There are games, and there are GAMES. Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals was one of the latter. A pivotal game. A must win game for both the Thunder and Spurs, this was a back and forth contest that honestly, gave me not one but several heart attacks during the 48 minute contest. A contest which the Thunder wrested away from the Spurs, 108-103. Not without significant effort and timely heroics from a whole number of Thunder players, but keyed by the increased great play from Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. Big shocker there I know.
But keep in mind…all of this involves the Spurs - a team that won 20 games in a row, and hadn’t lost at home this entire post season. The then went on to lose back to back games to the Thunder…but hadn’t lost at home this post season. Heck, the Spurs hadn’t lost 3 games in a row all year long. Granted, it was only a 66 game shortened season, but still - that’s hard to do and pretty damn impressive in itself. The same Spurs team that won a close game in game 1 of this series, and downright embarrassed the Thunder in game 2 in this exact same building. I’m sure just about every person that covers basketball expected the Spurs to win this game. Truth be told, even I was fearful the Thunder wouldn’t be able to pull this one out. But that’s why they play the actual games…because you never know what you are going to get once the roundball gets tossed up at center court.
Watching this game was an exercise in all the highs and lows of being a fan. Tight and chippy play early, resulting in a slow start by the Thunder and foul trouble for Ibaka. A slow but steady comeback where the athleticism of the Thunder shows clearly the biggest difference between the two teams. Gaining ground and a shift in momentum, resulting in a Thunder lead of at first single digits, then later on double digits. A little stumble before halftime, leading to an 8 point lead after 24 minutes. Taking a breath at halftime…and hope building that this might turn out well for the road team for the first time in any Western or Eastern Conference series so far. Second half begins…Spurs come out with tremendous defensive energy, trim the lead down, then its all the way gone. Poor execution by the Thunder and awesome effort by the Spurs and some individual brilliance by Manu puts them up by 6 or 7. Then the Thunder collect their poise, and answer back. Build up another big lead…then more almost unbelievable lapses in judgment lead to an almost Thunder collapse. But at the end, Russ atones for his turnovers with a smooth 17 foot elbow jumper…and Harden drains as cold blooded a 3 pointer as you would see from well…Kevin Durant. This pushes the lead from 2 to 5 points, and results in the end margin of victory. I’m pretty sure I experienced every single human positive or negative emotion during this game - my wife even commented at one point that she was so worried about some of my outbursts she was afraid I might injure myself, or at the very least the television. THAT’S what it means to be a real fan…you take it all in, both the good times AND the not-so-good times.
This isn’t last year’s Thunder team. Last year’s team doesn’t find a way to dig this game out. Last year’s team lets their late game struggles overwhelm them and they lose their composure, the game, and probably the series. But this years Thunder are maturing, possession by possession, game by game, series by series. Last year’s Russell Westbrook doesn’t offset his 9-24 night with 12 assists. Last year’s James Harden maybe doesn’t have the confidence to take and make a momentum shifting transition 3 that turns into a 4 point play, or the clinching 3 pointer with under 45 seconds in the game. And maybe last years Kevin Durant doesn’t know when to pick and choose the spots where he sets up his teammates and when to take the game over. This year’s team has been tested, both on the road and at home. And the tests are still yet to come - including the close out game 6 coming up on Wednesday. Maybe the toughest test of this team to date. But if they find a way to get it done (and I personally think they will) they will have done what the expectations heaped upon them at the beginning of the year said they should: found a way to get themselves to the NBA Finals.
