Western Conference Finals Preview

 (1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Oklahoma City Thunder

Many people seem to be jumping on the Spurs bandwagon and proclaiming them as the team to beat. The Spurs are without a doubt the most complete team in the NBA, they go 11 deep with quality players up and down their bench. With Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker they have a trio of players who have been their before and know what it takes to win a championship. Although the Spurs are thought of as an old team, Tony Parker is still only 29 and they get great contributions from 24 year old Danny Green, 20 year old Kawhi Leonard, and 27 year old Tiago Splitter. However, I am not completely sold on the Spurs. They did have the best record in the NBA during the regular season, but they had the best record in the Western Conference last year as well and lost in the first round to the Memphis Grizzlies. I also do not put much stock into regular season records, especially in this shortened season where teams had to play a lot of games in very few days. In these playoffs the Spurs are 8-0, but they have not beaten a real quality contender yet. The Utah Jazz are an upstart team that snuck into the playoffs on the last day of the season. They are not yet ready to seriously contend for a title and the Spurs dispatched of them easily. The Spurs then swept the Clippers in the second round. I think the Clippers are a quality team that, if completely healthy, would have given the Spurs more trouble. However Blake Griffin was battling a sprained knee, Chris Paul had hip and groin injuries, and Caron Butler a fractured wrist. Although the Spurs have played nearly flawless basketball and don’t seem to have any noticeable weaknesses, I do think the Thunder present them with some challenges. Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins are good enough defenders to potentially slow down Tim Duncan. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook present the Spurs with challenges on the defensive end and the Thunder can counter Manu Ginobili with James Harden off the bench. This will be an extremely tight series but it will come down to two things:  Russell Westbrook and the Spurs role players. If Russell Westbrook plays smart and is hitting that midrange jumper, the Thunder are very tough to beat. However, he also has the ability to shoot them out of games by continuing to take bad shots. It is very important for the Thunder that Westbrook plays well. For the Spurs, they need their role players to continue to knock down open shots. Danny Green, Gary Neal, Stephen Jackson, and Matt Bonner all shoot well from the outside and will get open looks. If they can continue to shoot the ball as well as they have this postseason, the Spurs will win this series. However, I am going against the popular opinion here and taking the Thunder.

My Prediction: Thunder in 7

Problem In Oklahoma City?

During the second half of the Oklahoma City vs. Memphis game Durant and Westbrook got in to what is being called a "verbal altercation" but is this a big deal? Is Westbrook really the problem?

During the game Westbrook shot 0-13 with four points and six assist. Westbrook has the skills to be a big time player in the NBA and has proven already he can play at a high level. If I'm the Oklahoma City Thunder and my second best player shoots 0-13 and takes some of the horrendous shots that Westbrook took, I want my leader, Durant, to get in his face. Kevin Durant, being the leader that he is, better say something to his teammate playing like that. This should, in all honesty, be a non-story. I would be more worried if Durant did not say anything to Westbrook.

But is there still a problem in Oklahoma City? Currently the Thunder are 3-0 and have looked impressive. There is no doubt that the Thunder will make the playoffs. Being a young team they are fit for this condensed scheduled. However, as all NBA fans know, it is all about the playoffs. Last year they were beat by Dallas 4-1. Many people blamed Westbrook for looking to shoot too much, especially down the stretch. Of those many people, I was not, and am not one of them. Westbrook comes down the court almost every single possession and sees a physical miss-match. Westbrook can get to the rim as well as anyone in the NBA and, if I'm OKC, I want Westbrook taking a good amount of shots. The shot selection needs to be improved, but I want him taking a large number of shots. Right below the number Durant takes.

So what is the problem? They do not have any great passers. Last year Westbrook averaged 8.2 assist, 9th in the NBA. That is not bad, however, their next leader was Durant at 2.7. This is where the problem is. (No, it's not Durant) It is the fact they need more passers. To compare let's look at the Sacramento Kings in 2001-2002. This Kings team lost in the Western Conference finals to the Lakers 4-3. Mike Bibby was their point guard and he only averaged 5.0 assist per game. Bibby was not in the least bit a "pass first point guard." The difference being
they had great passing big men. They had Chris Webber (4.8 assist per game) and Vlade Divac (3.7 assist per game.) What is really the problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder is not having big men that are both willing and talented enough to make an impact with their passing.