Spurs have ‘ton of respect’ for Thunder
SAN ANTONIO — In a matter of days, the Spurs have gone from preparing for the wounded to the wonderful.
After sweeping the injury-plagued, undermanned Memphis Grizzlies, the West’s No. 2 seed began practicing for an altogether different animal in the healthy and hungry third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
“It is a good, solid team,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said of the Thunder, who needed five games to dispatch the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. “They won 59 games (counting the postseason). We have a ton of respect. We’ve had some very tough battles against one another.”
Indeed, the Spurs and Thunder have a juicy playoff history, meeting twice before, both times in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder won in six games in 2012 but lost to the Miami Heat in the Finals. Two years later, the Spurs won in six games and then followed it by beating the Heat for their fifth NBA title.
Suffice it to say, the rubber match will be a lot more intense than the Spurs’ lopsided stroll through the first round. While the Grizzlies lacked bodies, the Thunder have plenty of firepower in high-scoring All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and a strong supporting cast filled with big bodies like 6-foot-10 Serge Ibaka, 7-foot Steve Adams and 6-11 Enes Kanter.
“It’s going to be tougher, more intense,” Spurs guard Danny Green said. “It’s a really good team with two unbelievable players, really good scorers, and a lot of big men that rebound the ball. We have to be more focused, more crisp and not turn the ball over.”
Although it’s hard to find much fault in the way the Spurs played against the Grizzlies, ball security was an issue at times. That’s a worrisome fact for coach Gregg Popovich, especially after Westbrook finished the season ranked fifth in steals with 2.04 per game.
“We were pretty sloppy,” Popovich said. “Too many possessions where the ball didn’t move and we were kind of like in mud. We have got to have more movement against these guys.”
Said Ginobili, “Memphis was a team with many injuries, so we didn’t need to be that precise for 48 minutes. Against a team like the Thunder, a team that can get hot very quickly, it’s important to value each possession.”
Popovich will also stress the need to bang. The Thunder, who led the league in rebounding during the regular season, dominated the glass in all five games against the Mavericks.
“I got to see a little of their series with the Mavericks, and what stood out was Kanter and Adams and Serge Ibaka on the glass,” Green said. “Those guys were a big difference in the series. They shot a high percentage from the field because they got a lot of easy putbacks, a lot of easy layups. It’s going to be big for us to try to contain those guys.”
Durant and Westbrook each averaged 26 points per game against the Mavericks, but Durant shot just 36.8 percent in the series. Players other than Durant and Westbrook made a combined 110 of 202 shots (54.5 percent) from the field against the Mavericks, with Kanter averaging 15.2 points per game and Ibaka 12.6.
Speaking of Ibaka, the Spurs still harbor painful memories of him scoring a 26 points on 11-of-11 shooting to help the Thunder knot the 2012 series at two games each after the Spurs had won the first two contests.
“Of the other players, Ibaka is the one that makes the difference,” Ginobili said. “There are games you just can’t give him any room because he is making those midrange shots and even 3s now. On the other side, his presence — switching on pick and rolls or coming from the weak side, his quickness — makes a big difference.”
Bottom line: The Spurs are bracing for what could be a sensational series.
“They play hard,” Ginobili said. “They go on great stretches, and sometimes when they start going good offensively, they get even more aggressive defensively. They’re great at the boards.”
Or as Popovich tersely summed it up, “Tough challenge.”