Game Thread Spurs (22-7) vs Thunder (26-4) (Thu 12/25/25) [1:30 PM CDT]

[Guru of Nothing]

Not a basketball sneaker snob, but I might have to get a pair of those sonic yellows Castle wore.

 

[benefactor]

I know we won today.

But the amount of open looks we have given them
On 3’s today is quite underwhelming.

They didn’t hit majority of them, but they got really good looks than us.

We made tough shots. They missed easy shots. We messed up their head.

This team is a tough shot team. The concept is attacking. Going to the rim and if the shot isn't there moving the ball and looking for a better shot. Then attacking again. When they are not doing that they are moving Shooters into mid-range places where they are comfortable making shots. At first I did not think it was by Design but the more I watch it the more I feel it definitely is. The concept of the offense is completely and totally opportunistic. It's a complete move away from isolation offenses we have seen in the past for so long during this era in basketball where one player controls with offense does.

 

[Ice009]

The only thing better than the Spurs getting the #1 seed would be OKC still finishing 73-9 or 74-8 but the Spurs beating them 4-1 or 5-0 in the season series AND beating them in the playoffs, perhaps sweeping them like the Lakers did to us in '01 in embarrassing style. Won't happen, but a pipe dream.

You know, I didn't really want to say this out loud, but the main reason I'm not complaining about it as I'm sort of worried about turnovers and starting out games bad, so I've been alright with Vic coming in off the bench for now.

Remember the refs fucking them in both games 2 and 5 in that series tbh. Not as egregious as 2012 game 6 but two bad calls completely flipped that series.

Glad there is at least one other person that remembers those series a similar way I do. Anytime I think of those two series, I think of all that shit. Game 5 in 2012 we were also screwed over on the clear as day Ibaka goaltend on Manu's layup deep in the game. The ball was blocked off of the glass, and while Manu's laying on the ground, the Thunder get the ball up court to James Harden on the right side who then hits a three and Manu fouls him scrambling to get back into the play for the 3 And 1 huge momentum shift. That was an egregious call as even the replay showed it's a clear goal tend. Swung the momentum of the game and series as I believe that swing in the game cost the Spurs game 5. Fuck OKC and all the BS help they got from the refs those two series. Game 6 in 2012, the fourth quarter was touch foul after touch foul and the Thunder were in the bonus so early in the 4th quarter. You look at the final stats and it doesn't look that bad, but the Thunder got all those ticky-tacky calls in the second half (mostly the 4th quarter) after being down by over 20 points at home., but that is how you can manipulate the games by making calls for the home team at the end of the game to even it out. The games were manipulated.

Someone mentioned that the Thunder had the Spurs number. No way to I agree with that. They didn't have the Spurs' number (the teams at worst were evenly matched), but they also had help from the refs and NBA was trying to start a Miami Vs Thunder rivalry.

Someone also mentioned that they're not sure if the Spurs beat Miami in 2012 and I disagree with that too. The Heat were shaky after getting embarrassed by the Mavericks the year before and a veteran team like the Spurs may have been able to take advantage of that. The Thunder got rolled in those 2012 finals because they shouldn't have been there in the first place. They didn't earn it and got exposed. They deserved that beat down for getting there under false pretenses. I won't say the Spurs would have 100% for sure beat that Miami team, but they would have given them a good run unlike those Oklahoma pretenders that made it there.

Silver isn't OK with is the league's best future asset not being on the Lakers, Knicks, or Bulls, though.



I don't really agree.... we played small pretty heavily featuring a heavy dose of Stephen Jackson at PF in 2012 and still couldn't defend anyone.



2012 game 6 was lowkey as bad as 2002 game 6 for Sacramento, if not worse. Really throughout the whole game especially the entire second half. In 2016 it was literally just two 50/50 plays at the end one in each game which usually goes the home team's way but the league stepped in and decided that a Durant vs mighty Warriors WCF was necessary.

I agree with the last part of what you said. Spurs really got screwed in that second half in 2012 game 6. Even that technical foul on Stephen Jackson was BS. The Thunder bench were likely yelling all kinds of shit to him before he hit that three pointer, and as far as I remember, all he did was stare them down.

