The two top teams in the Western Conference this season, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, will face each other in the 2012 Western Conference Finals set to kick off this Sunday in San Antonio.

This playoff series was all but inevitable as the Spurs swept their way to the Conference Finals and the Thunder dispatched the Lakers in five games.

This will be a fantastic series as the two teams are close to being evenly matched. Both teams are rolling in the playoffs, have their own "Big 3," can play an up-and-down game, and play defense when needed. Where the Spurs hold the edge is with their depth, experience and coach (Gregg Popovich) while the Thunder have more youth on their side.

But now that the series is set, how did the two teams fare against one another this season? San Antonio won the regular season series (2-1) versus OKC but that was the regular season.

Check out the numbers from their three meetings this season (via nba.com).

What do you have to say Spurs fans? How do you see this Spurs-Thunder matchup going?

San Antonio Spurs fans really love to hate ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. Whether it be his "hate" for the Spurs, his screaming ways to get his point across, or his disdain for Tiago Splitter.

But after the Spurs who not only swept the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs, and had a tremendous comeback from 24-points in Game 3 versus the Clippers, Smith finally came around and has to admit this team is close to unbeatable.

Check out what Smith, and Skip Bayless (who is a huge Spurs fan) had to say about San Antonio and for a rare moment, Smith actually sees what all Spurs fans and others see about this team - they are close to invincible.

What do you have to say Spurs fans? Are the Spurs close to unbeatable?

The San Antonio Spurs have an 18-game winning streak, are undefeated in the 2012 NBA playoffs, won a remarkable 50 games in a truncated season, are in the Western Conference Finals, and the franchise is looking at winning title number five.

And all this has been accomplished under the guidance of Gregg Popovich.

For years, Pop has always had his team ready to make a run at a title and play at their peak. Yet, coaches like Phil Jackson, or Doc Rivers are more celebrated.

ESPN's Bob Ryan felt it was time to give credit where credit is due.

Check out Ryan as he showers Pop with the praise he deserves.

The San Antonio Spurs are simply steam rolling opponents in the NBA playoffs. They are undefeated in the 2012 playoffs (sweeping both the Jazz and Clippers), are on an 18-game winning streak and are set to play in the Western Conference Finals and a chance at capturing their fifth NBA crown.

Steering the team on the court during this fantastic run has been MVP candidate Tony Parker as he continues to provide solid play and even outplayed Chris Paul in the semi finals who finished above him in the MVP voting.

So with all this success, comes much accolades and none can be greater than getting a huge billboard sign in the heart of New York City -- Times Square.

Check out the huge sign of Parker in Manhattan.

(h/t friend of Project Spurs Jared Wade 8 points, 9 seconds)

The San Antonio Spurs got to bust out their brooms again, finishing off their sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers with a 102-99 victory last night. The Spurs have to be very proud of their effort because, aside from the first quarter of Game 3, this was the best the Clippers played all series.

The Clippers looked like they were really fighting hard to squeak out one win for pride’s sake, but San Antonio just wasn’t having it. With some clutch play from the Big 3 down the stretch, the Spurs now get to wait to see who they’ll be playing in the Western Conference Finals.

What went right

The Clippers’ 3-point percentage was a big reason they were even able to stay close at times throughout the series. In game 2, they went 9-13 from behind the arc, but it’s clear the Spurs were really working to make sure that didn’t happen again. They were closing out really well on the Clippers’ shooters and doing a great job of getting a hand in their faces. The Clippers only shot 4-16 from long range, and that was a big reason the Spurs were able to pull out a close win.

I’m becoming a broken record on this but I can’t say enough how big Tim Duncan was in this series. He’s clearly a smart enough guy to know that he could take advantage of his matchups because no one on the Clippers could guard him. Duncan shot 9-14 from the floor for 21 points and he added 9 rebounds. What really impressed me in this game though was his ability to step out and hit the jump shot. I know that’s always been in his arsenal, but he seemed like he was showing off and taunting Blake Griffin, saying “look what I can do and you can’t.”

San Antonio Spurs 2009 draftee Nando de Colo has reportedly signed (via Spanish language site defensacentral.com) a preliminary contract with Spanish squad Real Madrid for next season.

With Valencia, he is averaging 13.1 points, 1.6 steals, 2.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds, shooting 47% from the field, and 36% from the three-point line in 26.8 minutes.

Currently, he is playing with Valencia (his current contract ends next month) and will finish out the season with the team, however, for Spurs fans this means more of a wait to see if he will ever decide to come to the NBA and wear black and silver.

With the Spurs needing some help at the point guard position, not having De Colo come in to make the team, and develop his game and integration into the Spurs' system would be a set back.

