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“NBA CONFERENCE FINALS”
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Two things to think about at this hour with the NBA-Eastern and Western Conference finals underway.
1-thought on the Oklahoma City-Minnesota matchup, and another thought on the Knicks-vs-Indiana series.
Two great matchups, each series with its own personality. A quick scouting report:
OKLAHOMA CITY-MINNESOTA….Can you say high octane track meet? Two teams who will be launching shots from long distances all night long. Shai Gilegous-Alexander is the likely NBA-MVP and he has been pouring home points all playoff long. But the Thunder are big and active too with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstien, who came from Chicago. Jalen Williams is so explosive, and when on, make a difference. Oddly another ex-Bull, Alex Caruso has been a catalyst to make things happen on offense, on defense, and in the tough guy sentiment and style. Only worries, how deep is the roster and the bench?
The Twolves have mauled people round by round. Anthony Edwards plays at warp speed, but the question will be, does he sacrifice offensive energy to play at the defensive end, and how many minutes can he play at this level? Minnesota has bigs who can score, whether it’s Julius Randle, Jayden McDaniel or others. And of course they have the standard bearer on defense, clogging things up and rebounding, Rudy Gobert. Unsung heroes to keep an eye on, Naz Reid and Dante DiVincenzo. A really deep and dynamic roster.
Smell the burning rubber-because I think that is the kind of series this will be. I will take OKC with all that firepower and athleticism.
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INDIANA-NY KNICKS…No one could ever have predicted this would happen. The Knicks getting to the Conference finals for the first time in 44-years. This team goes as far as Jalen Brunson carries them, but he is as explosive as anyone. They do shoot lots of threes, courtesy of OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. They really need big games from Mikhail Bridges and Karl Anthony Towns, who have a history of being hot-being cold. Depth could be a problem. They will need some quality play from the mixed bag of bigs Tom Thibodeau throws out there. Keep an eye on the refs and what they call-vs-what they let go. The Knicks play alot of clutch and grab-hands all over the place on defense.
If getting to the finals was a surprise for New York, probably the same can be said about the Pacers. They are fast, physical, relentless, angry and deep.
This rebuild of Pacers basketball started with the Pascal Siakam trade and the arrival of college star Tyrese Haliburnton. Add in fiesty center Myles Turner and a bench bunch led by TJ McConnell, and they have a ton of guys to run at the Knicks. Key guys off the bench, Obi Toppin and Andrew Nembhard, will be needed to stem the flow of Thunder players storming up and the floor.
And speaking of history, I close my eyes thinking of the Knicks and about this series, and I see Willis Reed dragging his leg in the playoffs; Patrick Ewing’s dominant play; and Spike Lee screaming and yelling at Reggie Miller back in the day.
This will be a really tough guy series of games.
And a closing comment, as we watch the Knicks-Pacers war, the 3-point shooting sprees we will see from the Thunder and Minnesota, please tell me how far away the Lakers and Clippers are from being like any of these teams in the NBA’s final four?
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