The San Antonio Spurs are the hottest team in the NBA right now. They went 8-1 on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, sit atop the Southwest Division, and are second in the Western Conference at 24-10 to the Oklahoma City Thunder at 27-7.
And as the team heads into the All-Star break on a winning note, Charles Barkley recently stated on TNT’s Inside the NBA, the Spurs can not only beat the Thunder in the playoffs, but come out of the West to the NBA Finals. Take a look.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FllFhU5qdZU&w=560&h=315]
This season, the Spurs and Thunder split their first two meetings and despite the Thunder’s stellar record, it seems the Spurs can hold their own versus the West’s best. Here is how the two teams fare against one another in their two meetings this season.
• Spurs average 101.5 points versus the Thunder while OKC average 102.1 points versus the Spurs.
• Spurs average 43.5 rebounds versus the Thunder while OKC average 45.5 rebounds versus the Spurs.
• Spurs average 20.5 assists versus the Thunder while OKC average 21.5 assists versus the Spurs.
However, there are areas both teams have an advantage.
• Spurs is shooting a blistering 54.3% from the three-point line versus OKC this season. OKC shoots 35% from downtown versus San Antonio.
• OKC edges San Antonio in field goal percentage shooting 48.7% against the Spurs who shoot 41.9% from the field against OKC.
In the end, it might just come down to the Spurs’ experience versus the Thunder’s youth. The Spurs’ core has been there, done that winning three titles during their time together. OKC has been to the West Finals once. The Spurs have a coach (Gregg Popovich) who is undefeated in Finals play while the Thunder have a coach who has not been to the NBA Finals.
What do you have to say Spurs fans? Do you agree with Chuck about the Spurs? Do you think the Thunder are still the team to beat in the West?
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