2026 NBA Finals: New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs

Knicks-Spurs kick it off tonight in the 2025-2026 NBA Finals.  It's hard not to be as excited as everyone else about San Antonio and Wemby but the Knicks are good.  Really good.  Led by Jalen Brunson, they are a deep team with multiple players who can shoot and score.  This includes one of the best shooting big men ever, if not the best, in Karl-Anthony Towns.  His play around the 3-point line could make for an interesting matchup for Wemby who likes to sag a lot and can do so against traditional bigs.  But Wemby and the Spurs seem to have an energy right now that might be hard to stop.  And New York doesn't have the defense OKC did. San Antonio needs the ball in De'Aaron Fox' hand to keep down turnovers and to be that calming presence.  Wemby will be flying everywhere on defense which makes it tough for shooters and anyone close to the lane alike.  I like San Antonio in this series.  The Spurs can be streaky though and the Knicks have plenty of scorers so I think it will be close and I expect 6 games.

I did enjoy looking back on the 1999 NBA Finals where Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the Spurs over the New York team with Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Marcus Camby and Larry Johnson in 5 games.  While we knew that Spurs team was good and that Duncan was special, did we really know it would lead to 5 San Antonio Spurs Championships?  I've always been a closet Spurs fan dating back to George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, and Johnny Moore in the early 80s, so I definitely have a rooting interest in this series.
 

Oklahoma City Thunder Win the 2024-2025 NBA Championship

 24-25 NBA Finals:  Congratulations to Thunder.  They deserved this championship, and I love how they did it with a combination of defense and young talent.  Shai was dominant averaging 30 points per game but had lots of help from Jalen Williams (23 ppg) and Chet Holmgren with his defense.  We got a seven-game series, great moments and some really good games.  There were some blowouts as well but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy the playoff's Cinderella, Indiana, making us believe they could win this series.  OKC is a very young team outside of 30-year-olds Alex Carusso and Kenrich Williams.  They are setup for a long successful run.  I won't put money on more championships, because as we've seen parity is the name of the game in the NBA right now.

2025 NBA Finals: Indiana Pacers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

We get Pacers - Thunder in the NBA Finals.  While I'm sure ABC execs are not excited about having two small market teams in the Finals, I am.  We get two great teams and great players in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton.  OKC was the class of the league the entire season.  Their defense and the play of MVP SGA were overwhelming for teams.  While Denver took them to seven games, the Thunder only took nine games to dismiss the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.  The Pacers were 20-9 after the All-Star break and took out the Cavs, Bucks and Knicks in the playoffs.  They shouldn't be overlooked, and Tyrese Haliburton is the real deal having some amazing games in the playoffs.  I do think OKC wins this series.  Maybe 4-2.  I understand it could even be 4-1 but I have more confidence in Indiana.

Who am I rooting for?  Indiana.  This only their second NBA Finals and they've never won an NBA championship.  OKC has won a championship as the SuperSonics in the '78-79 season.  I also think their window for competing for a championship is longer than the Pacers.  No matter who wins I think it is a win for fans.  These small market teams built their teams through good front office moves in the draft, free agency and the trade market.  There are lots of fun players outside of the stars.  They are both deep.  We should celebrate these teams.  We are getting some "old school" basketball in the playoffs, so it'll be interesting to see how much they let them play.  Enjoy!

Boston Celtics Win the 2023-2024 NBA Championship

The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks four games to one to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals.  The series played out like it probably should have.  We all wanted seven games or at a minimum some close games but it wasn't to be.  The Celtics won two games by seven points but the three other games were blowouts.  Boston was the better team hands down.  Too much talent and really good defense that came from multiple players.  Luka and Kyrie had good stretches in games but overall they didn't seem comfortable.  Neither could hit a three either.  Tatum and Brown couldn't either but the rest of the Celtics picked up the slack.  Jaylen Brown was MVP but I could make an argument for Jrue Holiday.  No complaints from me though.  Brown guarded Doncic a lot and he did a good job.  I had no dog in this fight but I've always been an Al Horford fan so it was fun seeing him be so happy at age 37.  Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, Porzingis and head coach Joe Mazzulla all deserved this too.  Boston was great all season, great in the playoffs and great in the NBA Finals.  Congratulations Boston Celtics.

