The NBA Playoffs have been relatively drama-free in both conferences.
We did have some great battles in the first round, but the second round was fairly lackluster. Now the New York Knicks have already found their way into the NBA Finals for the first time in decades. Their opponent is still to be decided as the Oklahoma City Thunder are a game away, and the San Antonio Spurs need to win the remaining two.
The Thunder continue to be the team everyone loves to hate. It happens with most champions or dynasties, but this isn’t a dynasty. The Thunder have won one championship and have all the pieces and picks they need to be successful for the next few years. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won back-to-back MVP awards. But, it is too early to call this a dynasty. This team is not liked because they play a brand of basketball that people just don’t seem to like.
I suppose there is some reason to understand it. Gilgeous-Alexander does fall down a lot. He does look for fouls to be called. He doesn’t have a ton of flash, and sure, he probably wears what most would consider weird clothes to the game. But what I find most funny is that people complain about the amount of threes players take. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the few mid-range guys in the league, and people hate his game. Sometimes you can’t win – especially with those who just watch a couple of clips on X to form their opinion.
The Spurs are definitely the people’s team right now. The reality is that everyone will get sick of them, too. It really isn’t a question of if they will win championships; it is how soon it will happen and how many they will get. The Spurs have all the talent they need and just need the team to mature a little. Stephon Castle, who is a very solid defender, has been a bit of a walking turnover. Dylan Harper has to improve his scoring. These are things that should improve as they get older.
Victor Wembanyama has been great in the series and will continue to be great. He is a walking defensive problem. However, if his outside shot doesn’t fall, he is at least a little easier to deal with. The same can be said about pretty much any player. However, with Wemby, if his outside shot is falling, he is impossible to guard.
This feels like a series that will go seven games, especially considering the ratings the games have pulled in. The Thunder won Game 3 on the road, and I thought that would be one if the Spurs got a favorable whistle. I still think they will get one here after some worse things happened in Game 5. The Spurs didn’t get a challenge request – but I feel like you’re supposed to call a timeout first to challenge, so maybe it shouldn’t have been granted.
There was a goaltending call that was missed, and the typical flopping situations that people sometimes correctly point out. The only bad thing is that it looked like Wemby told his teammates to go foul Thunder players hard when he was subbed out with a few minutes to go, so the league may ignore any of the “balancing” of calls in this one.
This game should come down to which team hits more threes. Most of these games have been high scoring, though, and I expect a lot of free throws, which means more stopped clocks. Give me the over 218.5.
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