 

[scott]

I've never listened to a Daignault presser until this one, but he impressed me how complementary he was of the Spurs and how he took time at the end to shout out the fans and wish them all a merry Christmas. This guy is a class act, at least.

 

[Millennial_Messiah]

Remember the refs fucking them in both games 2 and 5 in that series tbh. Not as egregious as 2012 game 6 but two bad calls completely flipped that series.

I’m talking about 2014. OKC with harden in 2012 was a scarier matchup than the team we played in 2014. 2012 Spurs were nowhere near good as the 2014 team either.

I agree with the former, 2012 was the Durant in OKC era's best team, Presti really screwed the pooch by trading Harden rather than either cutting Perkins or paying the luxury tax when you had a young perennial contender with three home grown (drafted) superstars, [which made them at least more respectable for that era than the Heatles or Celtics, fwiw].

I disagree with the latter. The 2012 Spurs team was better than 2014 in my opinion, particularly on defense. There were large stretches of the second half of the 2012 season that our defense was as good as we were at our peak defensive level in 1999. Didn't feel that way at all with 2014 team which was largely more of an uptempo, Princeton offense style team which took some energy away from the defense as the 2012 offense was more post, pick and roll, drive & dish oriented offense like that of yesteryear. But remember when we erased a 24 point deficit in one quarter (third quarter) at the Clippers in the playoffs and scored something crazy like 36 points in a row.

OKC was a buzzsaw in the playoffs in 2012. OKC in 2014 minus Harden was maybe slightly better defensively but massively nerfed offensively. They struggled to score against the Grizzlies in the playoffs. The Spurs beating them in 6 wasn't an amazing achievement for us, especially with Dirkbaka and his fake injury thing. We shouldn't have lost both games 3 and 4. The 2014 Spurs and their bad defense almost cost us the first round vs Dallas. If Boris doesn't hit that three, we probably get 8'd by Dallas in six games. The 2012 and even 2013 Spurs were honestly a more complete team than the 2014 Spurs, who more or less resembled the early 2000s Sacramento Kings with their elite halfcourt offense and somewhat lax defense, but they were a team on a mission for revenge.

The best team doesn't always win the championship, and the better team doesn't always win a seven-game series. For instance, the 2006 Spurs were objectively better than the 2003 Spurs, but matching up with Dirk and Dallas was such a massive problem in 2006 that couldn't be overcome, while Dirk getting injured in '03 and the Spurs matching up better in general with Nash-based teams than juggernaut halfcourt offenses back then, proved to be the difference.

 

[Millennial_Messiah]

I've never listened to a Daignault presser until this one, but he impressed me how complementary he was of the Spurs and how he took time at the end to shout out the fans and wish them all a merry Christmas. This guy is a class act, at least.

Yeah, I like him better than Scott Brooks or that other guy (Donovan?) they had after him.

 

[spursparker9]

 

[BatManu20]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2004366305110249768

 

[CGD]

SGA’s game sans the foul baiting is actually pretty to watch. That punch dribble into a 3 seems automatic for him, though he missed one earlier.

He is elite. Mesmerizing midrange game

 

[Shmurs]

I've never listened to a Daignault presser until this one, but he impressed me how complementary he was of the Spurs and how he took time at the end to shout out the fans and wish them all a merry Christmas. This guy is a class act, at least.

Quibbling over semantics maybe, but the thunder are the least classy team in the league. Daignault knows what Dort is. He knows what Shai does. He knows what Caruso and Wallace do on defense. And all of these things are part of his formal strategy. No class with how he coaches. Plenty of class with how he conducts himself.

Politeness is also part of the scam. His team maintains a positive relationship with the league and with officials in exchange for a friendly whistle. I don’t think this is conspiratorial either. You kill the ego maniacs with kindness and you get rewarded.

 

[OK Computer]

I've never listened to a Daignault presser until this one, but he impressed me how complementary he was of the Spurs and how he took time at the end to shout out the fans and wish them all a merry Christmas. This guy is a class act, at least.

