r/sanantoniospurs

I feel like the refs had a crazy big influence on this game , Isaiah Hart. Should have been gone by the 3rd … holding, hair pulling, etc…

Some soft calls were whistled , but it is what it is. Turnovers killed spurs and they don’t have any ball handlers at the moment.

Will the refs ruin this legendary series or will the league take a look and find different personnel to officiate a high stakes game?

Welcome! While I am legally obliged to disclose that I am indeed a Thunder fan (hiss! boo!), I am an even bigger fan of my own home town of OKC. There's a ridiculous amount of bad advice about where to go when you're in OKC (no one actually likes Bricktown, please don't go there), so I thought I would chime in with where I usually take visitors from out of town:

IF: you're a high roller

• Sedalia's is excellent, and it will be a funny thing to say that you had one of the best seafood meals of your life in Oklahoma
• Steak: Mahogany and Stock & Bond are both well-regarded steak houses close to the arena. For a more classic/campy atmosphere (and often regarded as the best value steak), go to Cattlemen's in our stockyards. Maht is fantastic but it's really hard to get a reservation. For parties of 1-2 though, you can usually find a spot at the bar.

 

IF: you just want a lil snack

• Sedalia's can be more affordable if you just get a drink and their focaccia, plus a lil something from their raw bar menu (also works as a pregame for Sabor de la Baja, see below)
• Later Bye has snackable things and is a quick uber (or long, straightforward walk) to the arena. Call ahead though, as it's a small place.
• Harvey Bakery (only open until 6; great for pastries although many sell out by 1-2pm)
• The Other Room (this is a bar, but all appetizers from the restaurant next door are 50% off at all times)

IF: you like New American food (less adventurous)

• Burgers: Sun Cattle Co. (the interior decor looks the way people want Oklahoma to look), New State burgers (further from the arena, but in the Plaza district which has lots of shops to bop around) 
• Southern food: Lorena (highly recommend the chicken and dumpling soup)
• American: The Goose (great sandwiches, also has an excellent burger)
• Italian: La Buca (in the Paseo, which is another nice neighborhood with shops to walk around in)
• Pizza: Saucy Sicilian, Sauced (serves by the slice)
• Irish Pub: McNellies (in Midtown, which is another nice neighborhood with shops to walk around in)

IF: you're more adventurous:

• Vietnamese: Golden Phoenix (always has seating; OKC has phenomenal Vietnamese food- I won't comment on the 'best Pho' because that is highly personal and also every place that serves Pho does it well)
• Laotian:Ma Der (mostly gluten free menu; has a fantastic happy hour until 6pm; does not take reservations)
• Mexican: El Sabor de la Baja (fantastic value, leans California-style Mexican). There are plenty of other good Mexican restaurants, but I'm assuming most of you have access to that back home!

 

IF: you like a craft cocktail

• Later Bye (next door to Harvey, walkable from Lorena, McNellies, The Goose)
• Good for a Few (next door to New State and across the street from Ma Der in the Plaza District)
• La Buca (best martini in OKC)
• First National Building: Tellers on the main floor and The Vault in the basement (fantastic atmosphere; not the best value) 
• Superfly (recently reopened; not well-known yet but don't let a lack of customers fool you)

IF: you like beer

• Skydance Brewing Co. (indigenous-owned; great outdoor space where you can also order from adjacent bar that serves cocktails and food)
• Stonecloud Brewing Company, Anthem Brewing Company

IF: you need an activity

• OK Contemporary is a FREE art museum (perfect for a 20-60 minute excursion)
• First Americans Museum (it's a lot to cover in one trip, wouldn't recommend if you have less than an hour)
• Okana (kid-friendly) 
• OKC Memorial Museum (wouldn't recommend if you have less than an hour)
• Scissortail Park (weather depending)

IF: you want breakfast

• Harvey Bakery (gets busy around 11)
• Big Truck Tacos (super affordable)
• Cafe Antigua and Cafe Kacao (there can be long wait times on weekends; check wait on their Yelp pages)

Congrats on the win in game 1, and let's hope for another great game tonight! 

Him running into Alex Caruso on purpose was a dirty move. He should have been ejected for it.

Go back to the sequence after the SGA slam where the Spurs are down three with 57 seconds left. They need a three, and realistically they have a maximum of three possessions to get it. Champagnie fires the second he gets a clean look at around the 50-second mark — it was a good look, good basketball — but it doesn’t fall.

At that point, OKC’s strategy should be obvious: bleed the clock and until the final second, unless a guaranteed bucket opens up. Instead, Jay Dub makes the baffling decision to launch a contested pull-up from 20 feet with 10 seconds still left on the shot clock.

Then comes what’s quickly becoming a defining moment; Chet flopping with a full Wilhelm scream, rather than boxing out Champagnie and secure the ball and/or getting over the smaller player for the tip back: either seals the game. Instead, he either sells contact for a foul or proves he’s made of cardboard. Either way, he both botches the win while simultaneously removing himself from the next play entirely.

Now watch Victor when he gets the ball driving forward. He immediately checks the clock and launches before the game clock dips under 24 seconds - 26.3 to be exact — because he understands that’s the only way the Spurs can guarantee themselves another possession. That’s not recklessness. That's not luck. And it's nothing like the Curry three; they weren't down. It's more impressive. It's awareness. It's calculating. It's understanding basketball is skill plus luck. He pressed his luck in a calculated manner and got rewarded.

Talking heads saying, ‘Well, if he missed, everyone would call it a bad shot’ are ignoring the actual situation. The Spurs had numbers crashing the glass because OKC’s best rebounder was still lying on the floor at the other end pretending he got hit by a truck. Even without the offensive rebound, San Antonio still gets one final attempt since there's over 24 on the game clock.

Coaches should be showing this sequence as peak awareness in HS and colleges.

Different topic, but still: the dagger in double OT. Caruso is somehow fronting Wemby alone three feet from the rim — which is insane in itself to me. At that stage of the game, why is Chet not the primary defender, or at least in a position to immediately double? Is OKC really more terrified of a corner three than a guaranteed Wemby dunk? Victor barely touches Caruso, Caruso bends forward, and it's an easy pass for the final slam.

Honestly, I don’t even think Caruso was intentionally flopping there. But teams play the way they practice, and OKC has built an entire defensive identity around exaggerating contact and hunting whistles instead of playing through physicality.

RIP OKC: Reap what you sow.

Was just trying to explain we received a bunch of new fans and that we as OG fans think the thunder are really good. That we are both surprised and not surprised by the play of our team. 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 oh well.

I have two tickets for Fridays game. Lmk if interested
Section 128