Nope. I think it's going to be tough. Really tough. Just due to the way the Blazers play the game. Each game is going to be close no matter what I've got to emotionally refuel for this next series. The last series as fun as it was, I was spent.
Shame, I really liked his game. Raw as hell, but I think he has a future in this league if he can stay healthy. In all honesty, any player with athleticism will give the Spurs fits, but in the playoffs unless they have a brain or high bball IQ to back it up, they'll be exposed. I think T-Rob will be like Brandon Wright was against Dallas: he gave the Spurs fits the first half of the series, but was eventually benched by Game 5.
Yeah. I think it'll go both ways. This is going to be an awesome series. I think the Rockets have learned their lesson on taking the opposition lightly.
The OP is correct. By the finals, we will sweep the Heat. Hardest game of the year was the first pre season game
We saw today it won't be easy; Spurs showed they can not just win but dominate. And that they win when they have to. Also they are coming off a tough end to last year's playoffs and want redemption. But the Blazers are a young and inexperienced team and as such don't know they are not supposed to win. I think it will be like the first round, nail biter heart attack hair pulling manic depressive series that either team could win.
I don't think it will be easier. The playoffs are never easy. I think the Spurs are going to present a whole new problem and the Blazers will have to answer the call. The Rockets were a headache because of their stars, the Spurs will be a headache because of their team. We will have to do our very best on defense in this series because nothing will come easy.
I think the headache that will come from the Spurs will be the 3 point shooters if we dont stay on them. I really could see us limiting their stars, but if there players get open 3s like crazy and makes them, it wont be good. Just off the top of my head, Ginobli, Diaw, Bellineli, Mills, and Green can shoot the 3. Not good if we cave in on penetration by Parker or Manu.
Pop's brain + Duncan's pride is never an easy out. I won't say the Blazers can't win....they have already proved me wrong....but it will take every bit of magic they can muster.
Less physical? Yes. Thank god that's the last we'll see of Howard/Asik until next season. Easier? No. The games can't possibly be closer though, so maybe bigger margins of victory each way.
The Spurs treat the regular season like practice. The playoffs they bring their play to an entirely different level.
They apparently treat the first six games of the playoffs as the regular season... NOW, their playoffs begin.
It's certainly easier than if we had to play the Clippers or Thunder. Yes I know the Spurs got to the finals last year but with similarly talented cores they couldnt advance that far for 5 straight years. Its not as if this Spurs team has had tons of title runs the last half decade. They have been a good but not great team for that entire time.
It's by no means an easy win, but I think if Portland wins this series we'll remember it as easier than the first round. There's no guarantee that things always get harder in later rounds--the Mavs said our first round series with them during their championship run was their hardest. I was pretty worried about the superstar play of Harden and Howard, and Howard really did destroy us. Any time you face a dominant center who goes off for 24/13/55%/27PER, and you still win, you should count yourself damn lucky. With better coaching he could easily have racked up 30-35ppg and there wasn't anything we could do. And then you also have to contend with the best Shooting Guard in the game, and role players in Asik and Beverley who seem custom-made to contain our two best players. And then there was always the potential to get fucked massively by refs. The Spurs have a great collection of players and a fantastic coach. But I feel like Portland will compete well with them. We may lose, but it won't be a sweep or blowouts. It's going to be a battle, but unlike with the Rockets I don't think we risk getting utterly embarrassed out there. It's the difference between fighting a guy who is slightly smarter and slightly bigger than you, and fighting a retard twice your size. If you lose to the smart guy after 15 minutes, well, that sucks but you live with it. If the retard swings a haymaker and you go down in the first 10 seconds, that just fucking sucks.
I didn't have the opportunity to watch the Mavs/Spurs game, but I bet they walked off the court like they had just won a February road game in Milwaukee. Anything less than a championship will be a disappointment for them. For us, we think we're playing with house money. This series will be multiple times harder than the HOU series, especially on a defensive level. We are going to see a level of intensity and team play we didn't see from Houston. As they say, however, if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. Right now, SA is the man.
It will be easier emotionally for sure. Meaning, I can take losing to SA because I respect Pop and the whole organization. And yes, they flop and bitch a bit but you still have to respect multiple titles. Plus, I really fucking hate Houston, Harden's flopping, and the media-anointed superstars that haven't actually won jack shit, and I would have HATED losing to them.
