“We’re still not buying Serge Ibaka will miss this entire series.” (c) San Antonio Spurs
Tonight marks game 1 of the 2014 Western Conference Finals. Unlike yesterday’s opener featuring their foes in the east, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder get prime-time privileges. 4 days ago, many were viewing this series the best the playoffs has to offer this year, but a season ending injury for Serge Ibaka has changed the outline for our playoff predictions moving forward. Throughout the duration of the regular season, Oklahoma City was the only team to successfully sweep the San Antonio Spurs 4-0, led by the heroics of both league MVP Kevin Durant and their defensive anchor in Ibaka.
UPDATE: Spurs defeat Thunder in game 1 blowout 122-105 | Lead series 1-0
The Spurs were in hopes of having nearly a week off but ended their series in 5 against the Portland Trailblazers Wednesday night. OKC was soon to follow 24 hours later in their huge road win at Staples Center over the Los Angeles Clippers. As most of you should know, the Thunder were hindered last year with the Achilles injury of Russell Westbrook.
This also marks a conference finals rematch between the two teams and much like their previous series; San Antonio has home court advantage. Gregg Popovich is still getting the most out of his ageless tandem of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Spurs co-captain Tony Parker is dealing with an aggravated hamstring, so the Thunder aren’t the only team enduring the injury-bug. Oklahoma City veteran Nick Collison is likely to see starting minutes, but post-season rookie sensation Steven Adams will see a huge spike in time out on the court. With Ibaka gone, the two will need to provide consistent paint defense and a few buckets when the team’s jump shots aren’t falling. 22-year-old forward, Kawhi Leonard has been showing signs of emerging as a potential superstar in the future and will have the unfortunate task of having to guard the league’s best scorer, Kevin Durant.
His youth will be a factor on the defensive end to keep up with the MVP and be energized enough to contribute offense. But the series in our opinion will essentially come down to which team will have better bench production. Examining both rosters, having a back-up core of Marco Belinelli, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills and Manu Ginobili coming off the bench will be hard for any team in the league this year to overcome. We’re not sure if Russell Westbrook is in the mindset to go home without at least making it back to the Finals, after missing most of this year and last playoffs. The one clear-cut advantage they do have is his size, energy and speed on Parker. Tony dealing with a hamstring and the lack of size and speed they have in the back-court to contain Westbrook will be one of Scotty Brooks’ strategies.
Home-court is a non factor much like their previous meeting, but the boys in San Antonio could be having an easier task without Ibaka in comparison to during the season where he essentially killed their front-court. Whether OKC is ready to take the next step and quiet critics this year remains to be seen, but the Spurs IQ could have them waiting for the finals.