OKLAHOMA CITY -- When asked about the oldie-but-goodie San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant inquired about Tony Parker

OKLAHOMA CITY -- When asked about the oldie-but-goodie San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant inquired about Tony Parkers age. Nike Air Presto Schwarz Günstig . "Thirty-two," a reporter answered. "He is old," Durant quipped, drawing laughter. "He doesnt play like hes 32 years old." Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are even older. Duncan just turned 38 and Ginobili is approaching 37. The trio won its first NBA title together in 2003 and fought back Father Time to reach the NBA Finals last year. They will play in their seventh Western Conference finals together, starting with Game 1 Monday night in San Antonio. Durant, the leagues MVP, said theres more to San Antonios success than some mythical fountain of youth. It starts with the genius of Gregg Popovich, the leagues Coach of the Year. "Their system, they plug guys in and out," Durant said. "They always stick to their same system. They get guys who fit. And theyve got a great coach who gets those guys prepared." Even with an aging core and numerous injuries throughout the season, the Spurs finished with the leagues best record. They did it with consistency and teamwork that has continued in the playoffs. San Antonio is shooting 49 per cent from the field as a team in the post-season, with no player averaging 20 points. Oklahoma City counters with dynamic individual play from a pair of 25-year-olds. Durant is averaging 31.4 points and 9.5 rebounds in the playoffs. Russell Westbrook is averaging 26.6 points, 8.4 assists and 8.0 rebounds in post-season play. Westbrook, in particular, has San Antonios attention. While Durants play has been typical, Westbrook has improved significantly as a floor general during the playoffs. "Hes an incredible talent having a great playoff run," Duncan said. "Some incredible numbers. Just an impressive athlete when you try to stay in front of him. His confidence is there." The Thunder will be without Serge Ibaka, who led the league in blocked shots. The mobile, athletic forward injured his left calf in Game 6 of the conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Its hard, but were going to move on," Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins said. "Were a very prideful organization and team. Were going to move on." Here are five things to watch in the series: THUNDER DOMINANCE: Oklahoma City won all four regular-season meetings with San Antonio this season, so the Spurs will take nothing for granted, even with Ibaka out. "You never get overconfident in that situation, especially against a team that we havent beat this year," Ginobili said. "We know how talented they are. They can really score in bunches. Very athletic, strong, play good defence. So, no, were not going to get overconfident for sure." IBAKAS REPLACEMENT: Oklahoma City rookie Steven Adams is the most likely to see a spike in minutes. Veteran Nick Collison will play more, too. The Thunder could go with a smaller lineup at times and play Durant as a power forward. Coach Scott Brooks still wouldnt say Sunday who would start in Ibakas place. PARKERS HAMSTRING: San Antonio was likely to have significant help on Westbrook anyway, but Parkers strained left hamstring could be a major problem against Westbrook and Reggie Jackson, two of the most athletic point guards in the league. Parker said Sunday that the hamstring was still tight, but he plans to play. Jackson said the Thunder will test Parker early. LEONARD vs. DURANT: Brooks said Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is an All-Star in the making. The Spurs feel Leonard is the best equipped player in the league to bother Durant because of his length and energy. "As good as anybody can do it," Ginobili said. "We are lucky to have him. Nobody can guard him (Durant) 1-on-1. Thats been proven -- hes the MVP -- but you can put him in some trouble, and then the team has to respond." SPURS OTHER GUYS: One thing that makes the Spurs dangerous is their depth. Though Parker, Duncan and Ginobili are the best-known players, Leonard, Marco Belinelli, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills all play their roles well and are capable of being difference makers in the right situation. Oklahoma City will need to prevent the other guys from having breakout nights. Air Force 1 Damen Sale . -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. Air Force 1 Billig Kaufen . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/air-force-1-weiss-deutschland.html . -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir.ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals have made a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer to free agent Carlos Beltran. They just dont expect him to return next season. General manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny met with reporters Monday for the first time since losing a six-game World Series to the Red Sox last week. Mozeliak says he expects the 36-year-old Beltran to seek a multiyear contract elsewhere. "We never want to close doors," Mozeliak said. "Reality is when you look at the depth, trying to find ample playing time, Im not sure how happy he will be." Beltran topped 600 plate appearances both seasons with the Cardinals, needing just occasional rest for his surgically repaired knees. He batted .296 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs this year, and had several big hits in the post-season, too. "I reminded him what an incredible season he had for us," Matheny said. "We dont know how this whole thing is going to play out." But the outfield will be crowded with Matt Adams expected to be the everyday first baseman and cleanup man Allen Craig moving to right field. Top prospect Oscar Taveras also figures to be in the mix. Mozeliak said theres a chance the payroll will be lower at the start of next season, with big contracts for Beltran, Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal and Jake Westbrook coming off the books. Given the right circumstances, he said the payroll could go up. At the top of the off-season wish list is an offensive upgrade at shortstop over the slick-fielding, light-hitting combo of Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso. The Cardinals expect to hear from teams interested in their prospects. "We do have the resources," Mozeliak said. "Certainly, I dont want to close any doors today." Rookie Trevor Rosenthal opens spring training as the closer ahead of Jason Motte, wholl be eased back into the mix coming off reconstructive elbow surgery that sidelined him all of 2013. Mozeliak said it was "hard to imagine" a better closer than Rosenthal the way he finishedd the year. Air Force 1 Günstig Kaufen Deutschland. Mozeliak said rookie Kolten Wong, a first-round pick in 2011, could be the everyday second baseman. Leadoff man Matt Carpenter would move to third, displacing David Freese. "If I had a bet, I would say hes probably going to get a lot of playing time for us," Mozeliak said. Neither Matheny nor Mozeliak expressed any regrets about using post-season roster spots for rookie 15-game winner Shelby Miller and deposed closer Edward Mujica, who had 35 saves before hitting the wall the final month. The Cardinals left the 22-year-old Miller out of the post-season rotation due to concerns about the innings load from a full season as the fifth starter. They wanted Miller on the roster just in case, assuring him hes a big part of next years rotation. Mujica got the nod in appreciation for services rendered, with Mozeliak noting "there is some loyalty in the decision-making process." "We were prepared, we knew what we were trying to accomplish," Matheny said. "We do what we believe is best for this team so we can go back and sleep at night and realize we did the right thing." Among the healthy arms who didnt make the cut were lefties Sam Freeman and Tyler Lyons. They could have added third catcher Rob Johnson, freeing up backup catcher Tony Cruz as a pretty good bat off the bench. "Look at Chiefs contribution," Mozeliak said, using Mujicas nickname. "I think it would have been very difficult to keep him off." The Cardinals know Rosenthal wants to be a starter but theyre loaded in that department with rookie Michael Wacha near the top of the list, right behind 19-game winner Adam Wainwright, coming off a phenomenal post-season. Also in the mix are Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn, along with youngsters Miller and Carlos Martinez, plus Matheny thought Jaime Garcia was almost ready to return from shoulder surgery at the end of the season. Mozeliak anticipates no off-season surgeries, and believes Craigs left mid-foot sprain will be healed in about a month. ' ' '