Let’s not kid ourselves here - we are witnessing the true NBA Finals during this series - whoever comes out of the West will not face a team that is nearly as good as either these Thunder or the Spurs. So if the Thunder do advance (as the playoff odds say often happens when a team wins game 5) they will surely have learned enough lessons from the Mavericks, Lakers, and Spurs to ultimately bring home the Larry O’Brien to OKC. As always, #ThunderNationRISE
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Not quite a one man show - but close
They say there are times in a basketball players life when, if you are one of those kinds of players, the basketball hoop looks like the size of a hula hoop, and everything you throw up goes in. Its usually called being in "the zone" and everybody who has ever watched a basketball game knows what I'm talking about. Mr. Kevin Durant had himself one of those "in the zone" performances in the 4th quarter of game 4 of the Western Conference Finals - and man was it a thing of beauty to watch. Without KD's virtuoso performance, this game doesn't end up a 109-103 Thunder win (not even close). But KD is that kind of player, and even though he got by with a lot of help from his friends, when the Spurs began to close in on the Thunder in the 4th, he took his game to a level that no one could touch. The dude they call Iceberg Slim aka The Durantula was flat out unguardable scoring 16 straight points for the Thunder, and put up 18 of his 36 points overall in the 4th quarter.
Now, not even KD can do it by himself, and KD's late game heroics overshadowed a tremendous performance from the Thunder bigs - in particular Serge Ibaka, who poured in 26 points on a perfect 11-11 from the field, and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Kendrick Perkins mean mugged his way to 15 and 9, and even Nick Collison got his with some nice dunks and finishing 4-5 from the field. In case you weren't keeping track at home, those same bigs for the Thunder that everyone (including me) was calling out after games 1 and 2 went 22 of 25 from the field. Now THAT is answering the call. And while I don't think anyone expects to get that kind of production from the Thunder front court every game, it was absolutely the right time to have one of those nights. And since everyone else was doing their thing, KD and Russ could just take a back seat and be content to pass the rock and enjoy the show. Which would enable them to save their best for last. These two cats combined for 13 assists in the game, and many of them were pretty setups for their teammates that lead to easy shots, if not outright dunks.
When basketball is played the right way, its a beautiful thing. I said this about the Spurs when they played a near perfect half of basketball in game 2. And now the situations were reversed. The bigs were doing their thing, and at the end of the game, when things started to tighten up, the whole team looked to Durant to take them home. KD had that look in his eye...what I've heard called the eye of the tiger. And I saw something I've seen a few times throughout this season, but never in this way - Kevin took this whole entire Thunder team and put them on his back and carried them to a win. Jumper, swish. High screen and switch with Tony Parker put on him - shot over that was money. Bucket after bucket after bucket...KD became (or maybe already was) nothing short of unstoppable. 7-9 from the field...and did it in a variety of ways. It was amazing to see in person, and better to watch as a fan of the sport and this team in particular.
Check out this article from ESPN.com's John Hollinger, which talks a bit more about the spectacular night from KD, Ibaka, and the rest of the Thunder front court. Heck of a game...heck of a series. And you know we will be in for more in store when the Thunder and Spurs play game 5. As always, #ThunderNationRISE
Now, not even KD can do it by himself, and KD's late game heroics overshadowed a tremendous performance from the Thunder bigs - in particular Serge Ibaka, who poured in 26 points on a perfect 11-11 from the field, and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Kendrick Perkins mean mugged his way to 15 and 9, and even Nick Collison got his with some nice dunks and finishing 4-5 from the field. In case you weren't keeping track at home, those same bigs for the Thunder that everyone (including me) was calling out after games 1 and 2 went 22 of 25 from the field. Now THAT is answering the call. And while I don't think anyone expects to get that kind of production from the Thunder front court every game, it was absolutely the right time to have one of those nights. And since everyone else was doing their thing, KD and Russ could just take a back seat and be content to pass the rock and enjoy the show. Which would enable them to save their best for last. These two cats combined for 13 assists in the game, and many of them were pretty setups for their teammates that lead to easy shots, if not outright dunks.
