“When you talk about a teammate, that’s everything you want in a teammate. I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, that’s something you want beside you.”

Straight from KD’s mouth right there.

Man. I’m not gonna make no HGH accusations and say that bro was on that Gazelle antler spray tip. Professional athletes have mutant healing powers, and the best medical staffs available to man.

Serge Ibaka just went from “OUT TO THE PLAYOFFS” to “day to day.”

They called it a miracle.They said his calf just managed to stop swelling. Did one of the reverends that do the pre-game prayer lay hands on Serge Ibaka? Did Dennis Haybert come into the locker room and sacrifice a bucket of chicken?

For all the talk about how Russell Westbrook’s absence affected the Thunder play, they are a totally different team without Serge Ibaka–regressing back to 2011 OKC. Ibaka affected how the Spurs attacked the rim and he put in 15 points on the offensive end. The spacing he was able to provide allowed Russ more room to attack the rim. His presence alone gave the team and the crowd an emotional lift was akin to a college basketball event. It was loud and the crowd was juiced. San Antonio wasn’t ready for that kind of intensity. Ginoboli said the Thunder “showed them reality.”

Besides Ginoboli, no one on the Spurs played well. There were flashed of Spurs sprinkled throughout the first 3 quarters, but let’s face it, they were outrebounded, and outhustled. They had to work twice as hard on defense because they couldn’t get rebounds. They also picked up a lot of stupid touch fouls while in the bonus (I didn’t think the refs had a good game last night).

I think this game 4 is going to determine who wins this series. A Thunder win will dredge up bad memories for this San Antonio team, and could give the Thunder yet another psychological boost. A Spurs win can ease a lot of minds in the San Antonio camp. Either way, the next 3 games are going to be dogfights. The energy from last night’s game was contagious, and if Serge is healthy enough to play again, expect some drama. Scott Brooks is right when he says the Spurs are not “that much better” than the Thunder.

They definitely are longer, bigger, and more athletic than the Spurs. If they continue to play smarter than the Spurs this will be 2012 all over again; including another ass whupping from the Heat in the finals. Which is why I’m rooting for the Spurs to take OKC down (Spurs are a much better match up against Miami–I think they can beat them this time). Fuck Lebron’s three-peat.