Dwight Howard trade cements death to small markets

By Kshell

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Dwight Howard it just continued a long going trend that has been happening in the NBA for a while. That trend being that small market teams simply can't compete in the NBA. Howard isn't the first Super Star to be dealt from a small market to a major market and he isn't going to be the last. In the NBA the rich continue to get richer while most of the league sits back and enjoys being not a factor. The Lakers roster now features six former all-stars in Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest and Antawn Jamison. Of those six all-stars they drafted none of them and only Bryant has played his whole career there. The Lakers aren't the only team doing that as they are just trying to keep up with their rivals the Miami Heat.

When Lebron James announced he was "taking his talents to South Beach" along with Chris Bosh the Miami Heat formed a "super team" who won a championship this past season. The Heat's roster has five former all-stars in Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. Of those five all-stars only Wade was drafted by the Heat. James left a small market in Cleveland while Bosh left Toronto for Miami as well. Players want to play in big markets, great weather and win a title. Since teams in big markets and with great weather have players flock to them they are naturally able to win a title as most great players go play for them. The two overwhelming favorites in the NBA are the Lakers and Heat who feature 11 former all-stars and only one was drafted by that team. This is a scary trend for the NBA which back in the 1970's saw eight different teams win an NBA championship. Since 1980 to the present day only nine teams have won an NBA championship. Los Angeles Lakers(10 titles), Chicago Bulls( 6), Boston Celtics(4), San Antonio Spurs(4), Detroit Pistons(3), Houston Rockets(2), Miami Heat(2), Philadelphia 76ers(1) and Dallas Mavericks(1). There is no parity in the NBA that is for sure.

For a small market team to win the NBA title you need to get really lucky. First you need to win the lottery to draft a franchise changing player like a Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, etc. Second you need that player to want to stay with your team which so far only Tim Duncan has done with the Spurs. Duncan led the Spurs to four NBA championships as he was the #1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. Duncan wasn't joining a terrible team either as they had super star David Robinson who had basically missed the previous season so they immediately became a success. The only other way to succeed is to suck bad enough so you are in the NBA lottery and strike gold. Also helps having an owner who is best friends with the commish so he can give you Kevin Durant landing the #2 pick in a year with Kevin Durant, then sucking again to draft Russell Westbrook with the #4 pick then sucking again to draft James Harden with the #3 pick which is what Oklahoma City did. Under this current format there is a good chance Oklahoma City won't be able to keep all three guys there. NBA history shows one of them will bolt and still no players will continue to go there. Nothing against Oklahoma City or any other small market but NBA players don't like small markets. They want to play in Los Angeles, New York or Miami. That is where the endorsements are, that is where the beautiful women are, that is where a lifestyle outside of basketball is. Tim Duncan stayed so the Spurs won four titles, remember when Kevin Durant is a free agent he'll be 26 years old so he'll be in the exact same spot in his career which Lebron James was in. 20 years from now nobody is going to remember that Lebron James played for Cleveland.

Let's go back to the 2008 "Redeem Team" roster shall we? You had Chris Paul(New Orleans), Kobe Bryant(Los Angeles), Carmelo Anthony(Denver), Lebron James(Cleveland), Dwight Howard(Orlando), Deron Williams(Utah), Chris Bosh(Toronto), Jason Kidd(Dallas), Michael Redd(Milwaukee), Dwyane Wade(Miami), Tayshaun Prince(Detroit) and Carlos Boozer(Utah). Of those 12 guys you see 10 guys not playing for Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. As of right now nine of those guys are playing in Los Angeles(Bryant, Howard, Paul), New York(Anthony, Kidd, and Williams) and Miami(James, Wade and Bosh). Boozer left for a big market as well in Chicago while Redd and Prince careers fell off so nobody really wants them. So that is 83% of the team is now playing in big markets which screams small market teams just don't matter in the NBA.

