WSD Sports Page: Spurs outlast Heat in heat at Game 1 of NBA Finals

We cover #Crampgate, #Lebroning, where the NFL Draft could be held next year, and the best answer in Family Feud ever in today's sports page.

NBA: Spurs take 1-0 lead in Finals after dominant 4th quarter

San Antonio outscored Miami 31-9 in the final period, outdoing the Heat in the sweltering heat of AT&T Center without the air conditioning. LeBron James was helped off the court in the 4th quarter after cramping, leading to a predictable mess on Twitter that involved discussions of San Antonio fixing the game, everybody getting huffy about how serious cramps are, and everything else that was predictable and stupid that Twitter usually consists of.

What wasn't talked about was the disappearance of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the final period. The Spurs committed a boatload of turnovers during the game, but they made a six 3-pointers attempted and missed just two baskets in the fourth compared to Miami's nine. Talk about cramps all you want, all Miami had to do was hold on to the lead and that was the worst attempt ever at doing so.

NBA: President Rod Thorn says conditions were playable, even on both ends

It wasn't that long ago that NBA arenas weren't air conditioned, and Thorn played in those conditions. Temperatures eventually reached 90 degrees inside the arena, but it wasn't enough to deem it unplayable.

NBA: Gatorade trolls James and his sponsor, Powerade

Because Powerade is the sponsor of LeBron James, Gatorade decided to poke the bear in the Twitter meltdown and responded with hilarious quips. In replying to somebody that thought James was their client, Gatorade responded with: "The person cramping wasn't our client. Our athletes can take the heat." That's been retweeted nearly 7.5 thousand times.

That's the right way to use Twitter, not one to tell people how they're so wrong about cramps or coming up with a conspiracy theory.

NFL: League could move draft to Chicago or Los Angeles

Since Radio City Music Hall "will not be available next year" for some reason, the NFL is exploring other places that the draft can be held in. They also plan on extending the number days that the draft will take place, but it will happen earlier than it did this year. I, for one, will miss the New York Jets fans' loud boos.

NBA: Kevin Love has received interest from 16 teams

Quote from new head coach Flip Saunders: “We probably have 16 teams that have called us,” Saunders said, regarding interest in Love around the league. “We haven’t called anybody.”

NFL: Sam Bradford never doubted he was Rams' starter

Despite wide speculation that the Rams may move on in this year's draft, they didn't draft a QB. Bradford told ESPN yesterday that he was actively talking to the staff and they weren't ever looking in a different direction than Bradford as the starter next year. So again, much discussion over nothing happened.

Game Shows: Man gives "myself" as "fully loaded" answer, receives "my willing weiner"

The question: "Name something that might be fully loaded." The answer: "Myself." When asked to clarify, he said "my man region." The answer on the board: "My willing weiner." At least the game show didn't skip around the word! For those that think the show sunk to a new low, it only did when the next person gave an atrocious answer after the events that transpired.

Today's Slate
(Central times listed)

FRENCH OPEN (Men's Semifinals)
Djokovic/Gulbis (Semi 1) - 6:00a ESPN2
Nadal/Murray (Semi 2) - 9:00a ESPN2

CBB - SUPER REGIONALS
-Houston at Texas (Game 1) - 3:00 ESPN2
UC Irvine at Oklahoma St (Game 1) - 8:30 ESPNU

STANLEY CUP FINAL - Game 2 Saturday
Rangers at Kings (LA 1-0)

NBA FINALS - Game 2 Sunday
Heat at Spurs (SA 1-0)

MLL
Cannons at Machine - 7:00 CBSS

MLB (NL West)
Dodgers at Rockies - 7:40 SNLA/RSRM
Braves at D'backs - 8:40 FSS/FSAZ
Nationals at Padres - 9:10 MASN2/FSSD
-Mets at Giants - 9:15 SNY/NBCBA

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: Kings dominate against Blackhawks in 3rd period, tie series

Photo via Flickr

In the first 38 minutes of the game, Chicago was up 2-0 and cruising to take a 2-0 lead in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Then, things escalated quickly after Los Angeles broke through with a goal.

Five more goals were scored by the Kings after Justin Williams scored on a tip-in with under two minutes left in the second period, winning by the final 6-2 tally and evening up the series. The Kings took advantage of two power play opportunities early in the final period and Jeff Carter had a hat trick in that final stretch.

It was incredibly uncharacteristic for Chicago to get ran out on their own ice like that. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews admitted that it just got away from them once the Kings were able to garner all the momentum (via NHL.com):

"You're bound to give up something," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "If they score a goal to pull within one it doesn't mean they have to score six unanswered. I think we always want to close out periods. We want to try to keep that momentum going into the next one but sometimes it happens. So we just needed to find a way to bounce back early in that third and we didn't do it."

The second power play opportunity given to LA was a mental error by Chicago's Brandon Saad, but that likely put the nail in the coffin after the Kings were able to grab the 3-2 lead just three minutes into the final period.

Don't forget about Jonathan Quick, who had a stellar first period just to keep the game within reach. He saved 19 shots in the first two periods before Chicago was held to just six in the final frame.

It took five periods, but the Kings finally broke through to make it a series against the Blackhawks.


Other Headlines

MLB: Giants beat Rockies 5-1, lose pitchers Cain and Casilla

Matt Cain continues to have the worst luck this season. After three innings, San Francisco's starter pulled his right hamstring and had to exit the game. He gave up zero hits and walks along with recording three strikeouts on 36 pitches, en roue to what looked like a great start. Luckily, the bullpen was able to break through and save the day, with Yusmeiro Petit picking up the win after three innings of work himself.

Another injury was sustained by reliever Santiago Casilla, who was trucking to first base and landed awkwardly on his leg, tumbling down and was in agony for quite a few minutes. With a quick turnaround today thanks to a day game, the Giants have to work quickly to come up with a plan to replenish the pitching roster as they deal with injuries.

In better news, the Giants got the much-needed win with solo long-ball shots from Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, and Brandon Crawford.

NBA: Spurs flex muscles again, throttle Thunder to take 2-0 lead

I don't want to say a series is over after two games, but Oklahoma City is on life support. The loss of Serge Ibaka was a huge loss for the Thunder, and Scott Brooks needs to figure out a game plan to both slow down San Antonio and get more of his players involved. Russell Westbrook took over the game and missed a billion shots during the Spurs' huge run that spanned the second and third quarters.

There's plenty of time to work some magic, but clearly, Gregg Popovich is showing how superior he is as a head coach and how much better of a team that he has in the Western Conference -- which is an unbelievable statement.

NFL: Smith pleads no contest to three felony weapons, two misdemeanor DUI charges

Sentencing will happen shortly after training camp opens up this summer for the team. Obviously, being an NFL player and all, he won't be facing much, if any, jail time. But he should easily see a suspension from the NFL, or at the very least a suspension from the team. His actions are indefensible, and so was the abomination at LAX last month. Smith shouldn't be seeing action until October, but we'll see how severe his punishments are.


Today's Slate
(Central times listed)

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 3
Canadiens at Rangers (NYR 2-0) - 7:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - CONF FINALS
No games

MLB
-Giants at Rockies - 2:10 MLBTV
Dodgers at Mets - 6:10 MLBTV
D'backs at Cardinals - 6:15 FSMW
Cubs at Padres - 9:10 CSCH

CBB - BIG 12 TOURNEY
Kansas vs Baylor - 9:00a FSSW+
Texas Tech vs Oklahoma - 12:30 FSSW+
TCU vs W Virginia - 4:00 FSSW+
-Oklahoma St vs Texas - 7:30 FSSW+

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