It must have been one of the most riveting second rounds in NBA history as a lowly five seed who entered the playoffs with no home court advantage and no expectations whatsoever beat two of the league's best team and reach the NBA Western Conference Finals for the first time in team history. No one can really say much about the Memphis Grizzlies because they have little or nothing to spotlight--they do not have a real marquee name name player and their slow paced grind it out style of play does not inspire many to watch their games. Yet this same unassuming team managed to make short work of two of the league's top teams shocking both the heavily favored Los Angeles Clippers in the first round and the West's best Oklahoma City Thunder, in the second. Now they are just one step away from reaching the NBA Finals--a place where not even the most savvy of analysts had them finishing.
The second round also saw the fall of another mighty titan in the New York Knicks as they entered the playoffs with the second best regular season record and were the odds on favorite to meet the Miami Heat in the Conference Finals. Unfortunately, those dreams that were closely held by fans in the Big Apple were dashed as they were out played and simply outclassed by another unassuming team in the Indiana Pacers. Like the Grizzlies, the Indiana Pacers neither had a real marquee name player, did not garner much attention in the regular season, and whose style of play was not the most enticing to watch. Now they join the Grizzlies as two underdogs facing two basketball titans in the Miami Heat, last year's NBA title holders who finished with the league's best regular season record, and the San Antonio Spurs, a team with a championship pedigree who has routinely found themselves among the top teams in the West.
Now with all the match ups set, it looks as if it is going to be a David vs. Goliath affairs as two small unassuming team head on against two mighty and powerful behemoths. Both Grizzlies and Pacers will face two three headed juggernauts that look to steamrolled their way in the NBA Finals; however, don't count these teams out. In fact, we might be witnessing another pair of history making showdowns and possibly another Earth shattering upset as well. So without any further adieu, here is how SDH sees these Conference Finals match ups going down.
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While many were hoping for an epic Miami/New York match up, this series will still be a head turner nonetheless as it will be a match up between the irresistible force in the Miami Heat against the immovable object in the Pacers. In most cases, the irresistible force usually wins as Miami with its high octane offense along with its immense fire power outclasses the Pacers by leaps and bounds; however, so did the Knicks and look what happened to them. The Pacers will certainly not be intimidated by South Beach's own RUN DLC (Dwayne, Lebron and Chris) as they have the bragging rights for being one of the league's top defensive teams. Add the fact that so far in the playoffs, Indy has been undefeated on their home court so Miami had better win their first two games at home because if they don't, they may find themselves in the same predicament as the Knicks looking down the barrel of a 3-1 deficit. If the Heat manages to win all their home games, they may certainly win this series in six games, but if the Pacers steal one on the road, it'll be over for Miami.
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Don't let that game one blow fool you, San Antonio will not have an easy time in the next few games. Memphis has already proven that a blow out loss will not be enough to phase them in the first round when they lost the first game of their first round series against the Clippers. What San Antonio has to worry about is whether or not they can win game two as well because if they lose that game, Memphis will be almost impossible to beat. Thus far Memphis has been undefeated at home and it has been that home court advantage that has been critical for them winning both of their series. Add San Antonio's history of choking in the post season, watch the Memphis Grizzlies to be the darling debutantes at the ball as they will shock the world yet again and take down the Spurs.
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