The San Antonio Spurs were pushed all the way to a Game 7 in their first round series. They did not look like the Spurs that finished at the top of the standings. But since they routed the Mavericks, they have not looked back.

The Spurs have been sharp and they showed no mercy against the Blazers. They needed a Game 7 to wake them up, and not their eyes are wide open.

Manu Ginobili admitted that much to ESPN: "We know we didn't play well against Dallas except that seventh game. I don't know if that triggered something or not, but for sure we started well this series. The aggressiveness, the concentration for 48 minutes, was off the charts, so we are very happy for that. Hopefully, we maintain that."

Tony Parker, the floor general of the team, agreed on his point: "It was a great test for us. I think every time you play a Game 7 and you win, it gives you confidence. The team right now is doing good, but we know it can change real fast, so we just have to stay focused."

Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich has faith on the Frenchman: "Tony has been a great leader and a great force for us to start things off."

Manu reiterates that their depth..the masterful construction of RC Buford, the Executive of the Year for 2014 and how Popovich seamlessly uses his personnel, is the main weapon: "We're all contributing. We're all feeling important. We've got a deep team. We know that. That's a plus against guys that have got to play 40 minutes every night."

It would take superhumans to beat that kind of balanced attack. Coach Terry Stotts of Portland complains:

"They come at you in waves. Everybody that plays in the game is aggressive. They make shots, and we just have to sustain our focus, alertness and our intensity no matter who is in the game."

But LaMarcus Aldridge, who had superhuman performances in the first round series warns: "We have, but we don't feel like we've given them ours. We haven't played good offensively one game yet. We haven't put together a defensive game like we can. We had a bad first quarter last game, and we had a bad second quarter tonight. We haven't played our game yet."

Will the Blazers make the series exciting or will they end up facing the inevitability of a Spurs victory?