The Thunderstorm...

I am still in shock from what I saw four nights ago. 

The Spurs dominated the first half, clicking on all cylinders.  They looked as good as a basketball team could possibly look while cruising to an eighteen point lead.  Everyone was contributing and it looked like we were headed for a game seven. 

But then the second half happened.  Wow.

The Oklahoma City Thunder made every possible adjustment on defense, locking in and shutting down the high octane Spurs, and at the same time they somehow raised their offensive game to a level I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. The Spurs did not collapse, they were collapsed.  They didn’t blow the lead, it was outright snatched from them, in every way. The Spurs played great in this series, but the Thunder were even better, and they left absolutely no doubt.  They are the best team in the league.     

Let’s put it this way.  If you watched these games you'd have to think that the Spurs would have beat the Heat in 4 and the Celtics in 4, maybe 5.  Right?  And the Thunder just beat them.  It’s true folks.  The Eastern Conference Finals was only a formality.  The NBA champion has already been crowned. 

Even so, I do want to talk about the East a little bit.  It was a great shame for America that the Celtics dropped game six so hard at home the other night.  Wasn’t it?  It’s hard to explain what happened.  Or even what it looked like.  You would think that the Celtics might have been tired, or that injuries had caught up to them, (or their well documented age,) but on the court it just looked like a lack of effort.  Everyone was a step slow, Doc Rivers couldn’t inspire them, and they looked like a different team from what we had seen so far in the series. Even Rondo didn’t seem as aggressive as he had been up until then, and he seemed about half as fast as he had been earlier in the series, (or maybe that’s just an optical illusion after watching Tony Parker against Russell Westbrook.  The fastest I’ve ever seen.) 

Which leads me to a point (or tangent) that I’m sad and shocked that I haven’t heard anyone make on ESPN yet… here we go, ready?  Ahem.

It looked like the East and West were playing two different sports!

Didn’t it?  San Antonio against Oklahoma City was unbelievable basketball.  Fluid, exacting, they spaced the floor perfectly, great passing, great transition games, and great defense.  And so fast!  It was incredible that the older Spurs could keep up, but they did.  Nothing was arbitrary in that series.  They were both meticulous, and well coached, always moving the ball, making the extra pass, almost always getting a good shot.  It just turns out that Oklahoma City was the better of the two.  But what would they have looked like against the Celtics in that last game? (when they really started clicking, at a level that I’m sure even surprised them?)  They would have won by 50.  Against the Heat?  They would have won by 50!  I’m telling you.  There is no way either of those teams would have stayed in the same building with them.  They are that much better.  Or at least they were against the Spurs. 

For Miami everything is arbitrary. There is never any flow.  Do they ever run an offense? LeBron makes it look okay when he is making shots, and he has been miraculous so far in the playoffs, because he’s that good as a player, but Miami has serious issues on offense.  Issues that they would never have if Gregg Popovich was their coach.  By the way (quick tangent within the tangent) Could you IMAGINE how good LeBron would be if Pop was his coach.  Woah, that just got really scary.  Anyway, I would have loved watching the Spurs absolutely dissect and dismantle the Heat in that hypothetical series.  It wouldn’t have been close.  And it would have been so wonderful to see.

But here in reality, all we get is the real, so it’s The Thunder against the Heat in the NBA Finals.  Which is definitely a great matchup.  For the league and for purists, and for the public.  It has everything that you’d want.  Big Three vs Big Three, LeBron vs Durant, a team hastily constructed against a team organically grown, glitz and glamour vs… well, Oklahoma City.  I love where this can go.  There is intrigue galore.

I just hope that Scotty Brooks can get his team hyped up and focused enough to continue playing as well as they were when they closed out the Spurs.  Because if they can play to that level then it will be a sweep.  Miami would have absolutely no chance.  But if the Thunder “play down,” as can very often happen in sports, especially with young teams, or if they get caught up in the sideshow of the Finals; or if they get intimidated by the fact that two of the best three players in the world are on the same team, against them, then Miami may have a chance in the series. Miami is a good high screen, perimeter defensive team, because of their length, and that’s the Thunder’s strength, so one might give them a fighter’s chance.  But if the Thunder play like they did on Thursday night… there is no chance.  None.    

So a lot of this will depend on Thunder coach Scotty Brooks.  It’s like he has the keys to an untested, hyper-dynamic marvel of technology.  No one is really sure how much it is capable of yet, including him.  Attitude will go a long way.  Maybe he needs to hypnotize them into believing they are still playing the Spurs.  The team that pushed them to a supernatural level.

The Thunder deserve the title.  They went through the Lakers, Mavericks, and Spurs to get here.  Three teams that combine to account for 10 of the last 13 NBA Championships.  Meanwhile, the Heat struggled with Indiana, and bumbled their way through an injury depleted East.  But as we know, there is no justice in the NBA playoffs.  You have to show up.  It's zero-zero, right now.        

So there you have it.  

There's the rub.  Once again.  It’s Luke vs the Death Star.

So this must be Return of the Jedi, right?  (We need a picture of Kevin Durant with a light saber and LeBron James with a heavy hooded cloak.)  

Let’s do this America…

It’s time for the NBA FINALS!