San Antonio Spurs: Breaking Down Chances Against Mavericks, Lakers, Thunder
The San Antonio Spurs have been among the most surprising storylines of the NBA season.
Many dismissed them as old and doubted they would be in any shape to compete in the Western Conference.
Well, it is now March and the Spurs hold a 50-11 record and are 5.5 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks in the standings.
While regular season success is always welcomed, every NBA fan knows that the playoffs are a different beast and success in one is often not translated into success in the other.
The San Antonio Spurs are no doubt hoping to win the Championship this year, one final time.
Well, before we get ahead of ourselves and talk about the NBA Finals....let's look at the West.
Oklahoma City Thunder
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Record against Thunder: 3-0
Games left: 0
Some teams are just naturally designed to beat a certain other team.
The way the matchups fall just seems to largely favor one squad over the other. Well, this is one of those cases.
While there hasn't been too much talk of the Thunder this year as far as championships go, but ever since they acquired Kendrick Perkins they have become major contenders.
I do have to admit that the Thunder have a very nice team and a very dangerous team, I just can't see how they could defeat the Spurs.
Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook are two of the best young players in the world and Perkins just happens to be one of the best defensive centers in the game.
They also have a relatively nice cast around those players and a cast that can be lightning fast running down the court. This could actually swing either way and will depend on how Westbrook and Durant play.
They have to find a way in which they could both have their best game featured at the same time while still involving the rest of the team.
Basically, they will need to play perfect basketball to beat the Spurs. When I say perfect, I am not saying they have to shoot 60+ percent, I am simply saying that they have to bring the best basketball they have every played to win.
In truth this could be the single best playoff series in a long time if the Thunder bring their upset game to town.
However, that is too much wishful thinking.
The Chance of Beating the Thunder: Moderate to High
Number of Games: 5-6
Dallas Mavericks
2 of 4
Record against Dallas: 2-1
Games left: 1
This will be a great match up, simply great.
There is history and as of now Dallas still holds the second seed which in theory makes them the second best team in the Conference.
The matchup also has a great matchup in Dirk Nowitzki vs. Tim Duncan.
These two both know how to play, but have very different play styles. Nonetheless, I think Dirk will have the better of Duncan simply because of his shooting ability.
Dirk has been hailed as the best big man shooter of all time and while Duncan has been praised as the greatest Power Forward of all time, that could very well change if Dirk wins a ring or two.
Dirk can score at will against almost anyone and will win the most publicized matchup.
However, in the end it will come down to the depth of the Spurs vs. the depth of the Mavericks.
Believe it or not, in my opinion the Mavs have a slight edge here especially after their players return from various injuries.
The Mavericks will have Corey Brewer, Peja, Haywood, Barea and Stevenson who they can bring off the bench. That in my honest opinion, just barely outlasts the Spurs who also have great talent.
San Antonio has Blair, Neal, Hill, Anderson and Splitter who can give them minutes to rest the starters.
This is going to be a tough matchup, but I think that in a seven game series the Dallas Mavericks can beat the San Antonio Spurs.
The Chance of Beating the Mavericks: Slim
Number of games: Full seven
Los Angeles Lakers
3 of 4
Record against Lakers: 2-0
Games left: 2
This is no doubt the matchup everyone is curious about.
The Lakers are heading into the playoffs as two time defending champs and are by all accounts the team to beat.
If it comes down to this matchup I believe that the Spurs have a very clear and dominating advantage.
Like I said earlier, the playoffs are very different from the regular season, and thus we will not take into account the fact that Kobe has shot below 30 percent against the Spurs this year.
In the playoffs, Kobe knows how to play and if he begins shooting poorly look for him to devote his energy to some other facet of the game.
While we are speaking of shooting guards, we should also mention that Manu Ginobili has played great this year and will take the sting off whatever the Black Mamba brings.
Now, I want you to forget about all the statistics and all the numbers and get into the stat no box score can show; experience.
The Lakers have plenty of postseason experience and very successful experience as shown by their two trophies in a row. However, the Spurs can match them year for year and are just as well prepared as the Lakers are.
There is no edge here in terms of experience and that is a big negative mark for the Lakers.
San Antonio has absolutely amazing depth few teams can top, and unfortunately the Lakers cannot say the same.
The Spurs can safely rely on their bench knowing they can beat the reserves of the Lakers and while the reserves won't see many minutes on the Lakers side, I will assure you that the minuets will be there on the San Antonio end of things.
Also, the coaching matchup in this one I would call a draw simply because of the winning ways in which coach Pop has made his team perform.
The starting five are also very well balanced and the Duncan - Gasol matchup could be the big factor in this series.
I would love to see this match up and the winner of this could very well end up winning it all.
However, my prediction is that if this happens, the Spurs will win in a relatively easy fashion when considering the magnitude of this clash.
The Chance of Beating the Lakers: Moderate to High
Number of Games: 5-6
Conclusion
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Well, this is the official end.
So, to conclude this article; in my honest opinion the Dallas Mavericks have the best chance of defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs.
Please leave a comment and let the debates rage on!
