Oklahoma City Thunder Visiting San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio looked out of sync when they visited Oklahoma City. The Thunder took full advantage and ran away with two wins to tie up the series. 21 turnovers in Game 3 alone does not help. Then the Spurs came out flat for Game 4 and with the lack of bench help for the Spurs, all of a sudden, the Thunder look to take control of this series and head for their first NBA final appearance.

There are several key things on why all of a sudden this is a series.

June 2, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) takes a shot over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) during the first half of a playoff game at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

1) The bench play for the Spurs have all but disappeared. While arriving to play in Games 1 and 2, the lack of bench production hasn’t helped the Spurs as they also had a hard time to score in the paint in Games 3 and 4. With Tony Parker only scoring 12 points on Saturday and Daniel Green only have seven points, it is more important for the Spurs’ bench to pick it up. Which leads to….

2) Parker, who was on fire in San Antonio, couldn’t find any rhythm in Games 3 and 4 and the lack of execution on the pick and roll hurt that interior scoring. He only scored 12 points in Game 4 and has had an atrocious time finding some type of opening against the defense of Thabo Sefolosha. The Thunder may have found a winning formula with Sefolosha guarding their go-to’s scorers, while causing five turnovers. While opened up for….

3). The Thunder’s not big three of Nick Collison, Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. On the road, combined, the trio only scored an average of 13 points while shooting a horrible 29%. A change of scenery changed those stats as the trio averaged 37 points and shot at amazing 78% from the field. The results? Two losses when shooting 29% and two wins when they shot 78%. So they key for Game 5 is……

May 31, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) dribbles as Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) defends during the first half in game three of the Western Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

4) Key players need to show up. When in San Antonio, the Spurs’ big three came to play. With the extra boost of the home crowd, the bench players came to work. When in Oklahoma City, the Thunder’s stars took over, while their bench proved productive for the wins.  Momentum is on the side for the Thunder. But can they carry that momentum to San Antonio? We shall see tonight.

Boston Celtics Visiting Miami Heat

This series was suppose to be fast for the Heat. Many analysts predicted that the Heat would take care these old, aging, banged up Celtics in five games. And it was even looking like a sweep after two games and with Dwayne Wade dunk rejector, Avery Bradley, out for the playoffs. But with the resurgence of Ray Allen, the Celtics have notted this series up to two games a piece. Of course, there is always subplots to every story and this is no different.

June 3, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) drives to the basket in front of Miami Heat guard/forward Mike Miller (13) during the first quarter in game four of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

1) Rajon Rondo – On the floor at one time with five future Hall of Famers, Rondo has certainly stole the show. After his playoff history performance in Game 2 with 44 points and 10 assists and eight boards, Rondo continued his game streak posting modest numbers: 21 points, 10 assists and six boards in the Game 3 win and 15 points, 15 assists and five boards in a Game 4 win. He is their motor. He is their heart. Of course, he shows his bone-headed moves by grabbing four offensive fouls and a technical (he has 4 right now and if he gets to 7, it will be one game suspension). But by and large, without Rondo, the Celtics are nowhere near being competitive in this series. But the other big dog for the Celtics is….

2) Kevin Garnett. There has been so much talk about the resurgence of two old guys in this playoffs. Tim Duncan has looked like vintage Tim Duncan. The same can be said about KG. After a mid-season move to the 5 position, KG has dominated the bigs and it has started with establishing the low block. A high release, makes it difficult for any defender to get even close to contest it. And, as always, KG brings the defensive presence, no matter how old or tired he is. Think about this. In Game 3 alone, the Celtics outscored the Heat by 27 points when Garnett is on the floor. When is out? The Heat outscored the Celtics by 17. Which makes us wonder……

3) Where is Dwayne Wade in the first half? In Games 3 and 4, it is has become obvious that Wade is in hiding…in

June 3, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) drives past Boston Celtics power forward Brandon Bass (30) during the first half in game four of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

plain sight. First half belongs to King James. In Game 3 alone, Wade was 9-20 from the field and didn’t shoot one single free throw. That is a problem for the Heat and Wade. Maybe it’s the refs. Ultimately, this is a game refereed by humans and they’ll make human mistakes. And think about it. In Miami, Wade and James only got called for two fouls each in those games, resulting in a total of 8 fouls all together. You got to know that coming into Boston, you’re going to get called for more than 8 fouls in two games. That is just the way it is. Which leads me to….

