The NBA had its wishes granted. I suppose, to a lesser extent, we all did as well. There haven’t been many great series outside of the first round of the NBA playoffs, but we did at least get a great one between the Spurs and the Thunder, who now have Game 7 to determine their fate.
The San Antonio Spurs aren’t supposed to be doing this. There is no lack of talent, but teams are supposed to struggle before they succeed. The Bulls failed multiple times before climbing to the top and never looking back. The Heat with LeBron dropped the first championship attempt. That doesn’t mean if San Antonio wins this game, the team will win a championship, but even pushing the defending champs to the brink is impressive.
To further this point, let’s look at the roster and the coach. Head coach Mitch Johnson never coached a team before this. Sure, Greg Popovich is still “around” and tutored him. The oldest guy getting key minutes on the roster is 33 years old (Harrison Barnes). Victor Wembanyama is 22 years old and in his third season. De’Aaron Fox is 28, Keldon Johnson is 26, Devin Vassell is 25, Julian Champagnie is 24, Stephon Castle is 21 and Dylan Harper is 20. That is a ton of young talent — and talent that has all worked out.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been here before. The Indiana Pacers, a team I would consider worse than this Spurs team, took them to seven games last year. This year, they walked through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and now they are struggling against this physical, hungry and talented Spurs team. The Thunder, however, are one of the few teams that match up well and have an equally young core. They also have the championship belt currently, and until it is taken away from them, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt.
SPURS BLOW OUT THUNDER, FORCE GAME 7 AS VICTOR WEMBANYAMA LEADS THE WAY WITH 28-POINT DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Their team has exactly two people on the roster older than 30, Alex Caruso and Kenrich Williams. Caruso has made a major impact this season, and even Williams has been beneficial in stretches. The rest of the core for the Thunder is 27 or younger. I should note that Isaiah Hartenstein is 28 years old. Their ages have little to do with a Game 7, but my guess is this is not the last time we will see these two teams playing in a high-stakes scenario.
Age doesn’t matter much, but experience does. I know that the Spurs are well coached. They have a freak of nature on their roster, and they have some really great players. They are going to be a problem for the rest of the league for as long as they can keep the group together. Wembanyama is not just possibly, but I’d say likely, to become the best player in basketball history.
That could take a giant leap forward if he wins this game tonight. Unfortunately for him, I don’t see that happening tonight. I like the Spurs and what they have together, but there are very few teams that leapfrog like this. They need to learn to win. The Thunder are at home, and they’ve been here before. The Spurs are on the road, have a lot of guys going through this the first time, and ultimately need an all-time performance from Wembanyama to get the win. Give me the Thunder -3.5.
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