Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder-NBA Conference Finals Analysis
(Part-2)
Western Conference
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks
The Western Conference Finals is simply a matchup between the most experienced team in the league against its youngest squad. The Dallas Mavericks are one of those sides who carry a substantial play-off experience and five of their
leading scorers are at least 32 years of age. Maverick’s veteran point guard Jason Terry is the most senior player in the team who is 38-years-old. On the other hand, the Oklahoma City might be stumpy on experience but it won’t be easy for the Dallas to take
on the fast-breaking Thunder. The Thunder are quick and agile and armed with a couple of most influential shooters of NBA.
Dallas Mavericks finished the regular season with the third spot in the West followed by 57 victories and 25 defeats. The Mavericks faced Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the post-season as the contest showcased a number
of exciting encounters before Dallas brushed off the opposition in the game 6 of the series.
The Dallas bumped into the two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference semi-finals. Lakers determination for the three-peat and the consensus supporting the team massively made them hot favourites in the best
of seven series. However, the result of the contest turned out to be a surprising one. The Mavericks not only raced away into the finals, they thrashed the opposition in a record setting fashion by sweeping the Lakers comprehensively in the second round.
In Contrast, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished the regular season with the fourth spot accompanied by 55 wins and 27 routs. The Thunders’ first round matchup was against the Denver Nuggets which was nearly a lop-sided one. Oklahoma
City crushed Nuggets’ play-off hopes by winning the series convincingly 4-1.
The resurgent Memphis Grizzlies was a tough team for the Thunder in the semi-finals as they were extremely confident and determined after defeating the West leading San Antonio Spurs which stunned the world of basketball. The second
round series had its dithering moments for both the teams who were fighting aggressively to topple each other. The matchup depicted a breathtaking triple overtime thriller as the Oklahoma City won that game to keep their hopes alive in the play-offs. Grizzlies
and Thunder’s best-of-seven series was the only contest in the post-season that was extended to the game 7 which went into the favour of Oklahoma and they clinched the berth for the Conference Finals.
At the moment, the series between the Oklahoma City and Dallas Mavericks is tied at 1-1, making the challenge even more exciting. The key player for the Mavericks in the upcoming showdowns will be their German sharp-shooter Dirk
Nowitzki who had never shown any signs of retreat since 2000-2001 season and guided the team impressively in all of the post-season games. Conversely, all eyes will be on the two time scoring champion Kevin Durant to lead the Thunder with his influential shooting.
It’s quite difficult to say which team will emerge for the NBA final, but one thing is certain that the spectators are going to witness a thrilling contest of basketball.
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