Thunder@Spurs

[No_20]

Everybody saying Westbrook will dominate. Spurs will win anyway

[co_laper]

With no Parker, that might be true. Considering he won't have to chase Parker around.

Honestly, I'm chalking this up as a loss. I'd be very thrilled if we can pull this out. We'll need about 3 guys to have a really big night. Hopefully, from Duncan, Manu, and Kawhi.

[co_laper]

Wow... Betting sites have us win by 2. Hopefully the Spurs win by less than 2 then.. my heart wants Spurs to win, but $25 will be put on OKC.

[franktony]

Pretty hard to believe we can beat them without Parker.

Last game was pretty close and we just won because of Parker clutch shots.

[Nolan]

This ones been interesting so far. We've got a shot at taking them down.

[Donald Kaufman]

but $25 will be put on OKC.

[TwentyOne920]

Quality win...

Splitter, Leonard, and Green all stepped up

[inDe_eD]

What Splitter brings this year is going to be the difference maker for ring #5 . I'm not afraid of any team in the league right now. If we're healthy, we can play any style, and we won't get beat up inside or out-bigged anymore.

[franktony]

Huge win

Didn't expect this coming at all

Kawhi's dunking with the left hand like a BOSS. It's his sig move now.

And Tiago played great. i don't know but I have the feeling SA will struggle to keep him without overpaying.

[inDe_eD]

I'm pretty comfortable with our future post big 3. What amazes me is that we've rebuilt, with no tanking, no blowing up, all while staying under the cap for the most part. Oh and we aren't exactly the FA destination of the likes of Miami/NY/LA. Bravo PATFO.

[co_laper]

but $25 will be put on OKC.

$25 well spent.

And yeah, Kawhi's left hand dunks are becoming his sig dunk now but Blake is the original though.

It's amazing how aggresive Kawhi has been the last couple of months. I just remember that first game (can't remember what game it is anymore) where he was aggresive and I'm thinking hopefully this isn't just a one game thing. Now he's doing it all the time. And I really like the kind of shots he take. They're all good shots in my book. If anything, I want him to shoot more.

At this rate, we don't have a big 3 anymore. This is big 4.

[inDe_eD]

but $25 will be put on OKC.

$25 well spent.

And yeah, Kawhi's left hand dunks are becoming his sig dunk now but Blake is the original though.

It's amazing how aggresive Kawhi has been the last couple of months. I just remember that first game (can't remember what game it is anymore) where he was aggresive and I'm thinking hopefully this isn't just a one game thing. Now he's doing it all the time. And I really like the kind of shots he take. They're all good shots in my book. If anything, I want him to shoot more.

At this rate, we don't have a big 3 anymore. This is big 4.

Completely agreed. If he continues to get comfortable in the offense, I see him taking major leaps next year (3rd year). I believe he's an 18/7/4/2/1 guy in his prime, with all-world D, which would be great to build around.

[co_laper]

Completely agreed. If he continues to get comfortable in the offense, I see him taking major leaps next year (3rd year). I believe he's an 18/7/4/2/1 guy in his prime, with all-world D, which would be great to build around.

Agreed on the points and rebounds and steals. In the last 2 months, he's averaging roughly 15 points, 6 rebounds, and nearly 2 steals in 33 minutes. I can see him making that kind of leap next year to 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.

But in the shotblocking, I rarely see Kawhi getting weakside blocks (which is where most player's blocks come from). When he gets a block, it usually come from playing individual defense and getting his long hands at the ball. That's a lot of the reason why he doesn't really get a lot of blocks. For the season, he's averaging 0.5 blocks in 30 minutes. I just don't see shotblocking as a big part of his game. I guess he's not usually close enough to the basket anyways to be a shotblocker. A lot of guys liken Kawhi to Gerald Wallace, and Wallace used to fly around the rim defensively for blocks.

And assists, I'd be glad if he just develops the scoring part of his game. Court vision isn't something that can be teached IMO. Or atleast, I think it's generally accepted that it's the hardest part to improve. From the looks of it, Kawhi's court vision and passing skills are limited. I don't think he handled the ball much in college either so that's why that part of his game isn't developed.

Right now, I just want Kawhi to work on his scoring. He can be downright dominant in the post with his size, strength, long arms, and big hands. Get him a lesson with Hakeem. Or learn from Jordan's post moves. Whatever. But I much prefer Kawhi when he's asking for the ball in the post and backing down instead of him trying to take the ball to the basket. He's so physical in the post.

For some reason, Kawhi doesn't really elevate as high when he takes the ball to the rim. Almost like Tony Parker where he's looking for the glass or the layup. There are times he goes for the dunk, but mostly it seems he's either purposely looking for the contact first or he just doesn't elevate much because he's focused on speed to get to the rim as quickly as possible. Either one.