NBA Finals

NBA Conference Finals 2K12

There was no great deals in the first rounds other than the dramatical injury of the Rose of Bulls which resulted in the defeat of conference leader. Another surprise to me was the Lakers against Denver with 4-3 win, i expected pretty shorter serie. Memphis was the only mess i missed the target, they would be a great match up for SA Spurs.

Throughout the second round to the conference final, it was quite straight for the west coast and this time it was tougher for the east. Clippers was not a measure for SAS class, however i hoped Lakers would push Oklohoma to the edge after having seen the young fellas confronted difficulty in front of Dallas; but maybe because of the tiring previous round or it is the time for a further change in Lakers, they just flagged out quite easily. Having lost Bosh boy of the Big 3 due to an abdominal strain, Miami is just stepped back against Indiana and the Pacers gang  just hoped forward with a road and home win and lead the serie 1-2 to the fourth game in Indiana. Without Bosh on the court and Wade not playing as himself (5 !! points in 3rd game), LeBron was again into a position of being annouonced cursed. But the King turned the MVP mode on and showed a 40-18-9 and 30-10-8 performance not only made a winning comeback but bringing D-Wade back to life by pushing him to show up on the court. On the other eastern clash, the serie is ended up on game 7, not because of the quality of the game but the floating level of Old boys performance. Being the worst team of east, even maybe the whole playoff participant teams, 76 ers was the most luckiest one. they were just a quarter apart the conference final thanx to first Rose and celtics.

Now, lets give a look at the conference finals; SASpurs vs OCThunder & Miami vs Celtics...

Old boys of the SAS played the season as if they bathed in fountain of eternity and youth. For such a team, the playoffs was for sure like a play park against unquestioned underdog opponents, and as a machine comprised of great professionals and a big boss they swept up both teams. For those who havent been beaten even forced for a long time (18-0 for recent months) The conference final is the first stop to be tested. Oklohoma also were not subjected to quite important tests but anyhow they showed us that they are neither too young nor unexperienced as last year at the decision points of the Dallas and Lakers series. so there will be blood !! Both teams are quite satisfying in the short posisitons and Thunder step forward in the 4-5.. Other advantage for Thunder is that, This serie might be the easiest one for Durant since Leonard is even not near to defend him. They will use their rotation to slow down him only. the advantage of SAS coming from their nature (Age) is, the power of the rotation and bench;  Diaw Bonner Ginobili vs Harden. Considering the importance of being a team, SAS is an elite class. They are well organised and have the differentiated skills to deal with different requirements throughout the game. 1-4/5 Pick n Roll game is the main stream with Parker (one of the best in terms of game sight while rolling the ball) but they have both the snipers and drillers. On the other hand, Thunder is a team of limited responsibilities, 1-2-3+harden are responsible for offense in turn and by improvisation; the penetrative offense is the highest priority. 4-5 are quite limited to defense. This limited variation in the game eliminates the advantage of being young for Oklohoma. I would tell that this will not result in quite soon. SAS by heart and soul in 6 or maybe 7 since I respect old boys and believe that young fellas have quite much time to dominate the game in the future.

Note: In the Post Jordan period of 15 years, west is dominated by SAS, Lakers and Dallas. It is this year those big 3 members confronted Oklohoma this year, two were defeated and yet the last one is still standing. If SAS falls, this will be the beginning of a new era.

No need to talk much on the East coast. Miami and the King James (and lately Wade) showed how much they desire the title no matter they have limited bench or short / long term losses. And they have a limited opponent, which makes the story easier -on the paper- with respect to the second round run against Indiana. But here is the fact, celtics are the counterpart of the SAS formation in the east; they are experienced so they will not be scattered out if the things would go out of plan, they are unexpected so there is always a risk of explosion of Ray, Pierce, Rondo and Garnett as they decide to take the initiative. Miami should push them hard and rigorously without decreasing the tempo of the game. This is the key point to keep celtics power and hope down. if the things turn into set defense/offense, celtics will then have the chance to keep their energy calm and also put a steady play on the both side of the court against Miami. In set offense, James is the solely name for the creativety in offense, this results in generally either he forces consistently which becomes easier to defend or he assists which results in a long term disaster because of the fact that there is no dependable scorer other than Wade for the inner court and the 3 pointers are not quite effective every day. Bosh should not be risked unless the serie would go 1-2 to the forth game. I think it will be 4-2 Miami, 1 for Rondo 1 for Garnett/Pierce but a HEAT sweep is also possible.

See you at the finals.

eJdeR