- Sep 1, 2012
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The plot seems basic enough.
The Spurs, thanks to Tim Duncan?s resurgence and their renewed focus on defense, are better than last year. By virtue of James Harden?s trade to Houston, the Thunder are worse.
If only it were that simple.
The two rivals will meet tonight in Oklahoma City for the fourth and final time in the regular season. A Spurs victory would not only give them a 2.5-game lead atop the Western Conference standings, they?d hold the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series 3-1. A loss would put a severe dent in their hopes of holding off the Thunder for the top spot.
Homecourt advantage wasn?t much of an advantage of all in last year?s conference finals, when the Spurs dropped four straight after putting the Thunder in a 2-0 choke hold.
Yet, as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted on Wednesday, you?d rather have it than not. Which is why he manipulated his roster against Memphis and Orlando, parsing out rest in order to call all hands on deck for a victory that would all but sew up the West?s No. 1 seed for the third straight season.
The Spurs, thanks to Tim Duncan?s resurgence and their renewed focus on defense, are better than last year. By virtue of James Harden?s trade to Houston, the Thunder are worse.
If only it were that simple.
The two rivals will meet tonight in Oklahoma City for the fourth and final time in the regular season. A Spurs victory would not only give them a 2.5-game lead atop the Western Conference standings, they?d hold the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series 3-1. A loss would put a severe dent in their hopes of holding off the Thunder for the top spot.
Homecourt advantage wasn?t much of an advantage of all in last year?s conference finals, when the Spurs dropped four straight after putting the Thunder in a 2-0 choke hold.
Yet, as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted on Wednesday, you?d rather have it than not. Which is why he manipulated his roster against Memphis and Orlando, parsing out rest in order to call all hands on deck for a victory that would all but sew up the West?s No. 1 seed for the third straight season.