2023-2024 NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics

 2024 NBA Finals: The Finals start tonight as Dallas and Boston go at it.  Noone is surprised Boston is here.  The Boston-Indy series was closer than the sweep looks but still the Pacers were way overmatched.  But again, this was to be expected.  The Celtics are the best team in the East.  A healthy Milwaukee or New York would have been a fun Eastern Conference Finals but it wasn't to be.  Dallas surprised me by tearing through the darling Timberwolves.  And it was all about Luka and Kyrie.  They were great offensively and had zero respect for the Minnesota defense which looked great against Phoenix and Denver.  Dallas was also the hottest team coming into the playoffs.

I like Boston in The Finals.  I get Luka and Kyrie are playing out of their mind.  The Celtics just have too much talent.  That said they can lose this.  Is Porzingis healthy?  Can Al Horford keep up the hot shooting from three?  This will be key to stopping the Maverick bigs from clogging the lane.  The Celtics also have guys who can play defense on almost anyone in the Dallas lineup in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.  That said, Dallas is surging.  Boston will have to play defense and they shoot a lot of threes.  If they go cold the Mavs could easily win this series.  I'm going with Boston in six games and expect close games but I'm not putting money on it.  Let's hope for seven games and plenty of fun games.

Denver Nuggets Win the 2022-2023 NBA Championship

 Your 2022-2023 NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets!  Denver wins their first championship, winning the NBA Finals 4-1 and it was appropriate.  The Nuggets are a great team and have one of the best players on the planet in The Joker.  Loved seeing the celebration afterwards and I don't think anyone left the arena until way after the post-game presentations were over.  Looking over stats it's easy to say they were close and that Denver may not have "dominated" but in the end they were the better team and it showed on the court.  Miami played tough but in the end even Jimmy Butler couldn't will them to a series victory.  Denver played good defense overall and they had Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.  Jokic was amazing putting up stats in this playoff run and Finals that haven't been seen before.  30/14/7 in the NBA Finals as a center while shooting 58/42/83%.  Amazing.  Murray played great averaging 10 assists a game next to the 21 per game he poured in.  Congratulations to Denver and their fans.  Getting that first championship must be the best feeling a sports fan can have.  The Heat should be congratulated as well for a great run.  Too bad it's over.  It's been fun.

NBA Finals: Celtics @ Warriors

The NBA Finals start today so I'll show of some Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum cards I've recently pulled and give you my thoughts on the series.  Golden State is so good this year.  They got Klay back, Jordan Poole became a great third option, Andrew Wiggins has come up good in the playoffs and they are for the most part healthy.  Their offense is so fun to watch and will be hard to beat.

Love these Slam inserts.  Tatum and the Celts found their groove later in the season.  This team is built on defense and defense travels.  Will it be enough to stop the Warriors?  Miami isn't an offensive juggernaut so it's hard to compare the matchups.  Boston does have a really good offense and Golden State isn't exactly the best defensive team in the league.  Picking up Derrick White in season was a great move as well giving them depth.  This team won't roll over.

That second Tatum is a holiday parallel from a blaster.  Wish Panini had gone a bit heavier with the snowflakes.  This really should be a great matchup.  An excellent defensive team versus a great offense.  Seems like a fun series.

Still, someone has to win and I have to think Golden State has the edge.  The Warriors aren't unbeatable but I'm not sold that a defense, even as good and the Celtics', can stop them.

I'm going with Golden State in six.  Maybe we'll get a seven game series but that seems like a lot to ask for.

Steph Curry and Al Horford are two of my favorite players in the league so it'll be tough to watch but consistently this playoff run I've found myself rooting for the Warriors.  No matter who wins they'll deserve it.  Both are great teams and this should be a good series.
 