Regardless, Spurs fans will be able to see De Colo play this summer as he, along with Spurs' Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, will represent France at the 2012 Olympics. However, he may be prepping for the French national team which might keep him out of playing for the Spurs' 2012 Summer League team.

The San Antonio Spurs are a professional basketball team. Yet on Sunday evening in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Clippers, in a closeout game to advance to the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs looked like they were involved in football, soccer, and boxing all at the same time.

The boxing part, the way the Spurs and Clippers exchanged leads and made different runs throughout the game. The soccer part was the Spurs’ 28-assists on their 38-made baskets. And the football part, the way the Spurs made a commitment to defense and outscored the Clippers 15-7 in the final 5:10 minutes that resembled a football team closing the game with their running-grind it out approach, as the Spurs swept the Clippers 102-99.

Tim Duncan was the leading scorer for the Spurs with 21 points, but Danny Green was key in the Spurs’ win as he held the most important responsibility in defending and limiting Chris Paul (23 points) in the final game between the two teams.

The game was a game of runs, and the Clippers began with a 7-0 run four minutes into the first quarter, as they took a 9-4 lead. The Spurs responded with a 14-0 run by playing suffocating defense and moving the ball on offense. The Spurs led 18-9 with 5:19 left, but the Clippers struck back with a 10-2 run to cut Spurs’ lead to one point. The Spurs would close the first quarter on a 6-2 run. After one, the Spurs led 26-21, but didn’t help themselves with four turnovers.

After last night's San Antonio Spurs comeback win to take a dominating 3-0 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers, the ABC/ESPN crew sang the Spurs' praises and former Lakers great Magic Johnson even compared this current team to the Lakers and Celtics teams of the past.

While many were ready to give up on the Spurs after an embarrasing first quarter, the Spurs fought back from a 24-point deficit and turned it into a 10-point win.

"So many times we promote the individual," Johnson said. "But then we leave out something that's really unique and special, and that's team and team basketball."

"I saw this team carve the Clippers up by playing basic, fundamental basketball and it was beautiful to watch," Johnson continued.

Watch the full video below for more from Johnson, Jon Barry, Chris Broussard and Michael Wilbon, who called yesterday's game one of the greatest comebacks you will ever see.

The Spurs will look to sweep tonight at 9:30 p.m. CST and come back to San Antonio ready for the next series against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or Los Angeles Lakers.

 

The San Antonio Spurs are one win away from sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers and making a return trip to the Western Conference Finals.

There is no doubting this team is looking like the inevitable NBA championship the way they are playing. Erasing a 24-point deficit to the Clippers in Game 3, winners of 17-straight games, undefeated in the playoffs, this Spurs team looks almost invincible.

The last time the Spurs won a title was in 2007 and for Matt Bonner, this team reminds him of that title-squad mainly due to the depth on the roster.

I would say our depth reminds me of that championship team. Our second unit would come in, and those guys would just run the other team out of the gym. We have that this year. When we go to the bench, there isn't too much of a dip in ability.

Indeed the depth on this roster is one to be reckoned with. Players like Tiago Spliiter, Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, DeJuan Blair, Patty Mills, James Anderson, Stephen Jackson, Bonner could be a starting unit for any other team. This firepower off the bench is staggering as most of the bench players can fill up the box score with an average of 41.9 points off the bench.

But, as Bonner points out, it's not just the bench production which keeps San Antonio winning. In this series versus L.A., it's also rebounding against the bigger Clippers team.

Gregg Popovich doesn't like rookies.

San Antonio Spurs fans have heard that myth over and over again dating back to when he took over as head coach in the 96-97 Spurs season.

Popovich rode Tony Parker through his rookie season, same with Antonio Daniels before that and Beno Udrih after among with several others.

People often call it "Larry Brown syndrome" after Pop's predecessor and it looked like he caught a bad case of it in the 2009 Playoffs when he rarely played George Hill after an impressive rookie campaign, even when J.J. Barea was ripping the Spurs to shreds.

Kawhi Leonard knows nothing of that Popovich.

Not only is Leonard, who finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, playing big minutes in the playoffs, he's starting.

Not too long after the Spurs sent Hill packing for the rights to Leonard in the draft, even Pop seemed surprised at his newly-drafted rookie.

"We expected him to be a rotation player. There's more there than I expected," Popovich said early in the season. "Both basketball IQ-wise and skill-wise, he's more than I expected."

He's also very likely more than anyone expected.

He's been called Kwame Leonard and Kuwait Leonard, but perhaps the most unfitting name for Leonard is rookie.

It didn't take long for Leonard to make an impact on the Spurs. Playing in his first regular season game against the Memphis Grizzlies, he finished the game with six points, six rebounds and two steals in just 14 minutes. After the game, he described defending Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay as fun.