We're coming down to the last stretch of the season. As of this writing, there are four Piers remaining and after tonight Piers 1-12 will be occupied. There's a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final round that will determine who advances to face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. We'll get to the East later, today is about the Western Conference.
These two series went exactly the way I predicted, the Clippers got swept by the Spurs and the Lakers were on the receiving end of the gentleman's sweep by the Thunder. The Clippers were simply overmatched in every possible way. The Spurs are on a roll, having won 18 straight games and are 46-7 since January 29th. They will have their hands full, finally, when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. OKC won in five games, but the series could have swung in the opposite direction. But it didn't, so get over it, Laker fan. The Thunder seized the critical moments and were too much for the old legs of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The West has gone the way it's supposed to go, with the number 1 seed facing the number 2 seed to determine who goes on to the NBA Finals. Here is the Western Conference Finals matchup (series breakdown in parenthesis):
1 San Antonio Spurs (SAS won 2-1)
2 Oklahoma City Thunder
It is quite possible that the Spurs made a decision as a team to never lose another game again. It's also possible that they have simply forgotten how to lose. I anticipate that they'll receive a reminder in this round. However, the Thunder will be faced with a new problem they didn't have in their regular season meetings with the Spurs: Manu Ginobili. Ginobili missed all three regular season meetings. Having him square off against James Harden might be like looking in a mirror in terms of their styles of play. Tony Parker versus Russell Westbrook is going to be a great showdown between two of the best players at the point guard position in the NBA. Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka will try to neutralize the front line of Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard. Top to bottom, this is going to be an exciting matchup against two of the top four teams in the NBA.
In the end, I'm picking the San Antonio Spurs to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Their veteran savvy is going to tip the scales in their favor, ever so slightly. It won't be easy, but look for the Spurs to win in 6.
Viva Los Spurs.
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