Bucks win NBA Title!

 

The Milwaukee Bucks came back from a 2-0 deficit to win the NBA Championship 4-2.  I was rooting for the Bucks which makes this all the more fun for me.  The Bucks had to wait 50 years between championships.  That's a crazy long time for any fan base.  That said Phoenix goes home having still never won it all.  I do feel for them.  They have great fans and such good players who were equally deserved.  

But Giannis wasn't going to be denied.  This was definitely a team effort but enough can't be said about what he did in the series.  He was incredible.  If he doesn't go 17-19 at the free throw line in game 6 that game has a completely different feel, and maybe outcome.  I'm happy for him, Middleton, Lopez and all the Bucks.  When Giannis signed long term with Milwaukee it was a win for small market teams and it was hard not root for these guys.  Fun series to watch.

Fun post series note: Devin Booker, Kris Middleton and Jrue Holiday flew together to Japan to join Team USA.  I know there was probably some awkwardness to it but I hope in the moment of just them they could all enjoy themselves.  

Cleveland Cavaliers Win the NBA Championship!

Huge Kyrie Irving 3-pointer over Stephen Curry with under a minute to play and the score tied.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James have brought the city a championship for the first time in 50+ years.  And it was well deserved.  After going down 3-1 they became the only team ever to come back from that deficit and they won the 2016 NBA Finals.  LeBron garnered the series MVP as he led all players in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per game.  And for all his shooting woes he ended up shooting 37% from beyond the arc in the series.  Wow.  Truly historic series for him and Cleveland. Kyrie Irving was a huge part of Clevleand's championship scoring 27 points per game on 47% shooting to include shooting 40% from beyond the arc.  He also added over two steals a game.  Only two other Cavs scored in double digits both averaging 10 points a game (J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson).  Thompson also had a great series averaging a double double.  But James and Irving were the stars who carried Cleveland to this win.  They were excellent considering everyone knew they were Cleveland's offense with the rest of the team struggling to hit shots.  This was still a team game and their Cav's defense can't be overlooked.  It would be one thing to play Golden State tough for one or even two games but to see them do it in multiple games during the series was pretty surprising. 

Klay Thompson (43% on 2's/35% on 3's) and Stephen Curry (40% on both 2's and 3's) struggled to find their shooting stroke under the pressure.   While Curry's 40% from the arc is great for almost any other player it just didn't cut it for the league MVP against a good Cleveland team.  He looked lost out there at times and was posterized by James a couple of times in the series.  He also had a key turnover in the last few moments of game 7.  Despite being suspended for one game Draymond Green was the star of this team leading them in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game.  You couldn't ask for much more from him.  The loss of Andrew Bogut was bigger than many might think in my opinion.  For his limited minutes he still averaged 2 blocks per game (one every 6 minutes) and at least gave them a hint of rim protection.  I thought James and Cleveland were able to use that to their advantage once he was out.  Tough way to end a season in which Golden State could have rightfully put themselves in the "greatest team ever" discussion with their second championship after their record run in the regular season.  Just wasn't to be.

 

I definitely found myself rooting for Cleveland.  No fan base should have to wait so long to celebrate a championship.  LeBron also deserved it.  He left Cleveland in what was a business decision and it worked out for him as he scored two rings.  Then he came home and lived up to the hype with back to back Finals trips and now another ring, his third in six trips to the championship series.  There are many great stories with this team and I'm happy for all the players.  While you would like to think this team will be to more Finals you just don't know.  Fate can be fickle.  Ask Golden State.  Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers! 

Golden State and Cleveland Tied at 2-2 in the NBA Finals

Golden State tied up the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers two games apiece.  This has been a great Finals.  The surprise that has been Cleveland is at the heart of the it.  Their defense has put them in a position to where they could win this against a heavily favored Golden State Warriors team.  LeBron James is carrying a team that no one, and I mean no one would think could hang with Golden State.  Sure with Kyrie Irving they could compete but without him, and Kevin Love, and Anderson Varejao are you kidding me?  Crazy.  Still I think Golden State is the better team and much deeper.  They can throw 10 guys at you while Cleveland has to count on J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to play heavy minutes.  Those two haven't shown yet they can make those minutes consistently be quality minutes.  I think the Warriors have the right idea in going small.  I still think this can go seven games just because Cleveland has LeBron but don't be surprised if it ends in six.  I'll be happy for either team that wins but find myself rooting James and the city of Cleveland.  Hopefully we get more good games which is all we can ask for. 

San Antonio Spurs Dominate in Route to 5th Championship

This was not the NBA Finals I was expecting.  It was the one I had hoped for but I did not expect what I saw.  Watching San Antonio lose a heart breaking series last year I dreamed of a rematch in which the Spurs take out the Heat.  While his comments scared me, I wanted Tim Duncan and the Spurs to say "We want the Heat".  I would want nothing less.   They should be pissed they lost last year and should want to take out the "last year of having to live with it" on Miami. 

Other than game two this was a total domination by the Spurs.  And game two was very winnable had it not been for four straight missed free throws in the fourth quarter and iffy defense by Duncan on Chris Bosh in the last 30 seconds of the game.  All the talk has been about the Spurs' dominating play, the coaching, the passing and the play by Spurs players not named Duncan, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobili.  But none of it was overstated.  San Antonio was all over the place on defense never letting LeBron or other Heat players get comfortable on offense.  The Spurs' offense was either running and gunning or constantly in motion.  Miami could never keep up on defense.  San Antonio seemed to have found the fountain of youth while Miami looked like a team who just couldn't stay with them.  Coach Gregg Popovich seemed to know what to do each game and when to do it.  Whether it was moving Tiago Splitter to the bench for the last three games or lighting a fire under Kawhi Leonard he didn't seem to make a mistake.  And the "non big three" players all did their part.  Even Patty Mills was a starred during game five. 

Miami for it's part looked lost and beaten down.  Wade isn't the star he once was and Bosh wasn't a banger but a spot up three pointer guy.  Heck Chris Anderson had more rebounds than Bosh.  It wasn't pretty.  No matter how bad it got Erik Spoelstra never had an answer.  His tinkering didn't work.  I think it was two things.  The talent around LeBron wasn't there and they didn't adjust when the Spurs' suffocating defense took away what had worked for them all year.  San Antonio was just too good to allow the Heat to win on pure talent like they could against everyone else in the NBA.   

Again San Antonio dominated.  It wasn't even close.  Look at the series box score.  You thought when Miami went up 16 early in game five that the Spurs would have to claw their way back.  It wasn't even close.  They blew Miami away the rest of the game when Miami should have been able to steal a game.  I should have wanted a close series but every now and then you have to love a good ole butt whooping.  Especially when the story behind it is revenge.  And there are many stories besides just the fact they lost to Miami last year.  The Spurs are a team that has many angles to it.  A nice story at Grantland talks about this team.  They dominated in the regular season and sans an unexplainable hiccup against the Mavericks in the first series of the playoffs they were just as dominating in the post season.  They may not be one of the top five teams of all-time but I think they have made the top ten.  Even if they aren't I'd love to see them face off against any of those lineups.  San Antonio was fun to watch.  The Grantland article talks about it.  Commissioner Adam Silver said while presenting the trophy to the winning Spurs how San Antonio showed the world how beautiful basketball is (I'm paraphrasing).  But it was so true.  Their style is exciting and selfless.  The stats from this year's team are mind blowing.  No player average over 29 minutes per game or over 16 points per game while winning 62 games.  That just doesn't seem to add up but that is what makes this team so great.  Ok, I'm done gushing now but I loved watching this series.  It was fun to see the good guys win and see them enjoy a well deserved championship.  I hope I can be back here next year talking about their greatness again.  No matter what they do next year this team is one I won't soon forget. 

