April 1, 2012 was the day I predicted the future, or so I thought. While enjoying the single most chill-bro-tastic day of my life with my good buddy Tom, we proceeded to watch a full day of Sunday hoops, mixed with an eight hour binge of the newly released NBA 2K12, and nearly three pounds of wings between the two of us. Not to mention the monstrous care package box full of Easter candy we tackled. The day was an overload, most importantly a basketball overload. The big games for the day were Bulls at Thunder and Heat at Celtics. With a Westbrook 27 and a Rondo triple-double, the Thunder and Celtics won. But after some time, the virtual games drew more of our attention as Tom and I began to put together hypothetical match-ups for the NBA Finals. We thought of every combination. Mavs vs Knicks. Thunder vs Heat. Sixers vs Clippers. We played out everything. Yes, even the Minnesota Timberwolves made it one time... they lost to the Bucks. It was a long night ok! Regardless, after watching five full games, virtually playing close to twenty, and creating acidic holes in the lines of our stomachs', we decided to call it a night. However before the night came to an end we played one last game with our actual gut picks for the Finals. I was the East, he the West, and to be honest I didn't glace to his side of the screen when we were picking teams, and I don't think he did to mine either, but when the game started we were both in total agreement. The NBA Finals would be Spurs vs Celtics.
For nearly two months we had it dead on the money. The Spurs seemed unbeatable through the end of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs; snapping off a 20 game win streak (lets pause for a second... 20 games!!! Are you kidding me?!?!), and it seemed like they were more then just a group of super talented athletes playing basketball. No, they were a team. You saw it in how they carried themselves with one another and their coach. They hustled. They boxed out. They made the extra pass. Tim Duncan was playing like he never left his twenties, running the pick-n-roll like a magician with Tony Parker. The Spurs were the team to beat. And the Celtics. Many argued their age would catch up with them. It was widely accepted they played one of, if not the toughest schedule in the league this season. With so many questions surrounding the team and their Big 3, there were no talks of a title in April. In fact, Danny Ainge had his finger on the panic button at the trade deadline. This team was a heartbeat away from getting broken up. Rondo and Ray Allen trade rumors swirled through January and February creating a seemingly insurmountable stress and tension in the clubhouse. I am a strong believer in veteran leadership in the clubhouse, and in this situation, cooler heads prevailed because of just that. With Kevin Garnett at the helm, flanked by Pierce and Allen, the Celtics created a unity among its younger guys like Rondo and Bass, to bridge the gap. In the April 1 game against the Heat it was clear, they, like the the Spurs, were now a team.
Everything changed in the past 24 hours...
Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals proved to be the final push for Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. For three seasons they have been "too young" and "too inexperienced" to make the jump and run with the big dogs. Kevin Durant put on a clinic Wednesday night, throwing up a 34 and 14, leading the Thunder in both points and rebounds. Most importantly, Durant did what every fan loves to see. He put the team on his back and took control. OKC trailed the entire game up until the third quarter. There was a moment though, with 1:35 left in the quarter, with the Spurs leading 77-76, Durant brought the ball down the floor, pulled up just beyond the arc, and drained a go-ahead tray right in his defender's face. At that moment it was clear. Forget all that, "too young to win, not mature enough yet garbage." That shot by Durant said one thing. "Yo, I got this. You want a piece? Come get it." Durant is a natural born scorer, no doubt. But he is also a leader. Last night he killed the Spurs and maybe the last chance Tim Duncan had to play in a NBA Finals.
Now onto the East. Game 6. In Boston. Miami on the brink of elimination in hostile territory. Lebron will cripple and KG and Rondo will have a field day right? Nope. Last night we, for lack of a better phrase, "were all witness." Lebron James put on the single most impressive playoff performance I have ever seen in my lifetime. It got to a point were I didn't think he was going to miss the entire game. He drained fade aways, contested jumpers, downtown threes; everything. In the end King James finished with 45 points-15 rebounds-5 asts. The only other person to put up those kind of single game playoff numbers? Wilt Chamberlain. Now I will be the first to admit, I am a bit of a Lebron hater (thats putting it lightly), but damn I respect him. His performance tonight was the reason we watch sports. Its the type of game you tell your kids about, and your grand-kids about. The Celtics were supposed to win. They had won three straight against Miami and had them on the ropes. The Heat were in the corner with their gloves up just waiting for the bell to ring. Except Lebron swung hard tonight; single-handedly willing his team to a win and forcing a Game 7 in Southbeach on Saturday for what should be one hell of a finale.
The past two nights have been everything a fan could want in a Conference Finals. Close games, great defense, and the big fellas stepping up to turn the game in their teams favor. Now I am not going to go back out on my original Celtic pick after this loss. I'm sticking with it. But my god, the look in Lebron's eyes tonight was the look the Twitterverse has ragged on him for not having for eight years now. "He's soft." "He can't close." "He can't play the big game." If you saw what I saw tonight, and I know you did, he meant business. Did we finally see the "man-child" who we assumed was the mature one just grow up tonight before our eyes? Wasn't that what Durant was supposed to be doing? Maybe we had it all wrong? Either way, the NBA is the best show in town right now, and the drama in store for Game 7 and the Finals is off the charts. I can't wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment