The Oklahoma City Thunder, after getting destroyed in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, have hit their stride. Since then, they have taken over the series and now hold a 3-2 lead with the potential to close the game out in Game 6 on their home floor. With a win in Game 6 or 7, they would move on to face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. They went 0-3 against the Warriors in the regular season, but this can be deceiving due to the fact that the Thunder have played Golden State well in Oklahoma. The only matchup in Oklahoma in the season series went to overtime, and was won by a miracle 38 foot 3 pointer by Steph Curry. The two games in Golden State, the Warriors took care of by double digits.
Asking anyone to beat the Warriors 4 times in 7 games is going to be a tough task, but the Thunder look like they could do it. With the way Russell Westbrook has been playing in the playoffs and the emergence of Enes Kanter and Steven Adams dominating down low, the Thunder are no joke. They also have Dion Waiters, whose performance is a toss up, some games he plays well, other games he is useless. Despite that, he is shooting 41% from downtown in the playoffs. Thunder big man Serge Ibaka is still playing well, and has developed a 3 point shot which has been useful on drive and kicks. To top it off, the Thunder have some guy Kevin Durant, who is a pretty good player. But seriously, this team is good, and deeper than teams OKC has had in the past. With the Thunder’s two best stars playing at elite levels, they can compete with the best of the best.
The Warriors have Curry, but the Thunder have Westbrook. It would be amazing to see these two top of the line point guards go at it for 7 games, and no doubt Russell is going to try and out play Curry especially now that Curry won the MVP award. Kevin Durant also can take over games down the stretch, as he has against the Spurs. This series is going to be exciting, if it all happens. Fans can only hope that the Thunder get this win, because they have what it takes to beat the Warriors. Not to discredit the Spurs, but they have had a problem in the 4th quarter this series, and Golden State will tear them apart in the 4th if they do not fix this.
Honestly, it is tough to tell if the Thunder can hang with Golden State, so I will wait until I see a Game or two of it to decide. But until then, stay connected to NBALead.com for all your NBA related news and playoff updates. Let me know what you think, do the Spurs still have a shot at getting the the conference finals? Or will the Thunder get demolished by the Warriors?