NBA Changes Finals Format

The NBA changed the Finals format for a 2-3-2 format to 2-2-1-1-1 this week.  Bill Simmons did a pretty good job of looking at the issues with the 2-3-2 format back in June.  I, for one, have always liked the 2-3-2 for the reason most don't.  It gives an edge, I'd say helps even the home court edge.  I think having the first two games at home is a huge advantage. 

The team that has home court is the better team (record wise) so they should have it.  And if they are the better team then they should win the first two games thus making those three away not near as scary.  Yes that is easier said than done but a championship team should be able to win on the road.  If you are in The Finals then it shouldn't matter.  Simmons' article paints a somewhat different picture but if you can't win wherever the game is maybe you shouldn't be the champs.  This isn't like baseball where a player from your roster can just be dumped from your starting lineup ala American League teams travelling to National League ballparks.  I do understand the other side but I think the teams that complain are those that can't win the championship. 

My NBA viewing started in the late 70's and I can't say this was an issue with me back in the day.  I'll be curious to see how I feel after a Finals or two in the new format.  Definitely not something that'll turn me off from watching but enough that I had to put something down on here.   

Miami Heat Win NBA Title #2 in the LeBron James Era

The Miami Heat win their third NBA title with a game seven win over the San Antonio Spurs.  LeBron had his best game of the series and cemented his title as King James despite a "lackluster" series in which he averaged 25.3 points, 10.9 boards, seven assists, 2.3 steals and almost a block a game and "only" shot 44% (35% on threes).  While his performance could be picked apart for the first five and a half games, the last quarter of game six and game seven he was on and carried this team to a championship.

Game 7:  To me this game came down to depth and LeBron and Wade stepping up.  Combine an effective three point shooter, in this case Battier, with those two having good games and they are tough to beat (i.e. the regular season).  Chalmers didn't have a great game but added a 30 foot three point shot to close out the third quarter.  To me that really hurt after Manu had gotten the Spurs up by two with 5 second left in the quarter.  I thought having Parker on the bench at the end of the game and Ginobili's really quick/forced three point shot with 28 seconds left doomed the Spurs. 

I think this was a great series even though some of the games weren't close.  Spurs fans will always replay the  "what if" scenarios in their mind as will the players.  The fact they didn't win shouldn't be a detractor from what Duncan, Pop and the rest of the Spurs have done for what seems like forever.  Should they have won it?  Probably.  But I think most people believe Miami was the better team going in and San Antonio was the sexy pick.  It just wasn't to be.  It was either LeBron or Spoelstra who said it takes a little luck to win games like game six and it went their way.

What I did enjoy seeing after game seven was the respect the players and coaches all showed each other.  The series was notable for the lack of trash talking, chest thumping,  and players getting into other player's faces.  I liked that.  It carried over after the series as you saw Pop taking time to actually say something and embrace the Heat before leaving the floor (and he did it with a smile on his face).  The Heat gushed over the Spurs as a team every time they spoke.  Again it was very refreshing to see two teams who were professional to a player just go out and play very hard with the intent to win and not to show anyone up or play the fool.  Good job.     

Like many I was really rooting for the Spurs.  Luckily I'm not a die hard Spurs fan because this series was so hard to watch and I know those fans are hurting.  "The agony of defeat..." probably puts it most apt...

Random series related links...
Yaj - Game 7 Recap

Interview with LeBron After the Game Seven Win

Spurs Thoughts on Game 7 Loss

48 Minutes of Hell Look at the Spurs Loss of the NBA Finals

Random gripe:  I get why teams will roll the ball up court to preserve time on the clock.  It annoys me when teams do it as much as Miami did in this series.  They did it early in the game when there was no reason to.  They didn't know if they needed extra time on the clock.  In some games they did it when they were winning.  Were they preserving time for Spurs?  Just a little thing that annoyed me.   

One of the great things about this series is I was able to watch the last three games with my sisters and their families to include by brother-in-law Curtis who got me hooked on the NBA in the late 70's with a game called Statis Pro Basketball.  We played a gazillion of those games and watched many a game together which was a blast.  Doing so again this last week was awesome and a great memory I'll always have of this series.   

