Regardless who wins the 76ers/Celtics game tomorrow, the more interesting Conference Finals will not include Pierce or Iguodala against LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The Spurs and Thunder will battle for the Western Conference spot in the NBA Finals beginning on Sunday, and that should prove to be the better series. Why?
Miami, Philadelphia, and Boston have all played inconsistently – and Philadelphia would have never even made it out of the first round if Derrick Rose didn’t get injured. Also, if the duo in South Beach plays anything like they played in the Conference semifinals it really shouldn’t be much of a competition.
On the other side, consistency and dominance has been the
name of the game for the top teams in the Western Conference. The Spurs are on
an 18-game winning streak, including two sweeps in the playoffs thus far
(against Utah and the Clippers). They are playing as good as they have ever
played, and really do not look like they have a weakness. Shooters, post
players, defense, depth, experience – you name it, the Spurs got it.
The Thunder are equally as impressive, having swept a Dallas
team that beat them in the playoffs just last year and handling a perennially playoff-savvy
Lakers team. They, too, have no glaring weaknesses. Durant and Westbrook have
combined to average over 50 points in the playoffs, James Harden is the Sixth
Man of the Year for a good reason, and Perkins and Ibaka are two of the league’s
best defensive big men. And with Derek Fisher providing veteran leadership off
the bench, the Thunder have some depth and experience to go with some of the
best talent in the NBA.
So, with those things in mind, who’s going to win? It will
go six or seven games almost certainly, and although both teams matchup up very
well, here’s why I am going to stick with my
pick to make it to the NBA Finals:
Stars: Tim Duncan
and Tony Parker vs. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook
The cornerstones of the Spurs success certainly have more
experience, but at this point in their careers Durant and
Westbrook are better players. You can look at the scoring numbers Durant and
Westbrook have put up, but also keep in mind they have some playoff experience
getting as far as they have the past two years. Durant creates matchup problems
for the Spurs (like he does for most teams), and Tony Parker doesn’t have the
quickness to keep up with Westbrook. Edge: Thunder
Defense
The Spurs defense has been excellent so far, but it is
partially because they haven’t faced the star caliber of Durant and Westbrook
in the playoffs. OKC has (see Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki). Defense begins in
the paint and as solid as Duncan is, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins are elite
post presences, as well. Ibaka is averaging nearly four blocks a game and Perkins shut down Andrew Bynum in the
Conference Semifinals. Two post presences are better than one. Edge: Thunder
Experience
The Spurs are more playoff experienced than any team in the
league. Their core of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili has played for Greg Popovich
for ten years. Duncan and Popovich go
back to 1996. And although the gap between them and the Thunder has closed
since last year, it isn’t a question who wins this battle. Edge: Spurs
Role Players
Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, and Boris Diaw provide the
shooting, scoring, and defensive support the San Antonio stars need. On the
other side, OKC has James Harden, Derek Fisher, and you can throw Nick Collison
into that mix. The Spurs know what they’re getting from Ginobili on a nightly
basis and Danny Green has stepped up, too. However, the veteran leadership
Fisher provides for the Thunder on and off the court compliments their young
stars nicely and James Harden would be a primary or secondary scorer on most
other teams.
Edge: Thunder
------------------------------------------------
It remains to be seen how much experience plays a role in
this series. This is how far the Thunder made it last season before losing to
the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs this year are probably
better than the Mavs were last year, so it will be a greater challenge for
Durant & Co. This will certainly be a thrilling series. The question is can
OKC rise to the challenge or will the Spurs team effort continue rolling
through the playoffs?
After Durant came through in the clutch against Los Angeles
and Westbrook continues to make his (albeit annoying) pull-up, fast break
jumpers, the underdogs can pull it off. In games that will come down to
the wire, OKC’s star power will make a name for themselves in the playoffs. Series
edge: Thunder
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add your thoughts or opinion.