I Thought..

I Thought.. | Sportales

a guest post from a friend, fellow NBA Fan and fellow Iskolar ng Bayan, Stu Saldajeno He is also an administrator of Kasali ang School Ko sa NCAA or UAAP (My School is a Member of the NCAA or UAAP) page on Facebook (http://facebook.com/ncaauaap), a page for students of Philippine schools participating in the Philippine NCAA and te UAAP. This is the first time I rewrite someone’s article as a guest post in my blog. Follow him on BlogSpot (http://therealsuperstu.blogspot.com/) or add him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/batangproject8).

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With the 2011 NBA Final 4 going to start in just a couple of hours at that time, just after the Oklahoma City Thunder walloped the Memphis Grizzlies to earn the last ride to the Conference Finals, I was thinking “Repeat ‘96″. I had the Chicago Bulls in seven against the Miami Heat and the Thunder in six against the Dallas Mavericks. I was pretty confident that the Bulls and the Thunder (formerly the Seattle Supersonics) would set up an as-intense-as-the-first-time rematch of the 1996 Finals.

Now, after a bunch of Taj Gibson posterizers, intense banging of bodies between Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer, some more from Kendrick Perkins and Tyson Chandler, the renaissance of “The Matrix” (Shawn Marion), and clutch moments from Dirk Nowitzki, it’s now the other way around. It’s the Mavs and the Heat again in the Finals. A repeat of the 2006 Finals, I only got to the idea of it just after the Heat built a 3-1 lead in the East Finals, a day after the Mavs closed out Game 4 of their own semis clash with a 28-6 run to turn what would have been a 2-2 standing entering Game 5 to a 3-1 commanding lead with a chance to close the series at home. Turned out, another late-game performance from Dirk turned what could have been a blowout win by OKC on the road and a big chance to make a miracle to a celebration at the American Airlines Center. Now that the Heat silenced the United Center earlier and avenged their loss in the 1997 semis to the Bulls, it’s official! Miami vs. Dallas in the finals again after five years!

Unfortunately, what may have been the start of the changing of the guards was postponed for a moment, but I still believe that the future is now. Blake Griffin is expected to turn the Los Angeles Clippers, usually the whipping boys, to a West powerhouse and steal the show from its more well-known “brothers”, the Lakers. John Wall and JaVale McGee will surely make an impact with the post-Gilbert Arenas Washington Wizards. Oklahoma City and Chicago are expected to be back again in the playoffs next year. The Memphis Grizzlies will definitely be a team to eat next year. Yao Ming is set to return next year as well. Simply, the NBA is prepping up for that changing of the guards. The future is now at hand.

PEACE OUT YO!!!

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