Next is free agency, the draft, and hope that our teams will be challenging for a championship next year.  Or in the case of Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazer fans that each at least made the playoffs...

NBA Finals

I'm on the road and haven't been able to put much here and to tell you the truth Yaj does a much better job of analyzing the games and the series.  I'm putting my thoughts there.  I suggest everyone go to his blog to see what he has to say about the series.  The link is below.  You won't be disappointed.

Yaj's Blog

NBA Finals 2-3-2 Format

The 2-3-2 format comes under fire each year when the NBA Finals are played.  Two games are played at the home of the team with the best record, then three games at the opponents home arena and the final two games are again at the home of the team with the best record.  This is done to cut down on travel between the Eastern and Western Conference champions who square off against each other in the NBA Finals.  Many think it gives an advantage to the team that has three in a row.  I don't agree. 

I like it.  The format used for earlier rounds of the NBA playoffs is 2-2-1-1-1.  Again the team with the best record has the first two games at home.  The pressure is still on them to win the first two games or they lose home court advantage.  No different than in the Finals.  Yes they would then be on the road for three games but any team who has reached the Finals has probably proven they can win on the road.  Sure the competition is stiffer now but if you can't win on the road you'd better get off the porch as the old saying says. 

I also believe it benefits both teams by cutting down on travel.  In the previous rounds both teams must travel up to four times per round which cuts down on any rest teams may hope to get.  With the NBA playoffs taking what seems like an additional four months to play rest is a good thing for players in the Finals who could be playing anywhere from 16 to 28 games after the regular season ends.

This isn't the most passionate subject I'll ever write on.  I do think there is no reason to tinker with it.  Let the teams get some extra rest.  If you are the better team, by record, then man up and win the first two games and then go win on the road.  Maybe not as dramatic as an underdog winning game six at home to force a game seven on the road to win it all but I don't think there is a good enough argument to change things around.  But I'm always open to hear folks arguments...

NBA Finals: Spurs vs Heat

First, I think Miami wins this series.  I also think it will go seven games.  I also think it will be a great series.  Considering my history of picking this bodes well for the Spurs.  And I will be rooting for the Spurs every bit of the way.  I'm not what I would consider a fan of the Spurs but I loved the old George Gervin, Artis Gilmore days and was a fan of many of their players over the years (Alvin Robertson, David Robinson, Sean Elliott, and others).  So I've followed them for some time and my pal Yaj is a huge fan so Spurs discussions are not hard to come by.  See Yaj's coverage of the Spurs this postseason here. 

I won't go too in depth here because, one, I'm not that smart and I really just want to throw out how I feel about the match ups.  For me this begins and ends with LeBron James.  Guarding him will fall to Kawhi Leonard.  He is a good defender but James is just short of Superman.  Good luck Kawhi.  Of course he will get help and I know Gregg Poppovich is gearing his defense to maybe not Stop LeBron but to limit the damage he does.  Make him take tougher shots, no easy drives to the basket, etc, etc.  Same think every other team has tried to do with varying success.  You just have to know he will get his 25 points, 7 boards and 6 assists.  What you don't want him to do is take over games where he elevates the Heat on his shoulder and his teammates all look the Robin to his Batman.  I think making his teammates better is his best attribute.  Bottom line:  make things tough on him while not allowing the Heat players to get into any type of rhythm.  On the other side Leonard is having a good playoffs and I hope the stress of guarding James doesn't hurt his overall play. 

