NBA Playoffs 2014: Can Thunder sustain momentum against Spurs?

Sometimes having a superstar is all you need to create the difference between two teams and win a playoff game. Russell Westbrook did just that in Oklahoma City's series-tying victory over San Antonio. But can the Thunder sustain a gameplan like that to advance to the final stage?

Westbrook scored 40, Kevin Durant had 31, and the Thunderous duo combined for 71 points to even up the Western Conference Finals. It wasn't just those two scoring all the time -- with Serge Ibaka back and continuing to improve, the Thunder have gained an 18-4 advantage in blocks in the last two games.

That's also created a better transition game for OKC -- they outscored SA 21-0 in fastbreak points last night. The Spurs also relied on the perimeter to generate offense, but ultimately went 9-of-27 from downtown.

In today's generation, there's no doubt that fans and plenty of sports media outlets will send out that agonizing old question of, "Are the Spurs done?" Trolls and other Skip Bayless wannabes are at their Twitter machines asking where the Spurs fans are at.

You would think that we have finally learned that just taking what happened after one game and running with it is the wrong thing to do. I mean, how many people thought this series was over after the Spurs smacked around the Thunder in San Antonio after the first two games?

The reality is that Oklahoma City is gaining some roleplayers in Ibaka and Derek Fisher -- one of the variables needed to complete the equation to an NBA championship. But the largest part of both Thunder victories are the incredible scoring output of Westbrook and Durant. The problem with that is not being able to rely on that each night to win a title.

San Antonio can easily buckle down and make the adjustments, including an improved performance from Manu Ginobli, and take the momentum in this series after Game 5. Phil Jackson got his title as the "zen master" with the Los Angeles Lakers because they generally thrived in the fifth game of a series, making changes when the national media couldn't wait to shoot them down at a rapid-fire pace even when a series was knotted up after four games.

The same is being done with the Spurs because everyone wants to be the first to write that chapter that the Spurs' ship has finally sank. When it comes to making adjustments and managing a team, it's not a stretch to put more faith in Gregg Popovich over Scott Brooks right now.

Oklahoma City could certainly win the last two games and close this series out with Ibaka's dominance inside and the Westbrook/Durant duo scoring around 70 points a game. But nothing is over, despite claims that will be made on social media and four-letter networks today.

Just like being patient and waiting to see what the Thunder would do at home in the next two games of this series, let's see what San Antonio has for the pivotal Game 5.

WSD Sports Page: Can Thunder defeat the Spurs without Ibaka?

Without the contributions of Serge Ibaka, the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense gave up 122 points against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The final presents one major question to us -- can the Thunder compete without the aid of Ibaka?

Since the Spurs are so well-coached under Gregg Popovich, who's been a complete master at running his old crew by playing a lot of younger guys throughout the course of the season and exposing matchups, did just that by ramming the offense in the paint.

The Spurs outscored the Thunder 66-32 inside the paint. Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had a combined 43 points and the three main guards -- Tony Parker, Danny Green, and Manu Ginobli -- had incredibly efficient nights combining for 20-of-31 from the field. Parker dished out 12 of the team's 28 assists.

Without Ibaka, the Thunder's reliance on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook running the show alone won't be enough. Derek Fisher went 4-of-6 from downtown to keep the Thunder within striking distance, and OKC even took the lead after Westbrook went off at the start of the second half.

But that was the problem. That burst of energy wasn't sustained, and the only two points that weren't scored by Durant or Westbrook in that whole quarter were two Fisher free throws with 53 seconds left in the period.

Without Ibaka's beastly presence inside, and the Spurs nearly coasting with their starters for an entire NBA season, it's going to be impossible for the Thunder to win the series unless they can find a third starter that can actually produce at least half of what Durant and Westbrook do. Basically, You can't have box scores with the dynamic duo taking 40 shots and scoring 53 points while the other three starters shoot the ball 10 times and score five points (and two of them having goose eggs in the points column).

And one of their bigs needs to somehow slow down the Spurs' offensive train. They have the offense, but we've seen how bad this defense is without Ibaka this season. OKC did go 4-0 against SA this season, but that doesn't matter with the current matchups and the Spurs not playing in regular season mode. Now the Thunder are left with having to figure out this puzzle.

