The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: The Finals

I almost forgot that I had to "publish" this being caught up in anger over the Pacquiao-Bradley travesty, watching the Kings clench the Stanley Cup, and recovering from a bad case of Streptococcal pharyngitis. 

Recap

*NERD ALERT* The Matrix trilogy provided many themes. One of the themes that was most prominent in the first installment and most of Matrix Reloaded is Neo being the "chosen one," or "savior," or, "'The Systemic Anomaly.'"Another theme apparent in the first one before Neo realizing his is "The One" (nevermind that being all but squashed [somewhat] at the end of Reloaded and in Revolutions), is coming of age, a very common theme in stories. Neo began as being one with limitless potential while having absolute zero confidence. His potential manifests in the famous fight scene with Morpheus soon after Neo is unplugged even though Morpheus got the better of him. We saw him take it to the next level in the even more famous rooftop scene in which Neo dodges bullets fired from an Agent. Then, there was his arrival, or self-actualization, when he defeated Agent Smith in the final battle scene of Neo and Smith's first major battle.

Are the Thunder Self-Actualized?

OKC showed me something, something I knew they had in them, but wasn't sure if they were ready to demonstrate it. Their potential was demonstrated two years ago when they gave the champion Lakers (Morpheus in the first dojo battle) a true battle as an 8-seed. I knew they were going to run the West for years to come and I thought San Antonio was going to delay that by one year because of how they were playing for past two months. Then OKC figured out a way slow Parker down a little bit and took it to another gear, a gear San Antonio couldn't match. This is Neo overcoming Agent Smith in the first major battle; they prevailed even though it initially looked like they were not ready.

The "Evil" Miami Heat = Agent Smiths

I'll save my shame and utter disappointment in LeBron haters, especially those that are African-American,  for another post. Anyhow, I am glad the Heat were able to advance because they have been the best team in the East the last two years (be quiet Bulls' fans, they killed you last year and would have this year too) and deserved to be in the finals. Soon after 'Bron, D-Wade, and Bosh hooked up, I wrote On The Decision Part I and II. In there, I mentioned how we were overstating Bosh as this transcendent player. Rather, Bosh is a great player that is right below the elite threshold. He is basically the same player, production-wise, as Pau Gasol. You have to be a basketball idiot to believe that Bosh being injured was no big deal while still expecting the Heat to be flawless. If Bosh is healthy, they go through the East losing only a couple games. Since Bosh was injured, Indiana and Boston didn't have to worry about guarding any of their frontcourt players besides LeBron. They were able to disregard Joel Anthony, Haslem, and Turiaf in pick-and-roll situations, making it difficult on LeBron and D-Wade. Bosh being there now changes everything and it showed especially in game 7 against Boston.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION FINALS

(2) Miami v. (2) Oklahoma City (Home Court Advantage)

The final showdown [at least for this year] between
OKC (Neo) and Miami (Agent Smith).

Finally! I asked for this match up last year (if not my Lakers and Heat), but Dallas ruined that with their out of character run. Here we go. Sports fans tend to get caught up in superstars and ignore the essence of the totality of the game. It's not only about stars, it is about having stars at the foundation while having things like chemistry, coaching, leadership, unselfishness, sacrifice, and depth. These are the two most dangerous open court teams in the league. If either team forces a turnover, it's almost a guaranteed bucket for the opposing team. OKC made strides in their half court offense and took a huge leap against San Antonio. There was more player and ball movement, more than I have ever seen from them. LeBron is the best player in this series with Wade being 3rd best and Bosh being 4th. However, OKC is deeper. Depth should not be discounted. Miami has no depth which forces LeBron to play an absurd amount of minutes while doing things nobody else in the league, including the so-called one-dimensional best player in the league Durant, is asked to do, such as guarding 4 to 5 positions on defense while ball-handeling, setting up teammates and having to score at least 30 to give his team a chance. Being deeper and healthier, OKC can ask less of each individual player. Also, Bosh is probably around 70%-75% while Wade with his knee problem is at 80% at best (he had to get his knee drained during the Indiana series and Boston series). I've given up on Mike Miller. What's the point? I don't get why Spo won't give his minutes to Jones. OKC is deeper and healthier and playing the best they have ever played yet and they have home court. Either team winning or losing will not change my opinion of either team as I think they are very close. If OKC wins, I am not going to overreact by claiming Durant is the best player in the world because we only look at clutch one way (scoring in the last few seconds) while ignoring all of LeBron's clutch moments and say he isn't clutch when he doesn't execute in his most recent game (all players shoot worse during "the clutch"). Clutch plays come in the form of making stops, getting key rebounds, playmaking for teammates, etc., not just scoring the final shot. This will be the most exciting [non-Lakers] finals for me since Chicago-Seattle in 1996 with Jordan, Pippen, Payton, Rodman, Kemp, Detlef Schrempf, Hersey Hawkins, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, and Nate McMillan. I mean there were four members of the All-NBA Defensive Team in this series alone (Payton, Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman)! I'm excited for OKC and Miami. I'm thinking OKC in 7 as OKC is playing a team that could [possibly] take it to a gear comparable to their own. I'll be rooting for the Heat and LeBron, however...