When basketball is played the right way, its a beautiful thing. I said this about the Spurs when they played a near perfect half of basketball in game 2. And now the situations were reversed. The bigs were doing their thing, and at the end of the game, when things started to tighten up, the whole team looked to Durant to take them home. KD had that look in his eye...what I've heard called the eye of the tiger. And I saw something I've seen a few times throughout this season, but never in this way - Kevin took this whole entire Thunder team and put them on his back and carried them to a win. Jumper, swish. High screen and switch with Tony Parker put on him - shot over that was money. Bucket after bucket after bucket...KD became (or maybe already was) nothing short of unstoppable. 7-9 from the field...and did it in a variety of ways. It was amazing to see in person, and better to watch as a fan of the sport and this team in particular.
Check out this article from ESPN.com's John Hollinger, which talks a bit more about the spectacular night from KD, Ibaka, and the rest of the Thunder front court. Heck of a game...heck of a series. And you know we will be in for more in store when the Thunder and Spurs play game 5. As always, #ThunderNationRISE
A runaway train...
After the first quarter, that's what this Thunder team sure felt like in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. A 20 point blowout Thunder win, 102-82, the Thunder looked and felt like a freight train rolling downhill and not stopping at the station. This was EXACTLY the type of statement game that had to happen after a "close but not close enough" game 1 loss, and a game 2 whupping that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate. The Thunder came out and made a few adjustments that paid immediate dividends, most notably the switching of Thabo Sefolosha defensively onto Tony Parker. TP had a quiet 16 point 4 assist night, and all of the Spur starters got lots of rest in the 4th quarter and the benches were emptied pretty early into this one.
Obviously the Thunder didn't want to get into a 0-3 hole in the series, and after looking all but outclassed in the 2nd of their losses to San Antonio, the Thunder really needed to come out and play with fire...with desperation. And they did just that. You could see the obvious focus to increase their energy level; the hard work and effort that they knew would pay off for them if they just played their game. And play their game they did. The stats will be down, obviously, and there was a lot of garbage time minutes for guys off both benches, but this was really a game that was OKC's to lose, and they weren't going to let that happen. The emotion was high, and guys were going to get even more of a lift when the crowd got going, and get going Loud City did, early and often. The Cheaspeake Energy Arena may be the single greatest homecourt advantage in the NBA, meaning no disrespect to all the other fans and team homes. But when you got a place nicknamed "Loud City," you have to put up or shut up...and this team's fans are doing the damn thing.
There wasn't much not to like as a Thunder fan about this game....and honestly, this was probably an easy one to put behind you if you are a Spurs fan. Sometimes you get your ass kicked, and that's just the way it is. You let it go and move on. It's not nearly as bad as a one or two point loss that you can say "if we did this or did that differently..." The Thunder are talented and coming together defensively at the right time, and when you've three guys like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on your team - you've always got a fighting chance. And tonight, they had more than a chance. They had themselves a downright stomping of one of the better teames in the West.
#ThunderNationRISE
Obviously the Thunder didn't want to get into a 0-3 hole in the series, and after looking all but outclassed in the 2nd of their losses to San Antonio, the Thunder really needed to come out and play with fire...with desperation. And they did just that. You could see the obvious focus to increase their energy level; the hard work and effort that they knew would pay off for them if they just played their game. And play their game they did. The stats will be down, obviously, and there was a lot of garbage time minutes for guys off both benches, but this was really a game that was OKC's to lose, and they weren't going to let that happen. The emotion was high, and guys were going to get even more of a lift when the crowd got going, and get going Loud City did, early and often. The Cheaspeake Energy Arena may be the single greatest homecourt advantage in the NBA, meaning no disrespect to all the other fans and team homes. But when you got a place nicknamed "Loud City," you have to put up or shut up...and this team's fans are doing the damn thing.
There wasn't much not to like as a Thunder fan about this game....and honestly, this was probably an easy one to put behind you if you are a Spurs fan. Sometimes you get your ass kicked, and that's just the way it is. You let it go and move on. It's not nearly as bad as a one or two point loss that you can say "if we did this or did that differently..." The Thunder are talented and coming together defensively at the right time, and when you've three guys like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on your team - you've always got a fighting chance. And tonight, they had more than a chance. They had themselves a downright stomping of one of the better teames in the West.
#ThunderNationRISE
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