Other Headlines

NBA: League charges Sterling with damaging the product

The NBA even pointed to the CNN interview almost two weeks ago as more evidence on why LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling needs to be ousted. His whole tangent on Magic Johnson clearly showed that he's got a real beef with him, and there's angst between both of them. Personally, I believe Sterling more just has a vendetta on Johnson than black people, but he stupidly called out a race because he didn't want to just omit Johnson from coming to games. Hindsight is 20/20.

NBA: Draft Lottery tonight before Game 2 of ECF

The Milwaukee Bucks are the favorite to hoist the number one pick in the draft, but everyone will be keeping their eye on the lottery to see if NBA franchise favorites, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, will end up sneaking up there. The Bucks have a 25 percent chance while the Celtics and Lakers have a 10.3 percent chance and 6.3 percent chance, respectively. Depending on who picks it up and what their needs are, the popular trio of Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Jabari Parker are expected to come off the board very quickly.

NFL: Discussing playoff expansion to 14 teams

It's going to happen, the question is how and when? ESPN put up 10 questions surrounding the topic, and it's a very good read. There's enough positives here that the NFL would be dumb not to extend the postseason. You're still holding less than 50 percent of the teams that will be eligible for the postseason so it doesn't water down the regular season, there's a ton if income of hosting more games for players, teams, and the NFL itself, and they would be removing one of the four weeks of the preseason. Sure, there will be more teams at .500 or even lower that will make the playoffs under this new format. But we all survived when the Seattle Seahawks marched in winning the NFC West at 7-9, right? Right.

Today's Slate
(Central times listed)

NBA PLAYOFFS - CONF FINALS
Draft Lottery - 7:00 ESPN
Heat at Pacers (IND 1-0) - 7:30 ESPN

MLB
Dodgers at Mets - 6:10 MLBTV
D'backs at Cardinals - 7:15 FSMW
-Giants at Rockies - 7:40 MLBTV
Twins at Padres - 9:10 FSNO

WSD Sports Page: Clippers lack playoff experience, costly against Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers in six games, and another blown lead--not any calls from the refs-- was the main story again.

Photo from TheHoodgirl

Once up 16, the Clippers let everything slide away again in the second half and lost by a 104-98 final margin. Kevin Durant was incredible, putting up 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists in an incredible night, nailing all 10 free throws. The whole team was aggressive getting to the foul line and it paid off. They went 29-of-33 from the charity stripe while LA hit just 12-of-20.

That +15 edge at the line overcame the Clippers having a +24 advantage in the paint.

Clippers fans were obnoxious during the whole disaster, but this time, they don't have the aid of a controversial finish and a Doc Rivers breakdown to latch onto. Two straight games blowing double-digit leads doomed the team, and while they looked like the best team in the NBA at times throughout the season, playoff experience prevailed for the Thunder.

People forget that LA's other team, despite becoming more popular than the Lakers, simply have next to zero playoff experience in their franchise history. The team is trending in the right direction, and they'll continue to be a factor as they re-tool the team and continue being led by the trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan.

But for now, the Thunder get the opportunity to play the San Antonio Spurs, a.k.a the West's Finest. They won't get the luxury of blown leads this time around.

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NBA: Pacers advance with beatdown of their own

The Wizards couldn't take advantage of a dominant Game 5 and fizzled at home in a 93-80 loss. Finally, Indiana put their foot down after getting embarrassed at home. Now the question is, how ready are they against the Heat?

MLB: Cain grabs first win in Giants' 6-4 win over Marlins

After 11 straight winless starts, San Francisco's Matt Cain finally grabs a victory, and it was technically his worst start of the season after giving up back-to-back jacks in the first two innings. San Francisco's lineup is red-hot after two games, and figured out Nate Eovaldi's fast ball pretty fast rocking nine hits in the first 4.1 innings.

CBB: Oklahoma State clinches Big 12 regular season title

The Cowboys lock up the one seed in the Big 12 tournament next week after defeating their in-state rival, Oklahoma, in the opening game of a three-game series and TCU lost to Baylor. OSU has now won 11 straight games overall, six in Big 12 play.

NBA: Lakers GM says Bryant isn't going to be involved in coaching search

Obviously, Kobe wants to have his say on who's going to become the next coach LA's more historic franchise, but Mitch Kupchak won't give him a seat at the table to talk. Which is fine, because that's not Kobe's job. It's not in his contract to help the team pick a coach. That doesn't mean Bryant can't give his input, and it's not like Kupchak won't give it consideration.

NBA Draft Combine: Wiggins jumps a billion miles in the air

Look at this picture of Wiggins during a workout. Dude's got some serious hangtime.

