Will Duncan Get His Sixth?
Long Quest Ahead
The Spurs will have to win 4 series in order to win another championship. Let’s take a closer look at the match-up’s most likely to happen in the playoffs. The Spurs already clinched their second seed and will face the seventh seed in the first round. At this point this could be Memphis, Houston, Dallas, Portland or Utah. Out of all these candidates, Houston could be the most difficult one to beat. Harden is looking better than ever and very focused. He surprised everyone last year by going all the way to the WCF. The spurs will Gongfu Tea Cup
likely get out of the first round without a lot of scars, but it would be an interesting match-up.
Their opponent in the semi’s would be the winner of the 3rd seed vs the 6th seed. This will probably be OKC. The biggest advantage they have over the Spurs is their speed… KD and Westbrook are two of the fastest guys in the entire NBA and can go coast to coast in a few dribbles. This series would most likely go to game 6 or 7. But I think it will be decided by experience, where the Spurs obviously have a lot more of than OKC.
Shoot Or Post UP?
In the WCF, the Warriors will most likely be waiting for them. The key to this battle of the western greats will be size. While Golden State depends on their shooters, San Antonio has a lot of great big men. Draymond Green is great too, but will he be able to go up against Tim Duncan, Lamarcus Aldridge and David West? Kawhi Leonard would most likely be guarding Chef Curry and make it extremely difficult for him to get more than 25 points per game. The Warriors wouldn’t go down without a fight and the Spurs would most likely need 7 games to beat them.
So, We Meet Again!
The Finals would probably be like 2013 and 2014: The Spurs against Lebron James. While the Raptors, Hawks and maybe even the Celtics have a small chance of making the finals as well, we’ll assume the Cavaliers will repeat what they did last season. Now, I don’t see this series going to a game 7. The final weapon that the Spurs have in their arsenal is also their greatest: TEAM PLAY. The Spurs have chemistry that the Cavaliers simply don’t have. Lebron still is Lebron and Kyrie and Love are obviously star caliber players. But if the Spurs really do make it to the finals against Cleveland, they’ll probably defeat them in 6 games.
Whether Duncan does or doesn’t get his sixth ring, remains a mystery. All of this is one big hypothesis and based on analysis of their line-up and the season they’re having. But the slogan of the NBA is: ‘Where amazing happens.’ . So let us believe that!
