2015-2016 NBA Season Review

This NBA season was filled with a lot of ups and downs for me. There were some spectacular moments, some cool moments, and some not so cool moments. It is all up for review here.

Let's start with the main team that this blog has focused on, the San Antonio Spurs...
The Spurs had a monumentally successful regular season. San Antonio won 67 games this year, which is a franchise record. However, the team was shocking ousted in the 2nd round by a younger and seemingly hungrier Thunder team. It was great to see the regular season and Duncan still being a contributor at his age, while hoping for him to get another ring and go out on top. It was cool to see the transformation to it being Kawhi's team and to see Leonard emerge as a true MVP candidate. Seeing Popovich's unselfish system continue to thrive is never a bad thing either...

So what happened in the playoffs?
The Spurs like I said, were outworked by a younger and hungrier team. It seems that everything was clicking all the way through Game 1 of the second round. This team dismantled the Thunder in Game 1. Then Father Time caught up with San Antonio in a big way for the rest of the series. Tim Duncan looked terrible all series until the deciding Game 6 when he tried to give it one last hurrah. It was painful to see at times. The knees and back were affecting his play and he just seemed to be losing it. For someone that has seen Duncan dominate for so long it was sad. It was sadder in knowing that this is probably it for Duncan and that he likely will not get to 6 championships now. A class individual and class player like Duncan should get to go out on top for the classiest organization in sports. Not meant to be though. The Thunder wanted it more and deserved the Western Conference Final appearance more. While it is sad that Duncan is likely done, the future is bright for Kawhi Leonard and possibly for the San Antonio Spurs still because of Leonard.

Now to the team that ousted the Spurs....
I have not focused too much on the Thunder here at ran. I don't think most of the people that read my stuff care too much. However, the Wizards fans care about Durant and the team has intrigue because they knocked out the Spurs. Kevin Durant is perhaps the most likable guy in the league and him leading the Thunder to knock out the Spurs is good for him and probably for the NBA. Getting more eyeballs on him and Westbrook is great for the NBA. Speaking of Russell Westbrook, I'm happy to see the haters starting to go away. The guy is an elite NBA player. Easily top 10 in the game and probably top 5. He needs to be treated as such. Glad to see Westbrook finally get that respect. The 1,2 punch of Durant and Westbrook will likely stay. Sorry for all of the #KD2DC fans out there. This combo is too great to break up.

The combo also has one of the best coaches in the NBA. As a die-hard Nole, I cannot tell you how excited it makes me that Billy Donovan is coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder instead of coaching in Gainesville. This guy just knows basketball. He is one of the elite basketball minds on the planet. Assuming that Durant stays with the Thunder (I assume he will), this team has future NBA Champs written all over it.

Heck they almost won this year. The Thunder were up 3-1 on the team with the best record in the NBA during the Western Conference Finals. Did it all come crashing down?
Yes. It came crashing down when the Warriors made the proper adjustments and their two best players finally started playing like they had all season. Klay Thompson took over the series and the Warriors ended up winning. The team had the best regular season record in NBA history for a reason. Still, the Thunder had them down 3-1. That says a lot about the potential of Oklahoma City.

The Thunder certainly upgraded over Scott Brooks with Billy Donovan. However, Brooks was a good coach that helped the Thunder get to the next point. He helped develop two young superstars. Brooks is a great hire for the team that I do regularly talk about, the Washington Wizards. Hired just a few weeks ago, Brooks looks to improve on his career 62% winning percentage in a weak Eastern Conference. There is absolutely no excuse for the Wizards being as horrendous as they are, and Brooks has the potential to mold this team at least into a consistent playoff contender. With Brooks, they should at least make the playoffs every year. With some solid roster movement, this team can contend in the Eastern Conference.

Which leads me to my next topic, the underachieving Bradley Beal. This guy is supposed to be offered a max contract this offseason. Why?
Beal played in just 55 games this season and his injury prone status is a large reason why this team underachieved so much. Do they really want to make the playoffs only when an injury prone guy is healthy?
Beal has played in just 247/328 regular season games in his career. The career just started and its been filled with injuries. This is the guy you want to offer the max to. The guy you want to make Wall's 2nd best option. Sure he has a pretty 3 point shot, but why risk it. Can't we go with a safer and more reliable alternative here to giving Beal 22 million?
He says he is past the injury thing, but is he really?
The dude derailed the Wizards season and they missed the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference. That he averaged 17.4 is of no consequence, he played in just 55 games. There are a lot better ways to spend 22 million. He has a nice shot, but he isn't a great defender and rarely can create his own shot. Not to mention that he has the 39th worst turnover rate among NBA guards. The guy doesn't play and when he does, he turns it over. I just don't see why this guy deserves a max deal. If you want to bring him back, fine, but structure the deal in a way that the team still has financial flexibility. A team with two injury prone max guards will stay a fringe playoff contender. That playoff status will continue to remain on the backs and legs of two injury prone guys. Not how I want to spend my time as an NBA fan. If you give Beal the max, you deserve the broken player you get. Here is a solid article on what the Wizards should offer Beal.