As a northwest fan this sucks I must say. It hurts knowing that when we do get a team and they are the Sonics again we are playing against a stacked deck. On this current 2012 team only Kobe Bryant was the only player not picked in the top 10. So the only chance a small market has is to suck for multiple years in a row like Oklahoma City while also being in a draft with a game changing player like a Tim Duncan or Kevin Durant. Meanwhile Los Angeles, Miami and to a lesser degree New York will continue to clean up on free agents. David Stern in the 1980's decided to feature the players with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird instead of the teams. Due to that the players have all the power in this league which means the teams don't. Lebron James set the stage also for if players are willing to take less money to join forces to create a super team. No the Howard trade didn't change anything at all just cemented the fact that the big market teams in this league are going to continue to get better. While the small market teams are going to have to continue to fight a stacked deck which is made to prevent them from winning championships. That is the NBA that David Stern built which sucks for all small market teams. Basically as long as David Stern is commish small markets teams don't stand a chance.

Lebron goes from prince to finally becoming king!

By Kshell

After years of suffering Lebron James can finally be called an NBA champion. When the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 in game five to win the series four games to one the Heat have won their second championship in franchise history. More importantly the leagues greatest player Lebron James has won his first NBA title in his 9th season and was named NBA Finals MVP. Lebron capped his terrific playoffs with a triple double scoring 26 points, dishing out 13 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds. James in these finals averaged 28.6 points per game, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. James came to Miami to win a title and after making an ass of himself his first season in Miami that humbling experience made him who he was today.  James won his third MVP award in four seasons averaging 27.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 6.2 APG. In these playoffs he was even better averaging 30.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 5.6 APG. James who has always put up amazing stats finally silenced his critics after last year for the first time in his career he had a bad playoff series in last years NBA finals. James had amazing playoff games that will now be remembered because he finally won a title.

In the summer of 2010 James had "the decision" which was when the Seattle Sports Blog was formed so I always look back to that summer. James decided to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the "super team." They held a celebration before ever playing a game where Lebron famously said "not one, not two, not three.....not seven championships." The Heat immediately became the villains of the NBA and James was the poster child of that hate by every NBA city. After getting off to an 8-9 start which everyone figured 40 year old head coach Erik Spoelstra would be fired the Heat battled back to go to the NBA Finals. After being up two games to one Lebron no showed the final three games and the Dallas Mavericks upset the Heat. There was speculation that the Heat should blow this up as they don't have enough role guys and that Spoelstra was over his head. Instead Pat Riley stayed the course and added Shane Battier  to the team as the only major move heading into the strike shorten 2012 season. James played free as if he accepted that he can't please everyone and more importantly he took a hard look in the mirror at himself. I noticed on twitter instead of making snarky remarks towards Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert he was interacting with fans. He vowed win or lose he was going to play hard this Finals and to his credit he backed it up. The "decision" was a bushleague move that probably helped James become an even greater player than we could have ever imagined. James had to endure last season to finally grow into this season just like Michael Jordan had to do in the late 1980's, Shaq in the 90's when losing to the Bulls then Jazz, or Kobe post Shaq. Every player has to go through these pains and James is no different and neither is Kevin Durant.

For Kevin Durant his time isn't now. For those who thought the Thunder were going to win and Vegas had them as favorites they forgot the rules of the NBA. You have to pay your dues first which Lebron, Wade and Bosh have. While Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden haven't done yet. Durant who has won the last three scoring titles and lit up game one of the finals scoring 36 points including 17 in the fourth quarter proved he is a great scorer but not on Lebron's level.....yet. Durant these finals averaged 30.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.2 APG making 2.6 three pointers a game. Durant was a great scorer these playoffs but his all around game could still use some work. These playoffs Durant averaged 28.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG and made 2.05 three pointers a game. Westbrook had his moments like scoring 43 points in game four loss on 20-32 shooting but also had his low moments shooting 4-20 in a game five elmination loss. James Harden who was terrific all postseason was a total no show in the finals who padded his stats when the game was a blowout in game five. Still Durant is only 23(turns 24 in September), Westbrook is 23(turns 24 in September) and Harden is 22(turns 23 in August). Their three best players are well ahead of the learning curve. The fact they are already in the NBA finals and have lost to eventual NBA champions the last three seasons shows they are right there. Durant is going to have his day eventually where he is king and winning all the rings. For now though Lebron is showing that he isn't ready to give up the "best player in the game" award that he has held the last few seasons.

