Spurs, Thunder authoring classic
The San Antonio Spurs were supposed to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and move onto the NBA’s Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
That might still happen, but it won’t be coming easily.
San Antonio only lost one home game in the regular season and looked invincible against the shorthanded and overwhelmed Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. The Spurs crushed Memphis and moved on to play Oklahoma City, a much tougher foe.
After blowing out the Thunder in Game 1, Oklahoma City summoned up the courage some doubted it had, winning at the AT&T Center to even the series. After two more games, these coming in Oklahoma, the series is tied at 2-2 with the issue very much in doubt.
For the purposes of history, this series could be a milestone. San Antonio has an aging group in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but it remains at the peak of its powers. The Spurs won 67 games in the regular season, breezing to the second-best record in the game. While that aforementioned trio is certainly on the downside of their respective careers, the tag-team of Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge is something to behold.
Leonard is one of the top five players in the game today on both ends of the court, while Aldridge has developed into an elite big man. This is their team now, and with head coach Gregg Popovich looking for his sixth title, this could be the signaling of another golden age for the Spurs.
Meanwhile, the Thunder are facing a much more dire situation. Oklahoma City is desperately trying to win a championship against all odds, with the knowledge that superstar Kevin Durant could very well leave in free agency this summer. Should Durant depart for his hometown Washington Wizards or another team with loads of cap space and attractive sidebars, the contending window for a team in the middle of nowhere will be slammed shut.
With Durant and Russell Westbrook at the controls, the Thunder have a real chance to win this series and perhaps give the Warriors all they can handle and then some in the conference finals. Oklahoma City matches up well with Golden State, or at least as well as a team can.
Ultimately, this is history clashing on both sides. San Antonio is trying to continue one of the best runs ever witnessed. Oklahoma City is in a race against time, trying to avoid wasting one of the most talented duos we have seen in decades.
This is what the playoffs are all about. Great teams and great players, going toe-to-toe in hopes of making a niche in basketball lore. In two or three more games, we will know who continues their story, and who fades into oblivion for the summer.
