As game 6 approaches, in a series that has truly lived up to the hype, I wanted to pause and reflect on what we’ve witnessed thus far. From the moment it became official, you could feel NBA fans’ excitement, and that of those around the world. As a heavyweight battle was surely upon us, marking the arrival of a new era in the NBA. On one side, we have a 7’4 otherworldly player in Victor Wembanyama, a 22-year-old phenom like nothing we’ve seen before. things that someone his size shouldn’t be able to do. After a summer working on his post game with Hakeem, handles with Jamal Crawford, and spending 10 days with monks in Japan, he was primed to make a statement this season. And he did just that. The journey hasn’t been without its highs, lows, and comebacks, which is expected from both a young superstar and a supporting team running a starting lineup of players 22 and under in their first conference finals. They are led by coach Mitch Johnson, an emerging leader himself at just 39. To say they are ahead of schedule is an understatement. The team finished as the 2nd seed. With tenacious guard play from Vassell and Castle, plus star potential in Harper Jr and Cater Bryant, then mixing in veteran De’Aaron Fox—well, here we are.
On the other side, the defending champs, OKC Thunder, are led by the recently crowned MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Now, there is a lot to be said about Shai, some of which I’ll get to later, but at the end of the day, he is one of the best players in the league. Despite the OKC team, whose greatest attribute is its depth, not needing many late-game heroics throughout the season, when they did need them, he was the most clutch player in the league. Alongside Shai is Jalen William, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Jered McCain (ban Daryl Morey from the NBA forever for trading him for some bubblegum to OKC of all places), and the vet leadership of Alex Caruso, who by all accounts have been the mvp of this conference finals thus far, and well, you got a formable team that is proving to be very hard to beat, esp in 4 out of 7 times. They come at you in ways and are relentless, a well-constructed roster with a team that knows exactly who they are.
The series began dramatically with a double overtime game featuring an incredible performance from Wemby, setting the tone for subsequent games while complicating basketball discussions on social media. One appealing aspect of Twitter is watching live events with the community, which enhances the experience. While some prefer isolation, humans actually thrive in communal settings, discussing likes, dislikes, and current events.
However, the age of hot takes and lack of nuance can make social media engagement frustrating unless your timeline is well-curated. Flopping has become a hot topic. The reality is that no one is entirely unbiased; our rooting interests influence our perspectives. I’m not a fan of the Thunder—I find their playstyle unentertaining and frustrating. However, I try to assess games fairly, especially when my team isn’t involved.
Truth often lies in the middle. The Thunder seem to be officiated under different rules, receiving some questionable calls. Shai, despite his talent, tends to fall often while shooting, which can frustrate fans. Both his skill and this tendency can be true at the same time.
This playoffs, I’ve seen a bit more balance in how the Thunder are officiated. San Antonio brings a competitive edge against OKC, fueled by personal rivalries. Chet wants no parts of Wemby and Castle at times, when able to guard him, has made SGA look pedestrian. lol. Flopping is a league-wide issue, and if refs reward it, players will exploit it. Adam Silver believes officiating is satisfactory, so we shouldn’t expect changes. Thus, the challenge for fans is adapting to these dynamics. The Thunder’s players all seem to engage in flopping, which feels like an outlier compared to how most teams play. Typically, a star or player of two may do so and get what we call “superstar” calls. Still, it feels like it’s across the board with them, which makes for a less-than-enjoyable viewer experience, especially when you have a player like Dort on their team that has a compilation of dirty plays and always seems to be the one on the scene of the crime when opposing teams’ players get hurt. Still, you cannot take away from the team’s talent, and just as we humans are multidimensional with contradictory attributes, so too can be said of the NBA and, in this case, the Thunder.
So, here we are. This evening, we’re either headed for a game 7 of epic proportions, something most of us fans are rooting for, or an OKC/Knicks finals. The Knicks?!? Bruh. Happy for them, but more on them as the finals approach. In game 5, while depending on what side you’re on, you can argue that the Spurs had momentum late and came within striking distance before the refs had a series of no-calls, missed calls, and a blatant refusal to allow the Spurs to challenge, an obvious missed call, and how much that impacted the outcome of the game. I also want to note that people tend to cite free-throw numbers to disprove points, but sometimes, even when the FTs are tied in the end, the timing of calls and the momentum shifts that result matter. The number of fouls on a player has as much impact as any other and is part of the nuance, be it obtuse or not, that is missing in the convo. Even still, make no mistake, the Thunder won that game. The close to the 2nd and open to the 3rd were the deciders. Their depth and experience showed up, and ultimately, for a team already with very little margin of error, the youth jumped out for the spurs. They’ve been able to get into their sets, run pick-and-rolls, set double drag screens, and move the ball impeccably. In the playoffs, it’s always about the x-factors, which role player is going to step up, and for the Thunder, it has been Alex and I. Hart. For the Spurs, Wemby still has some work to do to cement himself among the greats in today’s game, which is to be expected for a young player. A big area being weight and post presence. It’s unreasonable to assume he’ll stay in the paint and get beat up all game, especially because the non-Wemby mins, which include Kornet (hater), have been brutal. So, having him have the energy towards the end of the game is vital, but starting and living in the perimeter gives OKC a decided advantage, even with how good his handle is. They have to find ways to run action from the elbow, where he may be most deadly outside of direct rim runs because of his vision, handle, and passing ability. And to be quite frank, the team at large just has to be better. They as a collective just weren’t good enough. So, what will tonight bring? Who knows, but we will be seated and ready. Here’s to an epic game, that is about the players on the court playing up to their best abilities, and us fans sitting on our couches ready to judge, boo, and cheer every minute of the way.
Go Sports!
Life as I come to know it 