4) Rondo’s comments. What he said was the truth (even he said it was the truth). The Heat were busy complaining about the lack of calls or bad calls that they failed to get back in transition. And that in itself is inexcuseable. Especially against an older, less athletic team (I mean, for christ’s sake, you literally got to be 30 and up to play for the Celtics). Refs are going to be bad, you just have to deal with them. Finally…

5) The bench (role) players have to play their roles. In Miami, Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, played wonderful, while the Celtics’ bench players acted like they were just there to warm seats. And while Chalmers and Cole (they may have found the anti-Rondo-dote), in particular, played wonderful in Game 4, the Celtics’ bench awoke and helped their team to a victory. Keyon Dooling, provided three key three-pointers to help push the edge over.

Ultimately, these two series are now a best of three. Any pressure?

I think the pressure is on both the Western teams. Many people feel it should go to Game 7, but with all that championship experience, many feel that the Spurs should pull this out. But the Thunder have “championship material” written on them for years and with each passing year, the less patience their fans and critics have for them to achieve. So pressure is on both teams.

As for the East, the pressure is now on the Heat. After blowing a 2-0 series lead, they come back to Miami hoping to regroup (and maybe get Chris Bosh back) and get back to winning. A Game 5 win, will be pivital , as one team will have their backs against the wall. We’ve seen the Heat come together (after all that motivation from Indiana) and blow Indiana out of the water. But this is a prideful Celtics. You know they won’t take any punches laying down,it’s jsut a matter of them having enough gas to throw some of those punches back.

May 10, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers small forward Andre Iguodala (9) makes the game winning free throw against the Chicago Bulls during the 2nd half of game six in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers defeated the 79-78 to win the series four games to two. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

Philadelphia 76ers (79) vs Chicago Bulls (76)

76ers wins the series 4-2

Wow. I can’t believe the Bulls are out already. Yes, when Derrick Rose tore his ACL, there was still a hope. But then Joakim Noah got hurt and then that hope was just a flicker. And then Boozer is overpaid. And Luol Deng is not 100%. C.J Watson hasn’t been in this situation as the number 1 point guard and there wasn’t much life in the Bulls. They fought very hard though. And I agree with Charles Barkely on the after show. If you are a Bulls fan (and even if you’re just a causal fan) you have got to be proud of these Bulls. Without their two best players, they fought hard and was close for them to get home and try to close it out. Heck they were even down 12 in the fourth quarter, only to come back and allow only four buckets in the last couple minutes of the game. But Watson was put into a position that he isn’t comfortable or familiar with. 12 seconds left, people are trying to foul you but you give it up to a guy who is shooting 40% from the free throw line! And you’re about 80%. Even if you split the free throws, now the Sixers have to choose between going for the win or tying the game. By not hitting any free throws, any bucket will win and that was what Andre Iguodala did. Took a miss, ran up the court, recognize a 7-footer backpedaling and drove right at him. It wasn’t to say that it was a bad foul.

Statistically, Iguodala is atrocious at the foul line. Two for Nine when crunch time came. 22%. And he  had been criticized for years for not being the big time gamer. But these last two free throws? Piece of cake. He calmly walked up to the line and sank both of them. Why? Cause in front of a packed house of crazy Sixers’ fans and a desperate Bulls team watching, he was just showing his son, Andre II, how to shoot the ball. And while free throws is his kryptonite, thoughts of teaching his son how to shoot is the spinach for this Popeye. With those two free throws, the Sixers have earned the right to head to Boston for a Game 1 on Saturday.

Boston Celtics (83) vs Atlanta Hawks (80)

May 10, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward/center Kevin Garnett (5) puts up a shot during the fourth quarter of game six against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Boston Celtics won 83-80. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Celtics wins the series 4-2

Speaking of the Celtics, they too entertained basketball fans last night. Going down the wire, it was the old men of Celtics that stepped up. Let me rephrase, old man (KG if you are reading this, hope it motivates you by me calling you an old man). He is 35 going on 26 because the way he played last night, the way he put the team on his old shoulders, is a reason to shudder if you are the Sixers. Garnett had a monster 28 points, 14 boards, five boards in 39 minutes of action. And many of those points were in the paint, where he has often said, he doesn’t like to hang out as much because he’s, you guessed it, old.