You’d have to have some level of intelligence as a coach to have your GM believe in you enough to keep you through several bad seasons. When Presti put him in that spot, I knew his job was secure. He matches Presti’s vibe.

 

[OK Computer]

Quibbling over semantics maybe, but the thunder are the least classy team in the league. Daignault knows what Dort is. He knows what Shai does. He knows what Caruso and Wallace do on defense. And all of these things are part of his formal strategy. No class with how he coaches. Plenty of class with how he conducts himself.

Politeness is also part of the scam. His team maintains a positive relationship with the league and with officials in exchange for a friendly whistle. I don’t think this is conspiratorial either. You kill the ego maniacs with kindness and you get rewarded.

When you have a dislike towards a certain person or thing (like Sochan and now the Thunder), you really go 200% with the hate. Never seen anything like it.

 

[xellos88330]

Your sister wants you to eat her ass?

Hey, whatever floats the boats in your family

She said you must be from OKC to think that kind of shit. LMAO!!!

 

[spursparker9]

lol wtf...4:51 mark. Wemby's pass to Castle's dunk was through Wallace's legs...

 

[Shmurs]

When you have a dislike towards a certain person or thing (like Sochan and now the Thunder), you really go 200% with the hate. Never seen anything like it.

Well I’m not doing it for effect, but fair enough.

This is their gameplan though. I think Daignault would admit he has a bunch of guys who look a lot better than what they are because of the arrangement he has with officials. They don’t win the title without it, and Shai looks closer to Ant than he does to Luka without it.

I don’t like cheating. And I don’t like the excuses people make for cheating.

 

[scott]

Quibbling over semantics maybe, but the thunder are the least classy team in the league. Daignault knows what Dort is. He knows what Shai does. He knows what Caruso and Wallace do on defense. And all of these things are part of his formal strategy. No class with how he coaches. Plenty of class with how he conducts himself.

Politeness is also part of the scam. His team maintains a positive relationship with the league and with officials in exchange for a friendly whistle. I don’t think this is conspiratorial either. You kill the ego maniacs with kindness and you get rewarded.

Seems like you have issues. You should talk to someone about them (who isn't not me).

 

[xellos88330]

Wemby coming off the bench... LETHAL INJECTION!!!

 

[BatManu20]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2004369481519513678

 

[Mugen]

 

[timtonymanu]

“I’m not terrified of OKC at all.” - Mugen before the Cup game

 

[OK Computer]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2004369481519513678

I’m really impressed by how well Fox is able to play defense given his size. It’s sorta like prime CP3 when he was leading the league in steals… am I making that up or did that actually happen? Just going off pure memory tbh…

 

[BatManu20]

I’m really impressed by how well Fox is able to play defense given his size. It’s sorta like prime CP3 when he was leading the league in steals… am I making that up or did that actually happen? Just going off pure memory tbh…

CP3 has an NBA record 6 Steals Titles in his career.

 

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Craziest part of these OKC wins?

1. Obviously that Vic is only playing 21ish minutes per. Our monster is chained.

2. We have so much to improve upon on defense (3pt line) and rebounding. I was having NYK rebound and PHX 3pt PTSD with this some of this sh*t. And we still won, handily.

Yeah, the rebounding has been really frustrating times. I also worry about how many corner 3’s we give up. But Mitch did talk in today’s press conference after the game about how you can’t shut everything down at once. You have to decide what you’ll live with giving up and try and limit everything else.

 

[Robz4000]

I've never listened to a Daignault presser until this one, but he impressed me how complementary he was of the Spurs and how he took time at the end to shout out the fans and wish them all a merry Christmas. This guy is a class act, at least.

Him and Mitch are friends iirc.

 

[benefactor]

Basically what has happened is Mitch has seen what Oklahoma City has done and taken his group of players and made it better. We worried so much about the ball handlers but he has turned it into a juggernaut of attacking players that no one has an answer for. Anything you can do I can do better. And we are doing it better.