Tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET on TNT the Western Conference Finals between the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs and second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder will tip off in Texas in a matchup that can be live streamed free by clicking this link. Spurs fans can hear the radio broadcast on 1200 WOAI, while Thunder fans may do the same on WWLS 98.1.
Injuries could play a major role in this series before the first tip-off. The Thunder will definitely be without Serge Ibaka, the league's premier shot-blocker and the Thunder's third-best player, while the Spurs will be playing with a less-than-100 percent Tony Parker.
MVP Kevin Durant made a quick joke about Parker heading into the series, remarking on his 32 years on this Earth. "He is old," Durant said. "He doesn't play like he's 32 years old." Durant then got slightly more serious when he talked about the difficulty of facing a Spurs team this deep that can make use of their whole roster.
"Their system, they plug guys in and out," Durant said. "They always stick to their same system. They get guys who fit. And they've got a great coach who gets those guys prepared."
OKC is a near polar opposite. While they do have quality players on the bench, their success rides on the backs of Durant and Russell Westbrook. That will be even more true without Ibaka's interior defense and floor-spacing jump shot. "It's hard, but we're going to move on," Thunder center Kendrick Perkins said. "We're a very prideful organization and team. We're going to move on."
While Ibaka's injury is a big blow, anything that slows down Parker is just as big a deal. Westbrook unleashed his full potential on Chris Paul of the Clippers in Game 5 of Round 2, and Parker is not considered up to Paul's level defensively. On a bad leg, and with Kawhi Leonard stuck guarding Durant, Westbrook may be able to run the Spurs ragged.
"He's an incredible talent having a great playoff run," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. "Some incredible numbers. Just an impressive athlete when you try to stay in front of him. His confidence is there."
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