When Durant finally wins his ring it won't be as big of a deal as today since there is no player quite like Lebron James. Good or bad people have a strong opinion on James that hasn't been seen before. He is talented, says stupid things and grew up in the 24/7 media world we live in which creates a perfect storm. This is Lebron's time and he left Cleveland so he can have help. Mario Chalmers scored 25 points in game four win, while Mike Miller had 23 points in game five hitting seven three pointers. Shane Battier scored 17 points hitting five three pointers in the game two win. Chris Bosh despite playing hurt these finals averaged a gritty 14.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG. Meanwhile Dwyane Wade bounced back from a rough game one to average 22.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 5.2 APG. Without those guys James probably doesn't have a ring but that isn't to diminish James title. Jon Paxson and Steve Kerr hit game winning shots in NBA finals clinchers for Michael Jordan and who can forget Ron Artest hitting a dagger three pointer to bail out Kobe Bryant's 6-24 in the Finals in game 7 in 2010?  These clutch moments by others are what helps stars reach their championship totals but stars do have to come through in big moments and James did just that this postseason.

The Heat are the first ever team to win a championship trailing in three different series. Trailing two games to one heading into game four in Indiana without Chris Bosh the Heat had to win. James responded with a historical performance not seen since 1961 by Elgin Baylor. In the Heat 101-93 win in which they trailed by 15 early Lebron scored 40 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and had 9 assists. The Heat would go on to win that series in six games. In the Eastern Conference Finals after being up 2-0 the Heat lost three in a row and were heading to Boston with their season on the line. The Heat destroyed the Celtics 98-79 as Lebron scored 30 points in the first half finishing with 45 points on 19-26(73.2%) shooting with 15 rebounds and five assists. In game seven after trailing early James once again came up big scoring 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. In game two of the finals with his team needing a win James scored 32 points and iced the game at the free throw line making all 12 attempts. Then in game four he was cramping and had to leave the game. He did return however to hit the go ahead three pointer giving him 26 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists which hadn't been seen since Larry Bird in 1986. Then today Lebron finishes up his great playoffs with a triple double scoring 26 points, dishing out 13 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds. Not many powerforwards dish out 13 assists just like no many guards average nearly 10 rebounds. James can play any position on the court which he has done this entire playoffs. He had one of the all-time great playoffs by an individual anyone has ever seen.

Call James whatever you want but a "choke artist," "not-clutch," "ringless," and "disappears in the fourth" can no longer be used. In proving the critics wrong he also proved them right as well. He needed to change as a player and as a person why he has low post moves, why he isn't afraid to take over down the stretch, why he plays defense now which he didn't prior to the 2008 Olympics(he noticed how hard Kobe Bryant was going at it and it clicked to him and Wade). James is more humble now as his celebration after beating Boston in round two back in 2011 was more so than when he actually won the title. In the 1980's you had Bird-Magic, in the 1990's you had Jordan, in the 2000's you had Shaq, Duncan and Kobe. In the 10's you'll have Lebron-Durant. James won the first of many battles between these two in the finals. Durant will have his time someday but for now there is only one king and his name is Lebron James.

2012 NBA Finals preview + prediction

By Kshell

The dream NBA Finals match up that every casual basketball fan has wanted has finally arrived with three-time MVP Lebron James and the Miami Heat taking on the three-time defending scoring champion Kevin Durant. Both players will be the face of team USA this summer in London. Both of are the best players in the world who happen to play the same position. Both guys are also looking for their first championship ring in their young careers. Both guys have also left a city bitter with James having the "decision" which still has Cleveland fans pissed off. While Durant has done nothing wrong the man who signs his checks moved the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City and us Seattle fans are still hurt about losing our team along with Durant. In this post I'll break down my three keys to the series while reflecting back on the Sonics situation. Then at the end I'll offer up prediction on the series as the Oklahoma City Thunder are the heavy favorites this series after defeating the San Antonio Spurs four straight games while the Heat struggled to beat an aging Boston Celtics team in seven games.