Dwyane Wade must play better.  He doesn't have to score 20 a night but he must at least hit layups and those close to the basket shots he hasn't been able to hit consistently in these playoffs.  The good news is Manu Ginobli is also playing poorly so his job on defense may not be so tough.  Danny Green needs to continue his good play if Manu can't find his game.  Chris Bosh just has to show up, rebound and play a little D.  He was so outclassed by Roy Hibbert.  In this series he just can't put up any four point four rebound efforts or the Heat are in trouble and Tiago Splitter is an opponent he should be able to get his stats against.  Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole get to guard Tony Parker.  Parker is probably the hottest player coming into the Finals.  Can they keep up with him and play defense that will make him actually work?  I think they have as good a chance as any but those aren't the best odds.  Tim Duncan has the edge against any power forward (probably Udonis Haslem) Miami can put up against him.  He is running the floor great and I'm hoping he still has some water from the fountain of youth around.  How can you not like Gregg Poppovich over Eric Spolstra?  Poppovich will truly be the master if he can help San Antonio pull out a win in this series. 

I think Miami is the better team.  Much of that is because of LeBron James.  Indiana proved the Heat are flawed and can be beaten.  But they were a different type team.  I can't wait to see how this series plays out.  There will be those players who come out of nowhere and have great games and some of the stars who have bad nights.  That is normal.  It will be all the little stories inside the games that will make this special.  I am excited and can't wait. 

LeBron James and the Miami Heat Win NBA Title

The Miami Heat won their second NBA title four games to one over the Oklahoma City Thunder.  After losing game one they returned to attacking the rim and their outside shooters hit shots and the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn't answer.  While I thought Miami would win I expected a longer series.  Still, with the exception of game 4, all the games were close.  LeBron James had an outstanding series averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.  As a team the Heat hit 42 of 98 three point shots.  Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did their part very well but my other hero for Miami is Shane Battier who was the role player who stepped up with a great series.  He only averaged 11 points per game but hit 15 of 26 from beyond the arc.  He was the beneficiary of many passes when the defense collapsed on driving Heat players.  This was something the Thunder had no answer for. 

Oklahoma City played well and most had them winning the series after taking game 1.  Their biggest issue was the disappearance of James Harden.  He averaged 12 points in the Finals but they weren't timely and his diminished contribution couldn't be made up.  Much was also said about Russell Westbrook taking too many shots at times but I think the Thunder's win-loss record during the regular season when he shot more than Durant was excellent.  I think they were 26 and 3.   He may not be a true point guard but he still played well and almost willed his team to victory in game 4 with 43 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.  Kevin Durant hit an outstanding 54% of his field goals while leading the Thunder with 30 points per game.  Still they weren't the better team but this Final's experience could help them in the future.  They have a great core and I think most folks wouldn't be surprised if they made a return trip or two to the Finals. 

No matter what you want to concentrate on this was LeBron's series.  LeBron haters will still hate him but no matter.  He is a great player whom we'll speak of among the all-time greats when he retires.  He now has a championship to add to his resume.  Whether or not it is his last does not matter.  He is a great player and I'm glad he has a championship.  After handling what I feel was undue criticism for "the decision" and, as he admitted himself, handled the Finals loss last year to Dallas poorly, he made all the right changes this year.  He had another great year as he led what is now his team through each challenge and when it mattered most he didn't disappoint.  Good on him and the Heat. 

NBA Finals - Heat vs Thunder

Could you ask for more?  I think not.  Both of these teams are great and together feature some of the, if not the, league's biggest stars.  I love this matchup and like so many other folks think the LeBron vs Durant matchup takes center stage.  There is a good chance they won't "D" up on each other the majority of the time but it is still the star vs star aspect that has me excited.  I think LeBron is the best player in the game and one of those special players that will be talked about forever.  In Durant we have a player whose ceiling seems to be unlimited at the age of 23.  I'm not saying this is a bad series if these two don't take center stage but I would be surprised if that isn't how it turns out.

There are other players to include Wade, Harden, Bosh and Westbrook.  They will keep things interesting when James and Durant are taking a break from hogging the camera.  I give the edge to Miami in this series.  I think that while their role and bench players are weaker than that of the Thunder the big three will help carry Miami to a title.  I'm thinking six games.  I can't see Oklahoma City wilting at this point.  They just kicked San Antonio in the teeth after going down two games to love so who knows we may even see seven games.  No matter who wins it all I only want good games that give us plenty to talk about around the water cooler the next morning.