Curry and Durant go one more round in pivotal Game 7

You guys know I can’t let a NBA game 7 go by without giving my take. This is Warriors Vs. Thunder. Russ and Kevin vs. Steph and Klay. If you can’t get up and get hyped for this game then you should wait around for college basketball to come back because this is the NBA at its finest. A lot of people don’t care for the NBA and prefer the college game. If that’s you, I feel sorry for you. So let’s get into it.

   I can’t go any further without talking about what Klay Thompson did in game 6. That dude put his stamp on the series with a record 11 3s and 41 points, with 17 in the 4th quarter. This is a man who scored 37 in a quarter before so he’s not new to this. It didn’t matter if his feet were set or where he was on the floor. If he threw it up from 3, it went in. Thompson handled himself like a star and reminded the Thunder what he can do when he gets going. We can’t forget about the league unanimous MVP either. All he did was drop 31 and hit the game tying and game winning 3. He just has the Jordan esque quality. That Kobe esque quality. He was a closer in game 6 when most people had written him off with his elbow injury. He hadn’t truly been himself for most of the series. One of my co workers was telling me that the Warriors were done in game 6 and Steph looked hurt. I channelled my inner Stephen A. Smith and told him not to be disrespectful to Curry and the world champs. I believed in the old cliche it ain’t over til it’s over and I take that to heart with the Warriors. They just don’t quit. They have a certain Royals quality in them that’s hard to ignore. They’re never out of any game specifically with two of the best shooters in NBA history. But I had my doubts. Durant and company had a stronghold on the series and I could envision the Thunder winning and advancing. Experiencing a championship with the Royals, I’ve learned that you cannot and should not count out a defending champion until they are officially done.

   Now getting on the Thunder, you have to call it a joke job by them. The turnovers late were inexcusable from players of the highest order in Durant and Westbrook. They went scoreless in the final five minutes with 6 turnovers combined. If I was a betting man I would bet you that that will not happen in game 7. Oklahoma City has played better than Golden State actually throughout the series. They’ve looked like the better team. Their role players have stepped up bigger than the Warriors until Andre Igudola made those key strips of Westbrook and Durant in the final minutes. Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka are two studs in the paint even though Ibaka falls in love with the 3 too much. He went 1-6 from there in game six. Steven Adams has had a coming out party in the playoffs. In the playoffs he’s averaged a double double. Dion Waiters has been solid shooting better than 40 percent from 3 in the playoffs. The Thunder have a roster now let’s not sell them short. I think there is something to be said about a moment being too big for a team. That seemed to be the case down the stretch for the Thunder in game six as they got tight and didn’t play their normal game. It was like they were playing to hold on to the lead rather than drop the hammer and finish playing their style of game. The experience of Golden State showed up as they climbed back in the game inch by inch and forced a pivotal game seven.

   Let’s be clear. Oklahoma City has much more to prove than Golden State. Most notably Keven Durant. He’s in his ninth year in the league. He’s been to one NBA Finals and lost it to LeBron. He hasn’t been back since and tonight will be the biggest game of his career. His legacy could be affected if he losses this series. He was up 3-1 against a team that won 73 games with Westbrook as your sidekick. Nothing Durant does anymore matters until he wins a ring. He’s a scoring machine and will probably lead the league in scoring again at some point in his career. We all know he can drop 40 and make it look easy. If he cannot get it done tonight, this will be a scar on his career. Westbrook doesn’t have that same weight on his legacy. He’s great in his right but Durant is the face of not just the Thunder but possibly Oklahoma City. So this game means everything to Durant and OKC. I’m getting close to my prediction hang tight. I see tonight’s game being highly entertaining. The lead will change hands at least 10 times. You can expect Westbrook and Durant to show up big time. Russ might fool around and drop a triple double. Durant could go off and drop 45. We could also witness a Steph Curry game where he makes ridiculous shots and drops the jaws of the fans in the arena. You can expect the very best from the superstars. That’s who you lean on in a  game seven match-up. For my money I’m rolling with the Warriors. They’re championship DNA will show itself tonight and they will make more plays down the stretch to pull away from OKC. I’m calling Warriors 110- Thunder 108. My head tells me Golden State pulls it out. I picked them in 7 before the series and I’m sticking with that pick. But man my heart is pulling for OKC. Honestly I’d rather see a Durant and Westbrook vs. LeBron and Kyrie match-up. I love Durant and I would hate to see him go out like this. My heads with the Warriors. My hearts with the Thunder. Game 7, let’s get it.