1. Who will emerge from this Finals as the best player in the NBA?

What makes this NBA Finals so unique unlike previous other finals is that so much is riding on the superstars of each team. Fair or not the winner of this series will see their star emerge as the best player in the NBA. In most sports the role players step up and win MVP's sometimes in championship series but in the NBA the MVP is almost always the best player on their own team. This postseason both players are playing surpurb basketball. For the Heat Lebron James is averaging 30.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG and 5.1 APG. He is averaging 42:22 minutes a game in 18 games while recording 1.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. He is making 1.1 three pointers a game and shooting 50.8% from the field. He is also getting to the foul line averaging 10.4 free throws a game. In the Eastern Conference Finals win over the Celtics James was terrific averaging 33.6 PPG, 11.0 RPG and 3.9 APG. James though has struggled in 10 career Finals games averaging only 19.6 PPG and has yet to score more than 25 points.

His counterpart will be Kevin Durant who will be playing in his very first of probably many NBA Finals. Durant these playoffs is also playing terrific averaging 27.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 4.2 APG. In 15 games he is averaging 41:33 minutes a game while recording 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He is making 1.9 three pointers a game while shooting 50.5% from the field, 36.4% on three pointers and 87.0% on 8.2 free throw attempts. Durant has defeated the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and then the hottest team in the NBA the San Antonio Spurs. All three teams have represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals the last 13 seasons including 10 championships. I have a feeling the Durant-Lebron rivalry is about to reach Bird-Magic territory as this won't be the only time these two will square off in the NBA Finals.

Whoever wins this matchup will most likely be hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. I can't see a scenario where either player has even an average series by their own high standards and their team prevailing. One of these two is about to be the face of the NBA, team USA basketball and win their first ever championship and that is all in their hands.

2. Nobody likes a third wheel except for both these teams:

In this series Kevin Durant-Lebron James battle will grab the first, second and third headlines. The next headlines will be the battle between Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook who will also be a fun matchup as both are combo guards. If those matchups cancel each other out as they'll be going up against each other offensively and defensively then this series could be decided by the "third wheel's" on each team. For the Zombies Sonics that is sixth man of the year James Harden and for the Heat that is six-time all-star Chris Bosh who is coming off injury. Currently Bosh like Harden is coming off the bench and I actually like that move as he provides instant offense off the bench which teams have used to win a title recently with Jason Terry, Lamar Odom, and Manu Giniboli.

The man with the incredible beard James Harden has been great all year and especially in these playoffs with already two big moments(both of which were on the road against Dallas in game four and San Antonio in game five). Harden these playoffs is averaging 17.6 PPG, 5.2RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.7 steals per game in 31:04 minutes while coming off the bench. Harden is shooting 45.2% from the field, making 1.7 three pointers a game on 44.6% shooting and 87.3% of his free throws on 6.8 attempts. He is playing incredible this postseason as he has the third highest PER rating behind on James and Durant.

Meanwhile Bosh who got hurt during game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals has finally returned while coming off the bench. In this postseason Bosh has played in only nine games making six starts. He is averaging 13.7 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 28:28 minutes per game. He is shooting 52.3% from the field and making 80.0% of his free throws on 3.9 attempts. He has also made 0.6 three pointers a game on 62.5% shooting. In game seven he was a huge spark for the Heat making a career high three three pointers as he scored 19 points while pulling down eight rebounds as he looked healthy.

Harden will be guarded in crunch time by Shane Battier while Bosh will be guarded by Serge Ibaka who is better at blocking shots not necessarily playing on the perimeter. If either guy can go off and help ease the load of their two stars this could be what is needed to shift this series. Both guys are very capable of erupting for 30 plus at home or on the road.

3. Like Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg the other guys can save the day:

This series will be defined by Lebron vs Duant, Westbrook vs Wade and the two major 6th men stars. What could swing a game or two in this series is the other guys headlined by the Zombie Sonics Serge Ibaka. The Miami Heat trio of Lebron-Wade-Bosh scored the final 31 points of their game seven win over Boston. In these playoffs the Heat big three is averaging 67.4 PPG, 10.0 APG and 21.5 RPG. They are also getting 4.0 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while hitting 2.1 three pointers a game. The "other guys" on the Heat are averaging 28.7 PPG, 7.3 APG and 19.0 RPG. They are also getting 3.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while drilling 4.3 three pointers a game.

