Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, completing an impressive feat of knocking off the last two NBA Champions in back-to-back playoff series. Now, after finishing their first two series with a 8-1 record, the Thunder head into the Western Conference Finals to face the San Antonio Spurs, who have won 18 straight.
The series against the Spurs will be nothing like what the Thunder faced in the first two rounds.
Forget about their NBA title win last season because this year's Dallas Mavericks were nowhere close to the team that dominated the NBA in 2010-11. They lost their big men, brought in some veterans, including Lamar Odom who never worked out, and seemed to get slower and older in the process. The only thing that kept Dallas going this year was Dirk Nowitzki.
From the preseason on, the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Mavericks and proved they were moving forward while the Mavs were falling behind.
Speaking of two teams heading in opposite directions, when the Thunder took on the Los Angeles Lakers, it was nothing like their battle from two years ago. The Thunder are now two years older, with a wiser team playing strong basketball. The Lakers are now two years older, and they are showing their age.
What hurt the Lakers in the series this year was that Kobe Bryant lost his supporting cast. His best friend on the team, Derek Fisher, is now working on winning his sixth ring with the Thunder. Lamar Odom is gone. Bryant's Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, is retired and Mike Brown came in and completely changed a team that was used to winning championships. Brown took a successful team and transformed them into underachievers.
Meanwhile, Scott Brooks and the Oklahoma City Thunder are rolling, a young and hungry team, ready to take their next step. After losing in the Western Conference Finals in 2012, that step in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are not going to be easy to beat, but I think the Thunder are up to the task.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.
Source: NBA.COM
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