Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs
The Thunder came through in the clutch time and time again against the Lakers in their five game series, while the Spurs just blitzed the Clippers in a sweep (and are riding an 18-game winning streak!), setting up the most anticipated conference final in the last couple years.
The match-ups in this series should be fun to watch, with All-NBA Second Team point guards Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook going head to head, outstanding Sixth Men Manu Ginobili and James Harden coming off the benches, and an ageless great (Tim Duncan) going for his fifth championship against the two-time NBA Scoring champ (Kevin Durant) looking for his first NBA Finals appearance. I think the key in this series lies in the front-court. The backcourt battle should be great to watch with Parker/Ginobili vs Westbrook/Harden, but it should be pretty even. It comes down to the frontcourt, with a rejuvenated Tim Duncan in the post matching up against the likes of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. If OKC can guard Duncan without double teaming (which I don't think they will be able to do), the Spurs won't get as many open three point shots from the likes of Matt Bonner, Danny Green, and Gary Neal. Also key is how well Kawhi Leonard can keep Kevin Durant from getting into the paint and force him into long jump shots.
This series really could go either way, but I will take the experience and red-hot Spurs in a thrilling seven-gamer.
Spurs in 7
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
The Heat survived an early scare from Pacers, riding LeBron and D-Wade to a six game series win. The Celtics, meanwhile, won a gritty series with the upstart 76ers, winning another Game 7 at home.
Unfortunately, for Boston, which is trying to get to the Finals one last time with the Big 3 in place, Miami's stars Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are red hot and looked unstoppable in their last three wins against Indiana, and Boston comes in banged up. Ray Allen has been a shell of his former greatness, struggling mightily with his shot, and without outstanding defender Avery Bradley, who is out for the season, Allen also has the responsibility of somehow slowing down Dwayne Wade, which I don't see happening. With Chris Bosh still hurt, Miami is vulnerable inside, but the Celtics are a jump shooting team and lack a consistent post-up game. Boston's best plan of attack to stay competitive in this series is to continually attack the basket with Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, while also getting consistent outside shooting from Allen, Brandon Bass, and bench players such as Mikael Pietrus and Keyon Dooling to prevent Miami from getting out and running.
In the end, I just don't see the Celtics hitting enough shots consistently to stop the Wade and James freight train.
Heat in 5
Last round: 4-0
Playoffs record: 10-2
No comments:
Post a Comment