Steven Mercado
By Steven Mercado
The San Antonio Spurs are moving on to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive season.
I know, it is a bit premature, but do you actually think the Blazers have a shot of doing the unthinkable — come back from a 3-0 series deficit and advance to the next round? Portland forward Nicolas Batum does, and he might be the only one.
“Why not us? It’s never been done before,” Batum said after Monday night’s win. “We know it’s going to be tough, especially against this team. We’ll just take one game at a time. Go down there to San Antonio for Game 5 and be focused on that game and try to move on.”
Sorry Nick, but this series is over. The team that ended the first round in the loudest fashion will be quietly exiting the second round, snuffed by the championship-bound Spurs.
The reason is simple: you cannot consistently stop a team as well-rounded and dominant as San Antonio. Tony Parker does not have to carry the team because this team is 10 deep, with seven players averaging at least 20 minutes a game.
It’s a shame, too. After Damien Lillard hit that amazing game-winning shot to win Game 6 and the series against the Houston Rockets (who many expected to go deep into the playoffs this year), you almost want to root for them. But when the Blazers folded in Game 1 and were blown out in three straight games, people forgot about Rip City and any chances they had at success this postseason.
The only team that can challenge the Spurs is the Miami Heat. We all remember what the Heat did to the Spurs last year. The bitter taste from falling to Miami in the seven-game NBA Finals series last season remains in San Antonio’s mouth and it is not settling for anything less than a championship.
This season, the Spurs will win the championship they let slip out of their hands last year.
When they advance to the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers or the Thunder will not pose much of a threat to the Spurs. Los Angeles lacks the ability to perform under pressure in big games, as they proved last night in their major choke job against OKC, and their bench is average at best aside from Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford.
Oklahoma City can only go so far with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook carrying the team. If one of them doesn’t score 30 points, the team is in danger of losing. After losing Kevin Martin last year, the Thunder have no help off the bench. During the regular season, that help came from Jeremy Lamb, but head coach Scott Brooks decided to make Caron Butler their new sixth man just for the playoffs. That was not a smart move and it will cost them dearly in the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs.
After San Antonio does away with OKC, the Spurs will be ready for redemption. They were ready since the playoffs started and they picked the right year for it. Miami had the NBA’s best record at 66-16 last season and this season, they were tied with Portland and Houston for the fifth best record in the NBA at 54-28.
The Spurs topped their record from last year, jumping from 58-24 to 62-20. People expected them to slow down because of their age. If anything, they upped their level of play.
San Antonio is always the team to surprise people and catch them off-guard. Expect it to do the same this postseason.
If you like what you read, follow me on Twitter: @stevenmercado9
Mercado will appear on next week’s “The Mid Valley Sports Show”
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