The Oklahoma City trio of Durant-Westbrook-Harden is averaging 67.1 PPG, 13.1 APG and 18.2 RPG. They are also getting 4.9 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while hitting 4.6 three pointers. The "other guys" on the Zombie Sonics are averaging 35.2 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 22.1 RPG. They are also getting 4.2 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while hitting 2.3 three pointers a game. As you can see the Zombies "other guys" are more explosive than the Heat. The Zombies feature Serge Ibaka who these playoffs is averaging 10.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 3.3 blocks per game.

For the Heat their main "other guy" is Mario Chalmers who is averaging 11.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 3.9 APG while making 1.4 three pointers a game. The Heat don't have a deep roster there is a reason why head coach Erik Spoelstra started three different guys at center in the Celtics series alone and basically only played the big three along with Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier and Chalmers. The Zombies though have the edge in talent and championship experience with Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher who have combined played in nine NBA Finals while winning six NBA championships.

The national media has it all wrong and that's a damn shame!

I'm already getting annoyed with how Lebron James and the Miami Heat are the "villains" because he chose to leave his hometown team for less money to pursue a championship(already in two seasons been to more NBA finals than in seven seasons in Cleveland) while most on ESPN are covenietly ignoring how Oklahoma City became Oklahoma City. The Thunder were flat out stolen from the Sonics as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Collison were all drafted by Seatle. To pretend they are the heartfelt good guys is a slap in the face to all those in Seattle who grew up as Sonics fans.

I understand the national media doesn't want to hate on Oklahoma City or be disrespectful towards them as this is their moment. Just don't pretend they are the good guys either while Miami is the villains because that is simply not the case. We have suffered a lot in recent years with the Seahawks not having a winning season since 2007, the Mariners lost 95+ games three of the last four seasons while finishing in last place six of the last eight seasons. For our college fans the Washington Huskies going 0-12 in the Tyrone Willingham era and for the Washington State Cougars fans going 9-40 the last four seasons in the Paul Wulff era. The Sonics with Kevin Durant was supposed to be our reward and we didn't even get that. Hopefully the Sonics return(they'll be here sooner than people think you watch) I hope we are awarded a talent like Durant as this city is so overdue. At least Cleveland got the experiene of Lebron James for seven years. We got to experience Durant for one season in a lameduck year that was full on rebuild mode. Seattle fans got robbed and the national media continues to piss down our back and tell us it's raining isn't helping either.

Prediction: Heat in six games

As if I was going to take Oklahoma City in this series. In reality I'm making this prediction for basketball related reasons and I'm even wagering money on the Heat to win. I can't believe a team that features Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh is being underestiminated but they are. The Heat I feel are more battle tested than the Thunder after playing in the NBA Finals just last year plus are always under the media spotlight so this is nothing new to them. While the young Thunder are on center stage for the first time. Durant especially has received a free pass from the media his entire career if he starts to slump and James is going off that won't happen this series. Westbrook has already received some backlash last year but it won't be like it is now if he struggles in the Finals. I do think experience plays a role as well as the losing team from the previous year in the NBA finals who happens to reach the finals the next year has won the championship four out of seven times since 1980. Two of those champions the 1988 Detroit Pistons and 2009 Los Angeles Lakers would actually go on to win the next two titles. The teams that lost were the 1984 Lakers who would win the title following season, 1998 Utah Jazz who lost to the Michael Jordan dynasty back to back and the 2003 New Jersey Nets who came from the weakest east ever.

Now since 1980 when teams with Finals experience went up against teams without it(basically the core players) the team with experience has won 10 of the 14 matchups. The four cases where no experience prevailed was the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers who would go on to win five NBA titles, 1991 Chicago Bulls who would go on to win six NBA titles, 2004 Detroit Pistons who would reach NBA Finals following season and 2008 Boston Celtics who were all veteran future hall of famers.  I think both these teams are going to be living in the NBA finals for the rest of this decade as Durant and James are in their prime years.

