The Old, The Young, and The Gatekeepers

The NBA Playoffs are supposed to be a fun time when 16 basketball teams collide on a quest for immortality. To an extent, this is what we have so far. But at the same time, there have been some issues.

Everything is golden in the West. We had a pair of rusty teams playing on Sunday in the Spurs and Thunder, probably the two most complete teams left standing at this point. And despite their rust, they played a fantastic game that the Spurs were able to pull out 101-98. The greats find a way to pull those out. This is not a criticism of the Thunder, they are also a great team, but I think the Spurs are better. They have more depth and play basketball the right way. Plus even at his age, Tim Duncan is still a great player. And Gregg Popovich is Coach of the Year for a reason. I don't see the Thunder going away though; I don't think Durant and Westbrook will let their team go down without a fight.

Things seem a little murkier in the East. I watched much of the 2nd half of the Boston-Miami game last night. I'll get my gripes out of the way first, starting with the technicals. The only one I saw live was Rondo's, and that one was totally justified since he overreacted to getting tangled up with Shane Battier. Having seen the clip of the first half technicals (below), other than the Garnett delay of game, the officials should be ashamed of themselves.

There was also a play in the 4th where LeBron traveled leading up to a bank shot. I counted the steps; he took 3 before shooting off-balance. There were also occasions where both guys were whining and complaining about calls, Wade even getting closer to the official on his second foul (as opposed to Allen moving away). Of course, no whistles. Sham officiating.

Now, that being out of the way... Miami absolutely deserved to win last night. It was clear pretty much the whole second half. They played great team defense. They rebounded well. And most importantly, LeBron and Wade (despite the travel by LeBron and seemingly continued flops by Wade, plus the complaining by both) attacked the basket and looked impressive for the 4th straight game. LeBron is taking the step people thought he would in Cleveland, but never fully did. I personally don't think he can keep that pace up for anywhere between 7 and 13 more games, but if he can, the jokes will stop. As a Bulls fan and something of a basketball purist from having watched MJ play, I don't want LeBron to win a title. But if he raises his game and leads Miami to a title (not takes a major backseat to Wade), then I'll have nothing else to do but tip my cap to the most talented guy in the NBA for finally getting a ring. Until then, he still has a lot to prove, and has an incredibly tough road ahead of him.