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Thunder vs Spurs – An Unfortunate Turn of Events
After sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder might not be as confident as they should be, packing heat in the form of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook going into the Western conference final, because of the injury to Serge Ibaka, which will be out for the rest of the playoffs.
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Heat vs Pacers – Here we go Again
For the third straight year, the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat will play each other in the NBA playoffs. For the first time, the Pacers have home court advantage, hoping that their inconsistent ways of pulling through, exemplified better with Roy Hibbert than anyone else, will be enough, finally, to find an answer to a problem no team has been able to solve in series for more than two years: Stopping LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh from moving forward.
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NBA Playoffs – Oklahoma City Thunder Beat Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers Finish Washington Wizards
The two more complicated series are over as well, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers took care of business on the road in game 6. The Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 104-98 behind a huge night from Kevin Durant and some officiating help; the Pacers knocked off the Washington Wizards with a 93-80 victory, led by David West this time.
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NBA Playoffs – Game 6 Predictions (Thunder vs Clippers, Pacers vs Wizards)
Two series down, two more to go. The Oklahoma City Thunder can make the Western conference finals if they close out the series against the Los Angeles Clippers in game 6, and the same goes for the Indiana Pacers in their series with the Washington Wizards, although the momentum situation is completely different in that one.
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San Antonio Spurs – The Predictable Ending
Aside from one minor glitch and bump on the road, the San Antonio Spurs got no problems from the Portland Trail Blazers in a very easy and short conference semifinals series, winning 104-82 in game 5 to take the series 4-1 and put themselves in the conference finals for a third consecutive season.
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Miami Heat – Taking Care of the Arrogant & Old
Title defenses are never easy, and the Miami Heat sure had a difficult time closing out their series against the Brooklyn Nets. A strong first half from Dwyane, overall another good one from LeBron James and a great finish from Ray Allen and Chris Bosh were needed for a 96-94 win and taking the series 4-1, earning a spot in the conference finals for a fourth consecutive time.
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NBA Playoffs – Game 5 Predictions (Nets vs Heat, Blazers vs Spurs)
Heading into game 5 of both series, we already know what teams are superior in quality. The question is can there something to negate that advantage? The Brooklyn Nets aren’t very high on confidence as they travel to play the Miami Heat, hoping to avoid elimination, while the San Antonio Spurs might be facing a little bit stronger competition from the Portland Trail Blazers than what we’ve seen so far.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Referees Sometimes Help Out
Some people don’t like to talk about officials, saying mistakes are part of the game. But the Oklahoma City Thunder, despite a huge night from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant finally showing up in the final minute, don’t win game 5 against the Los Angeles Clippers if it isn’t for some awful officiating all through the game and especially in the final moments, allowing them to walk away with an undeserved 105-104 win.
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Washington Wizards – Desperation Brings Out the Best
On the verge of elimination from the playoffs, the Washington Wizards brought out their best basketball to humiliate the Indiana Pacers on their own home court, making it a 2-3 series thanks to a 102-79 win that wasn’t even that close, beginning with the dominance of Marcin Gortat and backed up by John Wall Finally showing up when he’s needed the most.
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Thunder Over Clippers – Referees & Chris Paul Decide the Game
As impressive as it was to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder comeback from a definite loss in the final minutes of game 5, that ending was an equal embarrassment to the NBA’s referees and to the pressure handling skills of Chris Paul, completely falling apart when it mattered the most. The Thunder won 105-104 thanks to Russell Westbrook hitting 3 free throws he shouldn’t have gotten, taking a 3-2 lead in the series.