NBA fans excited for finals
Posted on Jun 12, 2012 in Sports
D-Wade and the Miami Heat prepare to take on the Thunder in the NBA Finals. MCTCampus
After a drama-filled lock out and numerous head scratching trades, the NBA has returned back to its glory days with this summer’s 2012 NBA Playoff series.
A very young, but very good, OKC Thunder team has electrified the Western Conference Finals with its “Run and Gun” style against Conference favorites, San Antonio Spurs.
The Thunder is only three years removed from a 3-29 start that had them on pace for the worst record in NBA history. The Thunder went through the three West teams — Dallas, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio — to reach the finals since 1998 and earn their shot at the title.
The Spurs held the best record in the league, a stacked veteran squad, and a sniper from beyond the arc in Manu Ginobili.
With the aggressive shot making by PG Russell Westbrook, tenacious defense by PF Serge Ibaka, and the Jordanesque leadership by F Kevin Durant, the Thunder eliminated the Spurs in six games and are headed to the finals.
The Eastern conference has also generated very high ratings with its Miami Heat narrowly escaping their seven game series against rival Boston Celtics. After proving he is indeed the league’s MVP, LeBron James scored 45 points to lead the Heat past the Celtics and into a decisive Game 7 in Miami. There, two members of the Big Three helped him earn the team’s second Eastern Conference Championship.
In 45 minutes of play, James had 45 of the Heat’s 98 points. He captured 30 points by the first half, and he moved it up to 41 by three quarters. He finished with a 19-of-26 performance that was four points from his career best in the playoffs with 15 rebounds and five assists. Only one other player, the great Wilt Chamberlain, had ever put those numbers together in the playoffs.
Saturday’s contest will be the 111th Game 7 in NBA history with home teams owning an 89-22 advantage.
No franchise has played in more Game 7s than Boston, with an impressive 21-8 all-time.
The Heat, on the other hand, are 3-3 all-time in Game 7s and dropped the last Game 7 in the East finals, an 88-82 setback to Detroit in 2005.
This is the third straight season that the Heat and Celtics are meeting in the playoffs. Boston won in five games in 2010 in the first round; the Heat won in five last year in the semifinals.
Will James prove that he can close games when it counts? Can the Big Three grab their first championship as a unit? Will the bench of the Thunder prove too much for the Heat?
This will be an exciting final with great athletes on both sides. It is a Final between two teams whose stars will frequently be matched up against one another. This is the type NBA fans have missed. This is what turns men into legends.
Bobby Epps
Contributor
BobbyEpps@gmail.com