Rematch!

5/24/2014 1:34:03 AM

As far as the series is concern, several foes faced each other yet again in the Conference Finals. It’s Miami versus Indiana at the East Finals; while on the West, it’s Oklahoma versus San Antonio once again since ’12.

But before Miami rolled to even their series against Indiana (as of time of writing), how these two fared up against each other for the second straight year?

The Pacers, after losing to the eventual champion Heat, roared all the way through the regular season. They dominated the Eastern Conference with a 59-23 record, whole the Heat came just a bit close to them.

However, the Pacers were already questioned through the course of both first and second round of the playoffs after their starting center used to put up subpar numbers in most of his games.

Well, the Heat was questioned, too. Though lucky for Indiana, Miami was haunted by criticism over the course of regular season, for being lack of rebounding which sometimes, led to their inconsistent winning run. At one point, they will lose for numerous games, which reminded me of LeBron James’ usual era with the Cavaliers.

But make no mistake about it. The tides are turned up. The Pacers topped both the Central Division and the entire EC. Plus, they had homecourt advantage.

However, though, most of the teams that went on to the finals in the recent years were the second-seeded squads.

Nevertheless, I’m seeing a potential Game 7 ender here yet again.

Meanwhile, let’s shift gears, or should I say… direction. Oklahoma City Thunder met the San Antonio Spurs once again. But it’s quite different from the old Seattle Supersonics versus San Antonio Spurs rivalry though.

The Spurs, arguably the league’s second most dominant team for the last one and a half decade (next to the five-peat Los Angeles Lakers), has been on a roll despite their player’s age. Actually, since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls ended their reign, it was the Western teams that dominated the most.

But they were schooled by the younger legs of Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012. After ruling 2-0, they got ousted in the next four games – with Game 5 staged in their home floor.

Plus, the Thunder has dominated over the silver-and-black squad for the entire regular wars this 2013-2014.

The question though is that can Spurs overcome the tide once again? Considering that they have the MVP in Kevin Durant?

All it takes is the bench key, while taking advantage for the loss of Serge Ibaka.

If San Antonio wins game 3, it’s gonna be a total one-sided affair en route to the biggest stage, where they only lost once – and that was last year in a two-game slide to the eventual champion Heat.

But even if the Pacers might break the supposedly party, I’m still seeing the Spurs will top this one out.

But if Thunder waged a perfect comeback, that it would be a much better affair: ‘Bronvs KD, the second time around. Wow.

However, what if OKC vs Pacers? It’s like offense versus defense teams on a collision course. Perfect finale!

Author: slickmaster | © 2014 september twenty-eight productions

Thunder on a surprise run?

Well, not totally.

The HEAT is on once again for the Miami and Thunder will strike again for the Oklahoma City squad as the stage is set for the National Basketball Association finals game 1 today Manila time.

The Western Conference has been the home of the powerhouse ball clubs lately, and one of them is the Oklahoma City Thunder whom had been a major force to reckon since they almost surprise the Dallas Mavericks on their battle fro supremacy, which they had lost, by the way.

The Thunder had won 47 games in a shortened 66-game season, enough for the second spot in the Western Conference, plus a major addition to its roster – a big shot maker in a bulky point guard named Derek Fisher.

Opening their playoff run, they avenged their defeat over the Dallas Mavericks in a rematch of last year’s western conference finals, and dethroned them by a sweep. Moving on, they battled an always-a-playoff-contender team in Los Angeles Lakers and won the series in 5 games, including a surprise rally to finish Game 2 with a 2-0 lead on their hands.

After winning 8 playoff assignments in 9 attempts within those 2 rounds, the Oklahoma City Thunder faced a rejuvenated San Antonio Spurs on the Western Conference Finals, a team that has been on fire since its last 10 games of the regular season. The first two games went in favour of the Alamo squad, and that includes a bunch of scrimmage-looking-plays on the Game 2 of its series.

When the series shifted to Oklahoma, that’s the time when the Thunder took over. With 19 points and 6 steals at helm, Thabo Sefalosha took charged for the home team and led a huge bunch of defensive efforts to snap the Spurs’ 20-game winning streak and ironically won the game by a massive 20-point margin. That negated San Antonio’s Tim Duncan’s move of surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the shots blocked at the history of the league’s post-season party.

Despite winning the third contest, the Thunder still trails at the series. However, they have gained momentum where they carried it on to win game 4 in a super humane fashion courtesy of Kevin Durant’s scoring surge. Durantula scored 36 points – with half of them came at the last 7 minutes of the game. And a defensive stalwart Serge Ibaka went perfectly hot from the field to punch 26 markers under his belt. Just enough to save the Thunder after seeing their 15-point lead melted down to 4 at one point in the fourth quarter, and to tie the series at 2-apiece.

Game 5 was set at San Antonio again, and the home team were on the verge of taking a 3-2 lead. Thanks to their star guard Manu Ginobili whose hot shooting from the outside kept them in the game. But James Harden’s long distance shot sealed the deal for the surging visitors to take a step closer to the NBA finals. And the Spurs were dealt with their first home loss since April 11.

Game 6 at the Thunder’s house, but the visiting Spurs took a huge 1^st quarter lead, sending a scare on the home crowd for a possible Game 7. But the Thunder surprised them at the second half to turn up the tide in their favour. Kevin Durant took over like a MVP and collected a game high 34 points and 11 rebounds to solidify their stand at the big dance. He played the entire game, and the Western Conference Championship was the biggest prized that he got.

06/13/2012 02:47 a.m., slick master (c) 2012 september twenty-eight productions