Besides experience and being battle tested the main reason I'm taking the Heat is I feel like Lebron James is playing the best ball of his career. I also think Lebron has matured and is just focused on winning a title. Last year he worried too much about his critics and was tweeting about his "haters". While this year he seems at peace with himself and that hate towards him isn't as strong as it once was. He is playing like Karl Malone if Malone was able to bring the ball up court and pass. James is playing at a super natural level and defensively he is guarding Rajon Rondo one possession while guarding Kevin Garnett the next. I think he is going to give Durant some problems in those crunch moments plus Wade brings his "A" game in the NBA Finals as Wade in 12 career games has averaged 30.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 4.5 APG. Last year in the Finals loss Wade averaged 26.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 5.2 APG as he was having another spectacular finals. In 2006 Wade won the Finals MVP averaging 34.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 3.8 APG. For the Heat to win Flash will need to go off once again.

This series is what every fan who doesn't live in Cleveland or Seattle can hope for. We have six stars including four guys who will be on the U.S. Olympic team and a fifth in Bosh depending on his health. All of these guys are in their primes and in the case of both teams best two players play the same position. Westbrook will be going up against Wade in the fourth quarter and more importantly Durant will be squaring off against Lebron in the fourth quarter. America better get used to this matchup as I think this will be the new Magic-Bird of the 1980's which saw one of those two play in nine of the 10 NBA finals in the 1980's winning eight championships. They went up against each other three times as well with Bird winning the first matchup while Magic won the last two. I'm looking forward to this Finals and I truly believe this is the Finals where Lebron silences his critics for good.

I still hate Howard Schultz

By Kshell

What should have been a great day in Seattle Sports history was ruined due to what Howard Schultz did to the city on July 18th, 2006. On that day Schultz the owner of Starbucks coffee sold the team out to out of state owner Clay Bennett who was from Oklahoma. On that day most Sonics fans became scared as we knew our team was in serious danger of moving. The team eventually moved after the 2007-08 season due to mayor Greg Nickels selling out the team and releasing the Seattle Supersonics of their two year lease agreement. Now most in this city have a ton of hate towards this situation I feel like Howard Schultz who receives a ton of hate doesn't earn even more. This man not only robbed me of my team that I grew up with but he robbed us all of the experience to witness one of  the NBA's all-time greats when it is all said and done in Kevin Durant. Howard Schultz was supposed to be on our side as was Greg Nickels and yet both failed us. This is why I'll never vote for Nickels and will never spend one penny at Starbucks!

Howard Schultz often used the phrase "civic duty" yet when it came to the hometown team he stabbed them in the back for more money.  Schultz bought the team from long time owner Barry Ackerly in 2001 as Ackerly sold to Schultz due to being an in state owner despite someone else bidding more. Schultz then ran the franchise into the ground and alienating his fan base by trading away Gary Payton. With poor drafting and bad free agent signings the Sonics were a complete mess under Schultz watch. In 2004-05 the Sonics came out of nowhere to win the first ever Northwest Division title going 52-30. Schultz was there courtside acting like a fan. Acting like the type of owner you want. That offseason he would let Nate McMillan walk down the road to coach the Portland Trail Blazers. Schultz once again went cheap instead of hiring a real head coach he promoted long time assistent Bob Weiss. After the Sonics failed that year he sold the team that offseason to Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett. Steve Balmer and others in this area were willing to buy the team but Schultz never officially put the team on sale. Instead sold to Bennett who way overpaid. Schultz when all said and done made over 150 million dollars in profit by selling this team.

I remember in my college years at Central Washington University trying to ignore reality of the situation. There was no way the NBA was going to let some new owner just move the team away who had 40 years of history including an NBA title. There was no way our city was going to let Bennett out of his lease that ran through the 2010 season. The Sonics under Bennett that first year continued to struggled then that offseason he decided to blow the team up. Most thought he was doing that on purpose but I actually liked that decision. The Sonics landed Kevin Durant with the #2 pick and traded franchise star Ray Allen for Jeff Green. The Sonics last year in Seattle would lose over 60 games for the first time in franchise history. The Sonics in that 2008 draft would select Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. Already I was worried because at the draft both players were chosen by the "Sonics" there was no mention of Seattle. All the national media guys were saying the team was gone and recently at this time Schultz stepped forward claiming he was going to sue Bennett for lying to him about having a "good faith" to keep the team. I was thinking right on Schultz maybe you aren't this bad guy after all! Schultz I figured knew people hated him and wanted to right his wrong.

