I think the best team won. I think it goes back to the old saying “Offense fills the seats, but defense wins championships”.
I agree with this. I think the Thunder were outmanned in the paint on their defensive end. They packed the middle and dared Miami to beat them from the outside. Battier (as well as others) made the Thunder pay.
On the offensive side of the court for the Thunder, Miami never let them get an open shot. Miami’s defense was able to cover inside and outside.
I was trolling through these “OFF TOPIC” waters and noticed this thread was resurrected a week ago or so. I swear I didn’t do it. But since it is here, here are my thoughts on the OT (2015 version).
For the previous thirty years or so before the Thunder moved to OKC, I didn’t pay much attention to pro basketball during the regular season. I would start getting engaged during the playoffs. For me, the NBA playoffs were the beginning of the NBA season and the teams that didn’t make the playoffs didn’t exist.
Now that my Thunder are irrelevant, I need to pick a couple of teams to root for.
Golden State- For me, a very likable team. I like the coach, I like the players, I like the way they play. They also have the best record in the NBA and If I am not rooting for my own, I like to root for the underdogs. So, no.
San Antonio- Uhh, no.
Cleveland- Uhh, no.
Memphis- I may start out rooting for them. I have always kind of liked them and think they can grind out series victories as long as they have home court advantage.
Yikes, I just looked at Memphis’ last ten played and they are 5-5. This affair may be short lived. I still think they will take care of Portland. If and when Memphis does loose, I will have had a chance to scope out the field and find another bandwagon to jump on.
It’s been such a long time since the Dubs were worth watching and now in just the last few years they’ve finally turned it around. For so many years Oakland was just a way station for the first round picks we had and we never got lucky in the lottery. You’ve got to hand it to the front office for putting this team together and having the guts to let go of the winningest coach in years in favor of another untried person but they seem to be pushing the right buttons.
Yep, I could see myself pulling for the Warriors before this whole thing is over. They looked very good against NO.
If first games are any indication, the Warriors and Grizzlies should win their respective series. If so and looking at the bracket, I see they would play each other. Fun times.
I also looked at the Eastern Conference side of things to see who I would want to come out of that side. Nothing really jumps out at me. At one time Atlanta piqued my interest because Thabo Sefolosha(former Thunder) plays there, but he was involved in a beat down by the police and is out for the season. I may just root for the non-favorites to muck up that side of the bracket.
Was it Harden that said his team was better than the Warriors? Winning is often not how good you are at your best but how good you are when you’re not.
Go Warriors.
Sorry Rufusbduck, I probably just jinxed your team.