Spurs prep for OKC Thunder series; Season Recap

Leonard and Westbrook will lead their teams into a clash.

The bitter memory of a blowout defeat in their final meeting this season lingers for the Spurs, who must construct a battle strategy to not only contend, but handle and overcome the trio of Westbrook, George & Anthony with Adams.

As the Spurs wait for the other matches to end and for Game 1 to arrive, they also recall the acclaim received by Kawhi Leonard, who finished 3rd in MVP votes, the award ultimately going to his foe LeBron James, Bismack Biyombo for placing highly in both the Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year races. Coach Popovich did win the Coach of the Year, as the Spurs went 67-15 on the season, ten games ahead of the rival Warriors (57-25).

MVP, LeBron James, aims to lead Cavaliers to Finals

It will be a tough series, no doubt, most definitely more contentious than the series with Portland. Luckily, the Spurs will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs as the championship runs through San Antonio, as it has for the past seven seasons, with it only eluding the Spurs once.

Unlike last season, the San Antonio Spurs--should they survive the Thunder--will only have to take on one of the two other juggernauts of the western conference because the Houston Rockets will have already faced the Golden State Warriors, with only one titan left standing, while San Antonio duels against OKC.

Regarding the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers are no longer the favorite to reach the Finals, with both the Celtics and Raptors taking a step further this season. But it will come down to whom bests whom, yet the Cavaliers' time may be ending. Rumors abound of LeBron possibly moving elsewhere this summer, and who could blame him? After all, the Cavaliers have lost the past four finals to the Spurs, getting swept the past two times and only winning 1 of 5 in the year after LeBron returned to Cleveland.