Will his old legs keep up in the playoffs?

The Hawks, in my opinion, are better all-around than the Sixers, especially with Al Horford back in rotation, yet the Celtics found a way to still win. The Hawks have a much better point guard, Jeff Teague, (who surprised a bunch of people of his play and mostly out-played Rajon Rondo, who is considered a top point guard) than Jrue Holiday. I think that Al Horford, even playing his second game in the playoffs and not being in “shape” is a much better version of Elton Brand and Josh Smith is probably better than Spencer Hawes. We aren’t matching up position for position, but the personnel that surrounds the stars, I would go in favor of the Hawks.

But, the one thing the Sixers do have that the Hawks don’t, is the undying motivation to play. Too many times (and years while we are at it), the Hawks give up in both their body language and their play. They settled for too many jump shots last night in crunch time (or was it great defense?) and even when Joe Johnson took it to the hole and was blocked (or was it a foul?) that was only his second opportunity inside the paint. He lived and died on the outside. And that is what you know about basketball. Outside shots aren’t reliable, but the grit, the hustle, the determination, those are things you can count on night in and night out because those are just hustle plays. You don’t have to be the fastest, strongest or the tallest. You just got to want it more. And last night the Celtics did. It wasn’t without any controversy (seems to be a common theme in New England). Did Marquis Daniels foul Horford before the ball was in? Was that last play a foul on Rondo? Did Paul Pierce bump Joe Johnson? But referees calls (or mistakes if you’re a Hawks fan) are part of the game. You just had to deal with it. And while the Hawks will complain about the number of free throws (24-10 in favor of the Celtics), they had an opportunity at the end of the game to tie the game and Horford miss the first and MADE the second. And amazingly, the Celtics held the Hawks to only nine fast break points, which they had only in the second half.

The Celtics move onto the second round, now with home court advantage against a young Sixer team. Game 1 is slated for Saturday.

May 10, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson (3) drives to the basket during the first half of game six in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

Denver Nuggets (113) vs LA Lakers (96)

Series tied 3-3

Ok of both LA teams, this was the team that I didn’t think that was going to go Game 7. I mean they played real crappy the other night in Game 6 but I thought they would come back and want to close it out quickly. Take the crowd out of the game. But two things happened. One Kobe felt like crap. And even though he put up decent numbers, 31 points and shot 57%, it wasn’t enough to help the Lakers close things out. He was the one guy, who even though had puked and used the bathroom too frequently, had enough courage and hustle to help keep the Lakers within reach. The rest of his teammates? Well they were nowhere to be found. After being out-sprinted down the court by JaVale McGhee, the bigs of the Lakers just disappeared instead. Pau Gasol, who I think is way worse than his brother Marc, had three points and three boards after going for 1 for 10 from the field. Andrew Bynum, well this showing clearly shows he has a lot of growing up to do, no matter how good he plays. He grabbed 16 boards and 11 points. But those 11 points were ghosts points.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets are just feeding off the momentum they have built up. Ty Lawson, while fairly stifled in Game 5, exploded for 32 points. He scored wherever, whenever. Threes, lay-ups, pick and rolls. Whatever he wanted, he got. Complementing him was Andre Miller who had 12 points, Kenneth Faried who had 15 points, Danillo Gallinari who had 12 points and Corey Brewer who completed the game with 18 points off the bench. McGhee followed up his explosive night with only two points, but his havoc on defense cause tough shots for the Lakers all night.

And Kobe was being Kobe. Asked if his teammates matched his heart. He frankly said no. Game 7 means that Metta World Peace is back from suspension and will play. While he is not the savior for the Lakers, Kobe made no secret that he wanted World Peace back to help him.

“I expect him to come out and play with the tenacity that he’s known for,” Bryant said. “He’s the one guy that I can rely on night in and night out to compete and play hard and play with a sense of urgency and play with no fear. So, I’m looking forward to having him by my side again.”

To me that speaks volumes against his other teammates. They played poorly and maybe they played with fear. And it showed. But for the Lakers to win, they need a better output from those two big seven footers, cause you know that Kobe will be Kobe and he’ll play his MVP way.

Game 7 will be in LA. Tip off is 10:30 pm EST.

*Source: ESPN