Today's Slate

(Central times listed)

TENNIS

ATP/WTA BNL d'Italia (Qtrs) - 5:00a TNNS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

-Kings at Ducks (Game 7) - 8:00 NBCS

NBA

Scouting Combine - 9:00a ESPNU / 12:00 ESPN2

MLB

Padres at Rockies - 7:40 MLBTV

Dodgers at D'backs - 8:40 MLBTV

-Marlins at Giants - 9:15 MLBTV

CBB

11Washington at 1Oregon St - 6:00 P12

20TCU at Baylor - 6:30 FSSW

-19Texas at Kansas St - 6:30

Los Angeles Clippers didn't 'get robbed' in loss to Oklahoma City Thunder

Late last night, controversy surrounds Game 5 between the Clippers and Thunder, again showing that cooler heads always prevail and there were always more than one reason teams lose a game.

It's a natural reaction to look at last night's game and completely dismiss how everything went down. The ball should have been called out on Oklahoma City on the Matt Barnes' reach in and even more controversy surrounds Chris Paul's foul on Russel Westbrook, sending him to the line for 3 shots as they then sat down by two points.

Doc Rivers went on a horrible tirade after the game and both killed the calls and killed the refs. Despite actually admitting that the Clippers could have played better down the stretch, they "got robbed." Yup. Having a 13-point lead and blowing it with a shade over four minutes left is certainly getting robbed.

Even more nauseating than Rivers was the absolute breakdown over Twitter. College basketball analysts were spouting off, oh, where are the people that defended NBA refs and crucified NCAA officials? Please, go back to watching tape on the Ivy League. Naturally college refs are going to be worse because there's a bigger pool to select from, and they clearly get more calls wrong and remain inconsistent at best throughout games.

Replay haters were spouting off how it failed again. Enough. We all know replay rules are stupid and I've explained multiple times how they can create a replay system that works fast and can look at everything. And replay haters don't understand what they're complaining about because replay actually gets it right -- it's the refs that can't go back and say something was a foul. So first, replay haters need to figure out what to bitch about before yelling off their soap box.

Then there's Clippers fans, who go off on tangents about how the refs are the worst -- never mind refs helping them advance in one of the games against Golden State -- and that this could cost them the series! Oh, the stupidity. There's so many things that happen throughout the course of the game, plenty of other things could have happened to prevent last night's outcome. Begins with finishing a game and Chris Paul doing anything differently than that disaster he owned up for in the final seconds. Maybe Westbrook could have missed a free throw.

But no, let's just bitch about the controversy because that's easy fodder to throw around on Twitter and sports media. God help us all when some people can't look past a couple plays and don't realize that there is always, always more than one reason why there's an outcome of the game -- unless rain forces a postponement.

The sooner people figure that out, the less vitrol, bitterness, and hatred will spew on social media.

• NHL: Rangers complete comeback, Blackhawks advance - Pittsburgh chokes as they'll face uncertainty heading to the offseason, and Sidney Crosby will face plenty of scrutiny after scoring just one goal -- a game winner in Game 3 -- during the entire playoffs. On the flipside, Patrick Kane had his sixth goal in the game-winner and lucky bounces are always the king of hockey.
• NBA: Pacers back to normal after Wizards beatdown - Marcin Gortat had 31 points and 16 rebounds. Roy Hibbert had 4 points and 2 rebounds. Let me know when you figure it out, Indiana.
• MLB: Braves 5, Giants 0 - Ryan Vogelsong wasn't backed up by the offense, who had just one hit through the first six innings. This was Mike Minor's first win of the season.
• NCAA: ACC considers non-conference games against itself. It sounds weird at first, but it's better than seeing Clemson take on The Citadel.
• MEDIA: Clay Travis tries to defend Donald Sterling with some horrible rant about how actions should speak louder than words. Travis also never brings up Sterling heckling players, being sued by Elgin Baylor, and forcing out Latino tenants. Why? Because research is a hard thing, and it's much easier to go on a 1,000-word tirade filled with one-sentence fragments.

