This will be the third consecutive year
the Boston Celtics will face the Miami Heat and LeBron James in the playoffs. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each have gotten
embarrassed by Boston in their career which is why they celebrated like they
won the finals last year after they were finally able to eliminate the Celtics
in five games. Both these teams don’t like
each other, both these teams went with the same plan (bring three superstars
together), both these teams have horrible benches and both these teams are
playing to lose to the eventual champion in the west (sorry but its true).
James and Wade are playing at a
level in which we haven’t seen since they weren’t teammates. Now that Bosh isn’t there it’s no longer
sharing the ball three way’s but it’s just a 2 on 5 basketball game with the
two players being the best in the world.
The question that everyone is saying though, can they keep it up? James left Cleveland so he wouldn’t have to
handle the pressure of always going for a 35 point 8 rebound 9 assist game just
to win a game. Now he has to do that
every game in these playoffs with Bosh out just for Miami to be in it. Wade is under the same pressure to perform at
a high level in every game. Miami almost
came apart in game 3 against Indiana but survived. They now face a Boston team that doesn’t ever
quit and makes teams work the hard way.
The thing is Boston is playing with
so many injuries as well that rest could’ve helped them extremely, instead they
had to play seven games against an 8th seed and only get one day
off. Ray Allen needs to be way better
than just 9 points a game. Kevin Garnett
will be guarded by either Joel Antony or Ronny Turiaf… He needs to take
advantage of that. Paul Pierce needs to
average at least 20 points in this series and maybe keep fouling out with four
minutes to go so this guy can take over.
How far the Celtics will go or how
many games they’ll win all depends on Rajon Rondo. Rondo is the Celtics best player and could
easily go off for a triple-double in any game.
Last year I think if Rondo wouldn’t have hurt his elbow the Celtics
could’ve taken the Heat farther than five games. He’s healthy and he needs to go off at least
four times in this series. He can’t be
afraid to shoot the 20 foot jumper when no one is guarding him. We all saw how fast the momentum can swing when
he starts making jumpers. If this
happens then we’ll see LeBron James on him then that’ll give Paul Pierce an opportunity
to go off but it all revolves around how Rondo plays.
The Matchup: Dwyane
Wade vs Avery Bradley Ray Allen.
I believe this is the series right here.
Avery Bradley’s season ending injury is HUGE because Bradley was the
only Celtic that can guard Wade. Now an
injured Ray Allen has to run around on defense and guard a hot shooting Wade. If Evan Turner was able to score on Allen
imagine how Wade does?
The Prediction: Heat in 6 because Ray Allen retired 2
years ago (Bill Simmons Joke), Pierce is not the same superstar anymore and
once again the Avery Bradley factor. I
would’ve said five games but the Celtics always bring out their best against LeBron
and Miami so I’ll give them one more game.
It’s time for the playoff matchup
that just had to happen. The two most
dominating teams in the playoffs, the new era vs the old era, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio
Spurs. I believe the Western Conference
Finals WILL be better than the NBA Finals (unless Miami plays OKC because of
the star power and the storylines, like which Big 3 would you take? Okay, Okay
I’m getting a little ahead of myself, that question is for another blog incase
that matchup happens but now back to this one.)
These Western Conference Finals are all about the passing of the torch
in the west. The Los Angeles Lakers,
Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs are the only western conference teams to
appear in the NBA Finals in the last 13 years.
They’ve combined to win 10 titles during the Dirk, Kobe, and Duncan
era. Meanwhile Oklahoma City has already
taken out two out of those three teams in these playoffs. Now they have a chance to take out the third
team and that is why I believe the Thunder will win this series.
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| Durant's game winner over Dallas. |
Think
about it, this is exactly how the changing of the torch should be passed on. I’m not going to use the “old age” factor
because it’s really starting to get overused that San Antonio is old, (Spurs
only have 3 players that are over the age of 32… They’re not old, they’re just
really experienced). I know San Antonio
is playing pretty execution, teamwork perfect basketball (18 game win streak...
They haven’t lost since April 11! They’ve scored 100 points or more in 16 out
of the 18 games), Tim Duncan is playing like he’s still in his prime, Manu
Ginobili is as a reliable 6th
man as you can get, everyone is hitting the three point shot like it’s a free
throw, they have a ten man rotation, eleven if you count DeJuan Blair’s 8
minutes and Tony Parker is running the show with ease with an MVP type year. They sound unbeatable right? Well this is where Kevin Durant comes
in. I wrote in the beginning of the
playoffs that this was the time Durant starts to build up his legacy as the
best shooter in the game. And he hasn’t
let anyone down (Unless you’re a Mavs or Lakers fan… sigh). Durant has already hit 3 game winning shots
in these playoffs and knows this is not only his time but his team to make a
deep run at the title. He’s already got
that “no way we’re losing this game” look (last year he didn’t have it). And folks he’s only 23 years old! He’s
sidekick partner, Russell Westbrook is also 23.
Last but not least the guy that can take over a game by either attacking
the rim, shooting free throws or shooting three pointers, James Harden is the youngest of the three at
22 years old (don’t let the beard fool you). They’re going to be a threat in the West for
the next decade and more. They’ve been
taking strides every year and this year looks to be the one where they make
their mark as the best team not only in the Western Conference but the NBA.
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| Westbrook and Parker can each score at will against each other |
The Matchup: The guy’s
that will have the ball in their hands the most are going to be the most fun to
watch when they have to stop each other scoring. Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook each had a
great year this season and thrived with the condensed schedule because they
kept playing at a high level the whole time.
Parker sent out a few shots to Westbrook this week saying he’s going to
go at him and make him work on defense.
Sure Parker scored 42 points back in February against Westbrook. But here’s the thing that was a long time
ago. Westbrook has matured and learned
the game more. The advantage I give the
Spurs with this matchup is that they were able to contain Chris Paul and they
can probably do the same to Westbrook. Finally,
do the Spurs trust Kawhi Leonard guarding Durant in the final minutes of a close
game?
The Prediction: Thunder
in 6 because Durant will go clutch in the fourth quarter, Harden will have
at least one game where he can’t be stopped and the Spurs will eventually go
cold from the three point line in one game.
They have to right?
Mini Theory: Another
theory that can happen is the Thunder lost the Lakers two years ago, then lost
to Dallas last year and with it trending wouldn’t it make since that they lose
to San Antonio this year (maybe it’s not their turn yet) Then next year finally win it all? Or Durant can slay the last west dragon and
rule the kingdom.
This is what happens when you think too much, you start
talking about dragons and kingdoms. I’ll
end the blog now.