Speaking of the weak Eastern Conference.....

LeBron certainly continues to dominate the pathetic conference. However, as a hater of the LeBron narrative, I thought it was worth pointing out that the Miami Heat pushed the Raptors (that gave LeBron fits in the Finals) to 7 games the series before. They did it with largely the same team LeBron had, just minus LeBron. They also did it injured. Guess they are solid help and I guess Wade did have plenty in the tank, just like I said. The biggest difference between this Heat and LeBron's Heat in my opinion is that this Heat did not include Chris Bosh either. They must have some pretty solid contributing parts. Led by a pretty fantastic guard in Dwayne Wade.....

Stay tuned next week, for more from the world of sports...

-Noland

Why the Spurs Title Window is NOT Shut

Recently, the Spurs looked like an unstoppable machine. They hadn't lost a game in 50 days and started 10-0 in the playoffs. Then the Thunder came in, hungry and ready to win. Oklahoma City was younger and more athletic and they played like the best team in the NBA and won 4 straight games to win the series. After the series the inevitable questions about whether the Spurs run had ended started creeping up again, just like any other time the Spurs get knocked out. The simple answer to that question is no.

First off, the officiating was beyond terrible. I am not one to try to get into this too much, but Joey Crawford SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED to ref Spurs games. Perhaps he should not be allowed to ref any game. The first thought in the mind of any Spurs fan when they see Joey Crawford reffing the game is, why is this turkey reffing our game. Crawford is the guy who gave Duncan the double technical from the bench. He is also the guy who Tim Donaghy (the guy who fixed games) talked about with his bookies. Donaghy told the bookies to pick against the Spurs when Crawford was the ref. You can look it up. It is horrible that Crawford can referee the pivotal Western Conference Final matchup. I don't think it had a large impact on the outcome, but it had an impact. It is also clear that the NBA is doing everything it can to get the Heat and Thunder in the NBA Finals. Just despicable. Here is Duncan and Popovich talking about the loss.

Anyways, back to the Spurs. It wasn't all about the officials, the Spurs looked bad in at least two games this series. However, they aren't done. How can you suggest a team that won 20 straight games and 10 in the playoffs is done? These sports writers kill me with this one. They have the greatest power forward of all time. They have a PG that nearly won the MVP (and probably should have). They have the greatest coach in the league, who is fresh off a coach of the year award. Sure changes have to be made, but those changes will be made and the Spurs will be right back in the thick of it like always. Tim Duncan will not go out like this.

-Noland

Spurs Win 20th Straight

This team moved to 10-0 in the playoffs with a fantastic game again last night. It was also their 20th straight win period. The amazing streak leaves the Spurs just two games shy of the NBA Finals as the series shifts to Oklahoma City. So how did they get here?

It all starts with Gregg Popovich obviously as he has this team on a mission. All season long he has pushed all of the right buttons and it is easy to see how he won coach of the year. He helped create of team of unselfish players as well which definitely helps.

Those unselfish players were lead this year by a man who probably should have been MVP, but didn't even make first team All-NBA. That man is Tony Parker. Usually, Duncan is the leader, but no questioning that it is Parker this season. The point guard again played amazing last night as he had 34 points and 8 assists. Not only that, but he did it efficiently. Parker was 16-21 from the field. When is the last time you saw someone shoot that good from the field. Find me a box score of Lebron's or Kobe's where they shot only 21 times and scored 30+.



Tim Duncan did not have his best shooting night, but he was great and looked fresh. Duncan finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. He also gave Serge Ibaka a nice facial during the 1st half when he slammed it home. The best power forward ever also blocked 4 shots which may not seem that significant. However, those four blocks tied him for 2nd all time in the playoffs with Hakeem. Duncan needs four more to tie Kareem for the all time record. Five more blocks and Duncan has himself an NBA record. That should happen this season.

Look at this stat and see exactly why the Spurs were so dominant. Rookie Kawhi Leonard recorded a double double. Leonard had 18 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2. This team just plays well together and it does not matter who gets the credit.

They even have Manu Ginobili coming off the bench. He accepts his role as 6th man because it is better for the team. Remember when Allen Iverson said how many all-stars, scoring champs, and MVPs come off the bench? Well, at least one all-star Allen. Also this all-star has a couple rings. Maybe you should have tried it. Ginobili finished with 20 points for the game.

Now the Spurs take their winning streak to Oklahoma City.

-Noland

Kendrick Perkins Takes a Shot @ Andrew Bynum

I was looking at the great website over at Project Spurs and saw this gem. It was an article about Kendrick Perkins being asked the difference between guarding Tim Duncan and guarding Andrew Bynum. If you want the analysis over at Project Spurs, then click on the link. My analysis will be below. Anyways here is the quote.

