It's that time of year again; birds chirping, flowers blooming, sun shining and the best NBA teams trying to finish their season off with a ring. Four to be exact, each one of them with a different story.
Miami Heat Lead by 4 time Regular Season MVP LeBron James, the Miami Heat have created what some would call a dynasty. With a title this year, the Heat would join the short list of teams that have "three-peated" in the modern era (1993 & 1998 Bulls and 2002 Lakers). The Heat finished the regular season with a respectable record of 56-28 and have gone 8-1 in the Playoffs before the Semifinals. The Heat will win The Finals if: James can continue to be the proficient scorer he has proven himself to be, and if they can get some W's to start the series. | Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers cruised through the atrocious Eastern Conference this regular season, finishing with an impressive record of 56-26. All-Star Shooting Forward Paul George leads the squad, averaging 21.5 points and 8.1 assists this post season. The Pacers had trouble early in the post-season this year, when it seemed as if the Monsters from "Space Jam" had stolen Roy Hibbert's talent after he recorded multiple games with 0 points and 0 assists. Hibbert's talent returned, and the Pacers got past the Wizards and Pacers. They have tied the series 1-1 with the Heat at home, and now are most likely forced to play at least game 3 with out Paul George, who acquired a concusion in Game 2, after taking a knee to the head by Wade. The Pacers can win the Finals if: George returns healthy in time to beat the Heat, and they play like they did in the regular season. | OKC Thunder Averaging 31.1 points and 9.5 boards per game this postseason, the Thunder can't dream of having a better leader that Kevin Durant. Durant has had a career year and was the clear choice for MVP. A now fully healthy Russell Westbrook is also a very important piece of OKC's offense, scoring 25.7 ppg these playoffs, and for helping keep pressure of of Durant. The Thunder had a tough playoff schedule this year, but were able to get W's against the Grizzles in the 1st Round and the Clippers in the Second. Losing Serge Ibaka to injury seems to have be devastating for the Thunder, and they have gone 0-2 in the series so far, losing by a combined 52 points to the Spurs. The Thunder will win the Finals if: Westbrook can be a good Robin to KD's Batman. Also, If Serge Ibaka can return for the Finals, and provide vital rebounds and blocks for the Thunder. | San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are silent assassins. After winning in seven games against the Mavs, the Spurs have been on a roll, ripping past Rip City (Blazers), and now going up 2-0 to a phenomenal Oklahoma City Thunder team. The Spurs run their offense kind like Stanford's Football Offense, it's not very exciting, but very affective. San Antonio runs a balanced offense, and in the regular season 5 players on the Spurs roster averaged over 10 points per game. The Spurs will win the Finals if: they can play their usual balanced offense, and finish the last games in the series off strong. |