Subject :OKLAHOMA CITY -- When asked about the oldie-but-goodie San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Duran
OKLAHOMA CITY -- When asked about the oldie-but-goodie San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant inquired about Tony Parkers age. Brock Nelson Islanders Jersey . "Thirty-two," a reporter answered. "He is old," Durant quipped, drawing laughter. "He doesnt play like hes 32 years old." Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are even older. Duncan just turned 38 and Ginobili is approaching 37. The trio won its first NBA title together in 2003 and fought back Father Time to reach the NBA Finals last year. They will play in their seventh Western Conference finals together, starting with Game 1 Monday night in San Antonio. Durant, the leagues MVP, said theres more to San Antonios success than some mythical fountain of youth. It starts with the genius of Gregg Popovich, the leagues Coach of the Year. "Their system, they plug guys in and out," Durant said. "They always stick to their same system. They get guys who fit. And theyve got a great coach who gets those guys prepared." Even with an aging core and numerous injuries throughout the season, the Spurs finished with the leagues best record. They did it with consistency and teamwork that has continued in the playoffs. San Antonio is shooting 49 per cent from the field as a team in the post-season, with no player averaging 20 points. Oklahoma City counters with dynamic individual play from a pair of 25-year-olds. Durant is averaging 31.4 points and 9.5 rebounds in the playoffs. Russell Westbrook is averaging 26.6 points, 8.4 assists and 8.0 rebounds in post-season play. Westbrook, in particular, has San Antonios attention. While Durants play has been typical, Westbrook has improved significantly as a floor general during the playoffs. "Hes an incredible talent having a great playoff run," Duncan said. "Some incredible numbers. Just an impressive athlete when you try to stay in front of him. His confidence is there." The Thunder will be without Serge Ibaka, who led the league in blocked shots. The mobile, athletic forward injured his left calf in Game 6 of the conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Its hard, but were going to move on," Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins said. "Were a very prideful organization and team. Were going to move on." Here are five things to watch in the series: THUNDER DOMINANCE: Oklahoma City won all four regular-season meetings with San Antonio this season, so the Spurs will take nothing for granted, even with Ibaka out. "You never get overconfident in that situation, especially against a team that we havent beat this year," Ginobili said. "We know how talented they are. They can really score in bunches. Very athletic, strong, play good defence. So, no, were not going to get overconfident for sure." IBAKAS REPLACEMENT: Oklahoma City rookie Steven Adams is the most likely to see a spike in minutes. Veteran Nick Collison will play more, too. The Thunder could go with a smaller lineup at times and play Durant as a power forward. Coach Scott Brooks still wouldnt say Sunday who would start in Ibakas place. PARKERS HAMSTRING: San Antonio was likely to have significant help on Westbrook anyway, but Parkers strained left hamstring could be a major problem against Westbrook and Reggie Jackson, two of the most athletic point guards in the league. Parker said Sunday that the hamstring was still tight, but he plans to play. Jackson said the Thunder will test Parker early. LEONARD vs. DURANT: Brooks said Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is an All-Star in the making. The Spurs feel Leonard is the best equipped player in the league to bother Durant because of his length and energy. "As good as anybody can do it," Ginobili said. "We are lucky to have him. Nobody can guard him (Durant) 1-on-1. Thats been proven -- hes the MVP -- but you can put him in some trouble, and then the team has to respond." SPURS OTHER GUYS: One thing that makes the Spurs dangerous is their depth. Though Parker, Duncan and Ginobili are the best-known players, Leonard, Marco Belinelli, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills all play their roles well and are capable of being difference makers in the right situation. Oklahoma City will need to prevent the other guys from having breakout nights. New York Islanders Jersey . Gordon reportedly failed another drug test and is facing a one-year ban. Gordon led the NFL in yards receiving last season despite being suspended two games for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy. Josh Bailey Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. FUKUOKA, Japan -- Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan brushed off a fall and merely increased his lead in beating three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada at the Grand Prix Final on Friday. Hanyu, who had a 12-point lead after Thursdays short program, fell on his opening quad salchow but completed all of his other jumps, including seven triple jumps plus a quad toe loop in the free skate to eclipse Chan by 13 points. "I wasnt completely satisfied with the long program," Hanyu said. "But after falling on the quad I was able to pull myself together and complete all my jumps and that was huge." Chan also hit all his jumps, but he was unable to erase the deficit and finished with 280.08 points to Hanyus 293.25. Nobunari Oda of Japan, a late substitute for defending GP Final champion Daisuke Takahashi, was third with 255.96. "It was a good day and Im happy with how I skated," Chan said. "I felt nervous going into the long program. It was a mental battle even before I got on the ice." Beating Chan was a huge boost for Hanyus chances of being selected to represent Japan at the Sochi Olympics. "This is a huge step for Sochi," said Hanyu, who will turn 19 on Saturday. "I feel I am meeting all the requirements. We still have the national championships but obviously, I am feeling pretty confident." Chan said he wasnt disappointed with the result. "I finished the event strong," the Toronto skater said. "There was a lot of good things I did here, and that was regaining my composure and regaining my concentration after a bad short program and putting out a great long that I dont usually do. Its not very Patrick Chan of me. "Most of the time, I think people know me well that the short program has always saved me ... but I think today was proof that Im getting better and really becoming a more well-rounded competitor." He said his long skate was even more satisfying given his previous track record skating in Japan. "Honestly, I started thinking about my previous performances here in Japan, and I dont really have the best track record," he said. "The last two times I competed here has for the World Team Troophy, and I really havent skated well at every single one of those in Japan, just because its at the end of the season. Mikhail Grabovski Islanders Jersey. "Every time I come back to Japan I feel like I relive those moments where I didnt skate my best and those were really tough times. Thats why I think I learned a lot today." In ice dancing, world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States led after the short dance with 77.66 points, seven-tenths of a point ahead of Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont. "Overall it was strong," said Virtue. "Technically we got all the points we wanted which was our objective. We just have to go out and perform the same way in the free dance." Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia stand third at 68.90 just ahead of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., at 67.68. "We captured the essence of the program," said Poje. "We didnt lose that uniqueness. We wanted to utilize the taps and the back and forth between the two of us." Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia were first after the pairs short program with 82.65. World silver medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany were second with 79.46 while Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China were third on 75.40. Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., totalled 73.07 and are fourth less than three points behind third spot. Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are sixth. "This is the type of skate weve been waiting for," said Radford. "After some rough short programs this season, this one gives us a lot of confidence." Moore-Towers and Moscovitch also came off the ice satisfied. "We cant do much better than a clean short," said Moore-Towers. "The best part was our energy. We felt comfortable and at home out there. It was fun and when we get to feel it that way, its enjoyable." The GP Final is the first and only event where most of the worlds top skaters will meet before the Sochi Olympics. The womens free skate and the ice dance and pairs free programs are scheduled for Saturday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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