"Well, Duncan is smart”

Ouch. Burn.
It sounds worse than it is though. Duncan has one of the highest basketball IQs we have ever seen. He is also an incredible team player that knows how to help his team in each situation. It is one of the reasons that the Spurs have won all these years. This was said in a poor way and I have though and I have to assume that Andrew Bynum isn't too happy about it.

-Noland

Spurs Win 19 Straight

It wasn't always pretty, in fact sometimes it was ugly, but the Spurs pulled it out. Despite trailing for the majority of the 3rd quarter and looking absolutely terrible that quarter, the Spurs remained undefeated in these playoffs. They are now up 1-0 over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals behind a 101-98 victory.

Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw, and Danny Green looked awful on offense and for some reason kept jacking threes despite looking awful. Luckily, Splitter, Neal, and Ginobili stepped it up. Tiago Splitter had 9 key points and drew a crucial charge to help turn the game around. Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points and was definitely the biggest key to the victory tonight. He finally got it going for the Spurs in the 4th after they were struggling a great deal offensively. Gary Neal was huge and was great down the stretch.

The Spurs went with an extremely small lineup at the end of the game. They had Neal, Ginobili, Parker, Jackson and Duncan. You rarely see an NBA team run 4 guards out there, but the Spurs ran this lineup the majority of the 4th quarter. Stephen Jackson did an amazing job guarding Durant and even added a few buckets. Jackson was like Bruce Bowen with his amazing defense. Very nice to see Jackson play great defense like that.

The other two parts of the big 3, Duncan and Parker both had decent, but unspectacular games. Parker had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Each can definitely play much better though.

The most satisfying part for the Spurs has to be that they won this game despite the turnovers. They had 12 turnovers in the 1st half. How do you win with 12 turnovers in one half? They finished with 17 turnovers for the game. If the Spurs win after that game, then how can they lose? Too much depth, too much skill, too much desire.

-Noland

Spurs Earn 2nd Postseason Sweep

The San Antonio Spurs are now 8-0 in the playoffs. They have now won 18 in a row and look pretty dang formidable. We will see if the Thunder can slow them down. Unless the Lakers manage to overcome a 3-1 deficit to beat the Thunder. Game 5 is tonight and if the Thunder wins the Western Conference Finals will be set.

The Spurs certainly deserved to advance to the finals and they did it due to several standout players. They were led by the great Tim Duncan. Duncan had 21 points and 9 rebounds in a typical Duncan game. Tony Parker continued his outstanding season by adding 17 points. Danny Green continued his breakout season as he added 14. If you had told me Danny Green would have been a critical part of a Spurs run to the Western Conference Finals in the beginning of the year, I probably would not have believed you. This guy and several others just keep coming through though. Another guy is Gary Neal, this guy went undrafted by the Spurs, was sent to the D-League this year and still was huge in a clinching game. Neal had 14 points in just 14 minutes last night. Splitter and Ginobili each added 11. That is 6 guys in double figures. This is actually a team. Unlike some folks in the extreme southeast part of the country.

Fun Fact: This game featured Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili playing their 130th career postgame together. Which is highest for any active trio in the NBA.

Who can stop these Spurs?

-Noland

Spurs Up 3-0

The San Antonio Spurs now have a 3-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers. This series is as good as done. You can see why the Spurs are the title favorite by how much they have dominated thus far in the playoffs. No team has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a series in NBA History. The question seems to have shifted to when will these Spurs close this out. It is looking like a Spurs-Thunder showdown is coming very soon. That should be a fantastic series, but for now we will stay focused on the current series.

Blake Griffin had an outstanding game in the loss for the Clippers. Griffin had 28 points and 16 rebounds while looking like the best player on the court. Unfortunately for him, the Spurs had their whole team look good when it mattered. Tony Parker had 23 points and 10 assists in the win. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Manu Ginobili had 13 points. Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and 9 rebounds. It is incredible how these guys are playing together.

This game was especially impressive. At one point, the Spurs were down 24 points. They were ice cold to start the game, only scoring 11 points in the 1st quarter. They were able to overcome that though and go on their own 24-0 run in the 3rd quarter. Gregg Popovich must have made some really awesome adjustments to key the comeback. It is going to be incredibly difficult to beat this team.

-Noland

Ron Artest: New Name, Same Idiot

If you didn't know that Ron Artest was an idiot, consider the fact that he changed his legal name to Metta World Peace. It is also important to know that Ron Artest is the idiot that ran into the stands igniting the Pacers-Pistons brawl a couple years back. Yesterday, the idiot completely decked James Harden with a vicious elbow. That could have seriously injured Harden and absolutely cannot be tolerated. Artest will claim that it was an accident and that he was just celebrating, but look at the video and see for yourself. Even if you could justify that was the reason, and you can't, this is that look at me attitude I was talking about with Dwight Howard. Again, this nonsense doesn't happen in San Antonio. Watch the video here with the brawl right below.

This guy has got to be suspended big time

-Noland