Spurs advanced.

Your tears are delicious.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 6/1/2014 12:03a).]

GS's gif. Holy crap.

Heat in 6. The Heat will win one in SA, and win all three in Miami.The big question; When the Heat go small, can Diaw somewhat neutralize Lebron. Don't think so

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Rise up CoJo

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This

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When the Heat go small, can Diaw somewhat neutralize Lebron. Don't think so

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If you watched the finals last you'd know that Diaw was actually a problem for James defensively.

BTHO the Heat

So is pretty much everybody trolling the thread at this point? Everybody come out from hiding to get one last chance to say "suck it Spurs". So many Miami predictions is laughable. Spurs have the best record and home court. The Spurs should have beaten a stronger/better Miami team last year. The East was laughably weak this year and yet Miami couldn't even get the #1 seed.

Spurs in 5.

Miami plays better team defense than OKC, but with no shot blockers or dominating post players we will feast in the paint. Spurs in 6 if Tony is healthy.

Los Spurs in 7

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Miami plays better team defense than OKC, but with no shot blockers or dominating post players we will feast in the paint. Spurs in 6 if Tony is healthy.

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This is exactly why I said Spurs in 5. Miami does, in general, play better team defense than OKC. But OKC has always played SA strong on D... stronger than they play most other teams. This is especially true in the 2012 and this years conf. finals. I don't think Miami gives them anything they didn't see against OKC defensively.

And as you said, San Antonio absolutely feasted on that D w/out Ibaka. They also feasted with Ibaka in the line-up in game 5 and did pretty good in game 6 too. Miami does not have an Ibaka.

Point is, I think people forget that the Spurs are an offensive juggernaut!!! That is their game now. We all know Lebron will get his... we all know that D-Wade, Allen, etc. can also get hot any given game. But can the Heat actually stop the Spurs? Can they really stop all of them? Take away Duncan/Parker... what happens when Green gets hot? What about our emerging star Kawhi? What about when the subs come in... Manu, Mills, Diaw... they gonna be able to stop all them too? I don't think so.

I also think Splitter will have a better series against Miami. Well more I'm hoping, but I think he will match up better with Miami's bigs than Ibaka.

[This message has been edited by Natasha Romanoff (edited 6/1/2014 8:22a).]

So who is the MVP of the Spurs so far in the playoffs? This whole "team" thing is making that very hard to evaluate. Duncan, Parker, Kawhi all have some say in the matter I think. If they win it all and each player plays about the same as they have so far, I think Timmy gets another Finals MVP.

EDIT: For the record, I would love nothing more than for Manu to play out of his mind and get the MVP. How awesome would that be!

[This message has been edited by jr15aggie (edited 6/1/2014 8:51a).]

If Timmah were to get finals MVP, would he be the oldest dude to ever be finals MVP?

jr15aggie, the Spurs are a fantastic offensive team that hasn't played a great defense yet. OKC had a decent defense, but nothing compared to the Heat. The Heat also have a more refined offense with more threats than the Thunder. It's nothing against the Spurs. It's just that I feel like those reasons are the reason that I'm predicting the Heat. No reason to get angry at other peoples predictions just cause they don't pick your team to win.

And like I said, you should be happy that I picked the Heat.. I suck at predicting.

Yeah, you had Clippers vs. Rockets in the conference finals, so you pretty much don't know jack about professional basketball.

Taj if you think the Spurs offense will get shut down by the Heat you didn't watch the finals last year or the Spurs play this year. It isn't just about the starters. Do you think with Manu, Patty, and Diaw in that guys like Allen, Beasely, and Birdman will play good enough defense to stop them? I don't think so. Lebron and Wade can't play 48 minutes a game. Those two guys are top 5 perimeter defenders in the league right now and a big reason why the Heat play good defense.

I think the dynamic that is most important, since these two teams are pretty even on paper, is the effect of playing in the west vs. paying in the east.

Miami blew through the east like it was the exhibition season. The sharp increase in competition level (the Spurs are by a wide main the best team they will have played like 2 months) may throw them off at least for a game or two.

The Spurs might be too beaten up after 18 games in the west playoffs. Or they might find playing against the east much easier. Tough to say.

[This message has been edited by ditka (edited 6/1/2014 9:33a).]

Trying to be bold didn't work out for me, no regrets in a pride competition. No sweat off my back.

And when did I say the Heat will shut down the Spurs offense? I said the spurs had a fantastic offense! I think you guys are underestimating the Heat though. I'm not trying to sway anybody's opinion, just adding my two cents just like everybody is doing. I just think it's silly to call people out when they have predictions against the Spurs like they already won.

Spurs are better than they were last Finals. Without Mike Miller the Heat are slightly worse. Spurs were one shot away last year. With home court this year I think they do it in 6.

Did any of you Heat lovers watch this year's playoffs or last year's Finals? You have taken trolling to a new level.

You guys have taken Spurs homerism to a new level.. But that's why I enjoy this board. Passionate fans talking about their teams. Here's to an enjoyable Finals for all!

Close series. Gun to my head, I pick the Heat in 6 or 7 and wouldn't feel good about keeping my brains in my head. Good chance it plays out similar to last year though.

The Spurs play tremendous offense, but their fatal flaw on offense is they only have one really good ball-handler. Miami eats that up on defense since they play passing lanes at an elite level and feast on turnovers. The Heat know when and how to lock down defensively and, when they do, they are hands down the best defensive team in the league.

The other piece (and I said this last year and got the typical 'OH YOU DON'T WATCH THE SPURS MUST FIND THEM BORING!!!!' response when anybody says anything but wonderful things about the Spurs around here) is outside of Leonard, the Spurs lack a bit of athleticism on the wings... defensively, Wade and James together aren't a great matchup for them. To slow Miami down, you need multiple bigs down low playing great the entire game to kill the drives. While Miami doesn't have an incredible post scorer, Wade and Lebron driving full steam most of the game makes the Heat a physically taxing team to opposing big men. I'm not worried about Duncan, but Splitter needs to play great and play smart (read: stay out of foul trouble) every game. If the Spurs have to play Diaw, Bonner, or Ayres a bunch around the rim, they are in trouble.

That said, Parker and Duncan (if he's healthy) are a big problem for a team like Miami in the half court.

Like last year, this should be a great series.

Taj - agreed the Heat are a better team defense, but I think on the individual match-up level, the Spurs match-up better against the Heat players than OKC. Just like everyone kept saying, OKC guys are fast, quick, and get favorable ref calls, and until this series the Spurs have struggled with that. The Heat are physical but definitely not as fast or quick.

On paper and based on last year's Finals + this year's regular season match-ups of SA and Miami, I think this is a much better matchup for the Spurs than the Thunder were.

I've got Heat in 6. Spurs tears will be delicious, if you're not first your last.