2016 Western Conference Semifinals
San Antonio 99, Oklahoma City 113
Thunder win series 4-2

I didn’t expect this.

Late in the regular season, eyeing a potential 2nd round match-up against the Thunder, I was worried. The way the Spurs were playing at the time, I thought this series would be tougher than most assumed. Still, I trusted in the 67-win juggernaut to come through against a talented but underperforming Thunder squad that seemed to have new drama every week. I expected the ‘right’ team to win.

I didn’t expect all the Spurs shooters would suddenly turn cold, and that stalwart role players would become so detrimental.

I didn’t expect Steven Adams to be the best big in the series. (Yes, he was better and more impactful in winning than Aldridge.)

I didn’t expect Westbrook to suddenly become a good 3-point shooter and a good decision maker.

I didn’t expect Roberson to guard Kawhi as well as he did and outplay him in a critical Game 6.

I didn’t expect Dion Waiters to be the best bench player in the series.

I didn’t expect the Spurs veterans to press and look flustered and make really poor decisions with the ball.

I didn’t expect a rebound to become an impossible thing to get.

I didn’t expect the Spurs to be so afraid at the rim.

I didn’t expect the Thunder to suddenly start playing great defense and completely fluster the Spurs on offense.

I didn’t expect Pop to not have any answers, or to be unwilling to try different things until it was too late.

I didn’t expect the Spurs to lose twice as many homes games in one series as they did all season, nor lose 3 in a row.

I didn’t expect Duncan to become 40 so fast.

Yet here we are. Game 6 was the Thunder’s turn to get a blow out, only the Spurs were too stubborn and too proud to let it happen. It was hard not to get emotional during that 4th quarter, watching the team play so hard and come as close as they did to achieving the impossible. They fought behind the play of Duncan and Leonard, the two pillars of the team spanning 20 years and multiple generations.

There were chances late to cut it here and there and put real pressure on Oklahoma City. But when you get down that big on the road, you have to play perfect. The Spurs were anything but. A missed rebound leading to an easy layup, Kawhi getting the ball stolen by Westbrook from behind, converting only 1-point out of a possible 4-point play after the flagrant: these can all be covered up in a tight game, but when you’re clawing your way back, it’s too many miniature mistakes to overcome.

The game was lost at the end of the first quarter. The Spurs were up 6 with a few minutes remaining when the benches came in. The Thunder went on a  quick +12 run (in a game ultimately won by 14 points), and the Spurs were never close again. Pop struggled to find anything that would work, pulling Mills for Martin, plugging in Boban for size, making Manu a PG.

I think the killer decision was not having Green or Leonard on the floor when Durant was, and then not having Parker, Aldridge, or Leonard on the floor for a large stretch (a stretch in which the Spurs might have scored 3 points in about 6 minutes.) I know Pop was trying to find something useful from any role or bench player, but you can’t do that at the expense of your stars and starters.

Did Pop lose us the series? I don’t know. Ultimately, players play. Over an extended stretch, the Thunder outscored the Spurs 45-15 to end the first quarter all the way to halftime. It’s really hard to win in the NBA when you give up stretches like that. The Spurs just couldn’t score the ball. The offense–despite being ranked #3 in the NBA regular season–was the bugaboo all season, and it bit us in the ass at the worst possible time.

Watching the offense bog down into isolation with no player movement and no ball movement was depressing. Everything just moved so slowly and laboriously. Kawhi Leonard is a great player, but this offseason should be dedicated to figuring out the pick and roll and speeding up his decision-making. Roberson guarded him so well one-on-one, and Kawhi wasted so much time on offense trying to beat him or figure out what to do. By the time many sets finally got going, there was only 8 seconds left on the shot clock.

In the second half Pop went small, the offense started humming…and the defense completely disappeared. Go big to protect the boards, kill the offense. Go small to score points, kill the defense. It was a losing proposition either way.

That’s why this loss doesn’t sting me as much as it could. The Spurs completely maximized every edge and every ability in the regular season. They were amazing. But the holes and weaknesses were there, and the right team could easily beat it in the playoffs. We all thought that team would be the Warriors. (Honestly, another reason this loss doesn’t hurt that much is I don’t believe the Spurs had much chance against Golden State in a playoff series.) The Thunder always loomed, though, possessing the athleticism, talent, and physicality to beat the Spurs.

Once they got into a rhythm and figured out the Spurs, they were clearly the better team. The games were close, and the Spurs had leads in most of them, but it always felt like Oklahoma City was just a bit faster, a bit tougher, and a bit better. Their role players made shot; the deflections bounced their way; they played big and gobbled up rebounds without sacrificing speed; Durant played huge; Westbrook got out of his own way; Donovan made the right personnel decisions and was rewarded by his players for it.

It felt a lot like 2012, to be honest. Remember, after that series, the NBA world wrote the Spurs off for dead, claiming the future was here and it didn’t include San Antonio. 2 Finals appearance and one championship later, it feels like we’re at the same reckoning point.

Last offseason was huge for San Antonio, but in many ways, this upcoming one is a lot more interesting. The core of a great team is there with Aldridge and Leonard, but lots of things both big and small need to change for the Spurs to actually compete for a championship. And lots of decisions on most of the roster will be up in the air.

There will be plenty of time to discuss all of this in an offseason that feels a couple of weeks longer than it should. For now, though, we should celebrate the 2015-16 season and how remarkable it was. While this loss leaves a bitter taste, it shouldn’t spoil how wonderful it was to cheer for San Antonio night in and night out for almost 9 months.

Win or lose, we’re still the luckiest fans in the world.

Go Spurs Go, forever and always.