Come to find out it was all for show by Schultz. A week after the draft then mayor Greg Nickels sold the team out and realeased the Sonics of their two year lease. Immediately after that Schultz dropped his lawsuit and the nightmare scenario had become reality. I was so upset as I knew Kevin Durant was going to become a star. I also knew that first year they would struggle and receive another high draft pick which they did in James Harden. Seattle fans put in the hard work with this franchise which didn't give us many memories from 1998-2008. Now Oklahoma City in just their fourth season is going to the NBA Finals meanwhile here in Seattle we are just hoping that someday we can have a team. Clay Bennett and David Stern aren't high on my list at all and I hate them. I really hate Greg Nickels and Howard Schultz the most. Those guys were supposed to be on our team yet they stabbed us in the back for more money. Money that none of us fans are ever going to see.

I'm so angered when I drive by a starbucks in Seattle and see the place is full. I'm so angered that so many in this area still refer to OKC as their team. How can you claim them as us when they were stolen from us?!! I like Kevin Durant but I hate their owner, hate that city, and hate their fan base that is consistently rubbing our noses in the fact our team was stolen. I was disgusted when this state had a starbucks day to honor Schultz just shows the politicians didn't care then or care now about the Sonics franchise. Last night we should have been celebrating our first trip to the NBA Finals in 16 years instead we are left with sadness, anger and just flat out depression. For this feeling I'll never forgive Howard Schultz who destroyed a city and made a profit. A guy who most of this state doesn't hate for some reason. I'm not a hateful person at all but I truly hate Howard Schultz and can't stand the way people have easily forgotten what he did to our city.





If you want to learn more about the Sonics situation feel free to watch Sonicsgate the movie as you'll learn a lot about what exactly had happened to us during that terrible time.

SSB weekly rant: May 26th-June 1st edition

By Kshell

Happy booze day to all my readers who like liquor! Today of course is the first day in this states history where alcohol can be purchased inside a store such as costco, fred meyers, wal mart, QFC, etc. So now it is much easier to purchase alcohol as you are buying your mix drinks. Not to mention the money now goes towards our state and it actually cheaper despite what many have you to believe. Hopefully those of you out there are taking advantage of this new law as you are reading my blog post. This week I have plenty to rant about as the NBA playoffs are now in the conference finals, while David Stern had yet another fishy NBA lottery, one team in the playoffs is denying tickets to fans who happen to live in 47 states in the United States and the Mariners are bowing down to a legend who is way past his prime.

The big news out of Seattle today is Ichiro is being moved from the 3rd spot in the lineup. That was expected since he is only hitting .271/.305/.367 on the season with just one home run in 223 PA's. He only had 15 extra base hits and when he was given the day off the Mariners erupted for 21 runs against the Texas Rangers. So most people thought the slumping Ichiro would hit at the bottom of the order as the kids develope. Instead Ichiro will bat leadoff in a move that pisses me off. Look I understand batting order doesn't matter and scrubs like Miguel Olivo still play against right handers. The reason this move pisses me off shows that Ichiro still has management by the balls. It shows that Ichiro is still running this franchise that has finished in last place six of the last eight seasons and is currently in last place right now. The Mariners continue to bow down to their legendary right fielder despite the fact he isn't hitting that well the last two years. The last two years Ichiro's production has fallen and with these young kids playing all the time it's time to develope them and worry about Ichiro less.

This week the NBA held their annual draft lottery where they determine who receives the number one pick. This year it matters more so than other years because the player with the number one pick will be Kentucky Wildcats center Anthony Davis. Davis who was the Final Four most outstanding player as he led the Wildcats to their first NCAA championship since 1998. Davis who was the #1 player coming out of high school didn't disappoint as he won the college basketball player of the year award when he averaged 14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 62.3% from the field. So Davis is the obvious choice what made this lottery so fishy is the fact the New Orleans Hornets won the lottery. Yes the same team that David Stern and the NBA had taken over for over the past year. The same team that nobody wanted to buy then suddenly a month ago New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson bought the team despite not showing any interest in the team before. Look I don't know if Stern rigged the lottery or not but Sonicsgate did show he is a corrupt man. I wouldn't be shocked one bit if he promised Benson the #1 pick if he buys the team from the league. Stern is not someone you can trust as the NBA always has a way of getting the teams they want in the NBA Finals.