Today's Slate:

(Central times listed)

TENNIS

ATP BNL d'Italia - 4:00a TNNS

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - CHAMPIONSHIP

Benfica at Sevilla - 1:45 FS1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Canadiens at Bruins (Game 7) - 6:00 NBCS

-Ducks at Kings (ANA 3-2) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Nets at Heat (MIA 3-1) - 6:00 TNT

Blazers at Spurs (SA 3-1) - 8:30 TNT

MLB

Rockies at Royals - 1:10 FSKC

Nationals at D'backs - 2:40 MLBTV

-Braves at Giants - 2:45 MLBTV

Padres at Reds - 6:10 MLBTV

Marlins at Dodgers - 9:10 MLBTV

WSD Sports Page: Adam Silver saves the NBA playoffs with Donald Sterling beatdown

Why Adam Silver saved the NBA playoffs, why Joey Crawford could have cost the Oklahoma City Thunder their playoff series, and a conspiracy theory involving Matt Cain and the San Diego Padres all today on the sports page.


The Lede

In a matter of days, NBA commissioner Adam Silver saved the league from a dark, ugly cloud hovering over the 2014 playoffs. The ugly, racist tape that involved Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling took away from a weekend of fantastic playoff action. It was only going to continue siphoning the atmosphere until Silver took swift action, and he certainly did that.

Banned for life and a $2.5 million fine, the most he was able to allow under the NBA constitution. All of that going to charity. You can bet that Silver would have fined him more if possible. And he will move as fast as possible to get a majority vote from the owners to kick Sterling out of power.

Silver quickly sided with the overwhelming majority of dismissing Sterling for everything he said. Some have chimed in with trying to defend the first amendment, that how we obtained Sterling's comments were unjust and wrong because he didn't know that he was recorded. But despite all that, it's out there in the open. America will forgive a lot of mistakes, but condemning people of color and talking about how you're owning them is something that doesn't get a second chance.

Sterling may not go to jail for what he said, but he might as well change his name and move to a different country. He won't be respected by anybody.

Mark Cuban, who even talked about how it was slippery slope if the NBA throws the book at him, quickly tweeted in support of the decision. Silver demanded that owners will not sit in the gray area. They're uniting together to kick the racist out of power.

To Silver: You backed down anybody that wanted to sit in the gray area of what the right decision was for Sterling's punishment. You wouldn't let this ugly crap hang around through the rest of the season, only suspending him until the summer. You threw the gauntlet and in the first days of being the NBA commissioner, you set a no-BS atmosphere for the owners that will trickle down to the players. You're in power of this league, and no one will want to face punishment from you.


Other Headlines

1. NBA: The Washington Wizards move on to the next round. Apparently they only played three quarters in the 75-69 victory. Better yet, they'll probably face the Atlanta Hawks.
2. NBA: Joey Crawford stops Kevin Durant's free throw shooting to make scoreboard operator light up "Bonus," leads to Durant missing 2nd free throw. The Thunder lost 100-99 in their fourth overtime game.
3. NBA: Clippers rebound with 113-103 victory. Now that the Sterling dark cloud is gone, perhaps they can get back to being a favorite to win it all this postseason.
4. NHL: Three Game 7s tonight. Forget the NBA, it's puck night tonight. Will the Los Angeles Kings be the next team to complete a four-game comeback?
5. NBA: Boxers interested in owning the Los Angeles Clippers. I'm much more into the conspiracy theorgy of Magic Johnson being in the Instagram photo on purpose so he can try and buy the franchise.

Yesterday's Favorites

• Giants 6, Padres 0 - Matt Cain's start was scratched after cutting his hand in a kitchen accident, leading to a start by Yusmeiro Petit and a shutout outing. Considering Cain's poor history against San Diego, conspiracy theorists unite!
• Texas 6, Prairie View A&M 3 - Longhorns scored five runs in the first three innings and starting pitcher Lukas Schiraldi had a career-high eight strikeouts in six innings of work.

Today's Slate

(A.K.A. Games that matter to me) - All times Central.

UEFA CHAMPIONS - SEMIFINALS

Atletico Madrid at Chelsea - 1:45 FS1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Rangers at Flyers (Game 7) - 6:00 NBCS

Wild at Avalanche (Game 7) - 8:30 CNBC

-Kings at Sharks (Game 7) - 9:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Mavericks at Spurs (Tied 2-2) - 6:00 TNT

Nets at Raptors (Tied 2-2) - 6:30 NBATV

Blazers at Rockets (POR 3-1) - 8:30 TNT

MLB

Dodgers at Twins - 7:10 SNLA/FSNO

Rockies at D'backs - 8:40 RSRM/FSAZ

-Padres at Giants - 9:15 FSSD/CSBA