You can't play that two-man offense against the Spurs, they'll ice all that shyt on the PNR leaving Perkins or Adams out on an island and double down on Ibaka while Kawhi pins Durant. Danny will be able to matchup with Westbrook too.
Westbrook won't be able to take his guitar and talk a walk in the park against the Spurs, like he's doing with LA.
Thunder will have to not only match the Spurs' bench production but make up for all the other spots where they ain't putting up #s.
Nah, no team in the league can 'handle' the Spurs, they're too well-drilled and talented for that to happen.
Thunder won't be able to stop the Spurs from getting theirs. They'll outsmart them pretty much all series long, due to Pop v Brooks, it'll come down to Durant and Westbrook going apeshyt for them to progress - any type of misstep and it'll be hard for them to recover.
Yeah people shouldn't extrapolate too much from 2012. That OKC team was better than this one, and this Spurs team is better than that one. OKC had Harden and he kept making shots and getting to the line in the 4th quarter. And Danny Green completely froze up and had to be benched then, but he is a prove playoff performer now. Plus now they got Bellineli, Patty Mills is getting time and performing, and Kawhi Leonard has a wider-ranging offense.
It's a cliche to say that benches don't really matter in the playoffs, but that doesn't apply to this Spurs team. They have a bench that can come in in the 2nd quarter and blow you out. OKC's main matchup advantage over the Spurs is that their key players are just so younger, faster, and more athletic, and they disrupt what the Spurs are trying to do. But if Belinelli, Diaw, Mills, and Green (not a bench player I know) can perform for stretchs they can keep the big 3 fresher.
OKC made a good adjustment in that series when they put Sefolosha on Parker, and started switching on the pick and roll and the Spurs couldn't make them pay. I don't see them doing that as effectively this time. If Sefolosha plays heavy minutes again, they're going to be at a real disadvantage in offensive firepower with no Harden against a team with where literally everyone on the court can score. Ibaka going 11-11 was an aberration, as was Perkins hitting shots.
Reggie Jackson could hurt the Spurs though...he always does. OKC can win the series, but like you said, they just have a smaller margin of error. They need Durant and Westbrook to consistently beast the whole series, they need a lot from Reggie Jackson, and probably need Caron Butler to step up too. But they're going to be playing a lot of 3 vs. 5 and 4. vs. 5, especially if they give Sefolosha a lot of minutes.