The last time the NBA had a shorted season, the San Antonio Spurs went on to win the title.
The Spurs beat the New York Knicks in the 1999 Finals with a young Tim Duncan forming a formidable Twin Towers combo with David Robinson. Avery Johnson was their shifty quarterback and Steve Kerr celebrated another title after his Chicago Bulls days.
The Knicks had the flamboyant Latrell Sprewell at the firing end. Sprewell was on his comeback trail after he was slapped with a one-year suspension for choking his coach at Golden State PJ Carlessimo. The Knicks had future Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing manning the slot and a young Marcus Camby and Alan Houston.
The Spurs won the 1999 wars 4 wins against 1.
This season, the NBA lockout has cut short the regular NBA wars and the teams are playing a tougher night-after-night games. Even the playoffs are spaced just a day apart. In the early rounds, teams even play every night.
In a short season like this one where teams play almost every night, the chief factor is a team’s consistency and health. You cannot afford to spend the short season with injuries. Take a look at what happened to Chicago. The East’s no. 1 team after the regular season fell by the wayside in the first round against an 8th-ranked team simply because its number one player, Derrick Rose, is sidelined with an injury in the first round of their playoffs campaign.
Take a look at New York with an injured Jeremy Lin and Amare Stoudemire.
It simply takes its toll in a season like this.
The Spurs had their share of injuries but it happened in the early part of the season with Manu Ginobili sidelined. However, the Spurs have become a talented mix of veterans and young guns. It has the legs to withstand the tough grind. And when the going gets tough, count on the veterans like Ginobili and Tony Parker to deliver old school basketball.And so the last four teams left are the Spurs, Miami Heat, Oklahoma Thunder and the Boston Celtics.
The Spurs and the Celtics are both relying on experience and a back-up crew of young upstarts. The Heat and the Thunder are the carefree, life-on-the-fast-lane type of teams.
I would not be surprised to see the Spurs advance all the way to the Finals, but they will have to survive today’s Game 6 against the roaring Thunder. Otherwise, the Thunder will be a strong bet for the title against a smaller Miami Heat or a slower Boston Celtics.
The Heat have their backs against the wall against the Celtics who are up 3-2 after a win in Game 5 in Miami.
A Thunder-Celtics Finals will be a showcase of two different schools in the NBA. On one hand is a Thunder team that has a big-scoring big man who can hit from both inside and out and a couple of smart guards in James Harden and Russel Westbrook who can light it up in scoring and break the other team’s defense. On the other is a team with a textbook trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. To me, that is the new Big Three. Ray Allen is but a whimper of the past, but this does not mean he is not capable of causing trouble. Rajon should be the cornerstone of the Celtics chances.
Where would that place Miami and San Antonio—two of the strongest bets for the Finals?
It could be another heartbreaker for Miami and Lebron James. For San Antonio, it’s going to be another close run in the twilight of the Duncan-Ginobili era.