For yesterday's game three of the Western Conference Finals the Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics denied all fans who weren't from Oklahoma, Arkansas or Kansas to enter the game. If your billing address wasn't from those states you couldn't buy tickets. So that includes even famous people like rapper Lil' Wayne was denied to go to the game. As Charles Barkley has said in the past Oklahoma City isn't a city for black people and they are holding that statement true by denying a black rapper. This is very North Korea like in an attempt to keep Spurs fans and Sonics fans away. They know most of the NBA is rooting against them as they stole a team from a dedicated fan base like Seattle. Now they are denying people from other states to attend their games. These guys continue to show why they are at the bottom of the NBA when it comes to class. Oklahoma City with the way they still bash Seattle has shown they have no class and they are denying the world from their shithole city because they know the whole world will bash that city. Welcome to Oklahoma City folks where they resemble North Korea more than the United States!

Meanwhile the conference finals are heating up as the home teams have won all five games. The Miami Heat survived game two over the Boston Celtics in overtime 115-111. Ray Allen had hit a three pointer to force the overtime, Rajon Rondo scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds as it wasn't enough. Lebron James had a "quiet" 34 points and 13 rebounds while Dwyane Wade was quiet all game until he scored eight in the overtime period to finish with 23 points. The Heat now lead 2-0 heading back to Boston tonight for game three. As for the other series the San Antonio Spurs led by Tony Parker and Tim Duncan led two games to zero winning 20 games in a row before finally losing to the Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics led by Kevin Durant who had been quiet the previous two games in the fourth quarter. That series is now 2-1 in the Spurs favor which should make for a terrific game four which can swing the series. I still like the Heat in five games and I like the Spurs in six games. The Heat-Spurs Finals might be one of the better finals we've seen in years.

Well hope you guys are enjoying your new alcohol freedoms today and watch the Heat-Celtics game. The Mariners are still showing that they will do whatever it takes to bow down to an aging star than worry about the future. Just don't say that to a certain media member on twitter or he'll attack you(and many others) in the process for simply disagreeing with him. Oklahoma City has continued to show they are a classless city, classless fan base and classless organization. For them to deny ticket sales to 94% of the states in this country is straight bullshit! Anyways for the playoffs I'll say this go Heat! Go Spurs! Hopefully when Ichiro retires at 45 years old the Mariners can finally start to win some games because you just know they'll bring his old ass back for another un. Anyways hope you enjoyed my weekly rant and drink safely guys!

SSB weekly rant: May 19th-25th edition

By Kshell

Happy memorial day weekend everyone! I hope everyone has a great memorial day weekend even though the traffic is a nightmare currently in Seattle. On this memorial day weekend there is plenty to talk about in the sports scene as I continue my weekly rant. The NBA postseason is providing some nice moments. In this following post I'll mainly be talking about the NBA postseason, why some fans in this area are against Chris Hansen's arena proposal and do a nice little rant on a certain Cougar fan on the Seattle Times who is bashing our Seattle Sounders. I honestly don't understand the sports fans in this town. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this following rant and be sure to remember your loved ones who have passed away this weekend by decorating their graves with flowers.

cougforlife2011 on seattletimes

"meredith is one of the worst if not the worst goalies i have ever seen in my life. The guy couldn't stop a shot from going into the back of the net if it was only 3 feet wide. Time to put him on the bench and start weber. Our front office has no clue on how to bring evaluate and bring in talent. Sounders are becoming the mariners of seattle. Oh wait the mariners have a youthfull team that actually tries and puts out effort, never mind."

I don't understand this rant at all by this dumb Coug fan. The Sounders have made the playoffs the last three seasons and are top 10 in the world in soccer attendance. While the Mariners rank 11th out of 14 teams in the American League in attendance. The Mariners haven't made the playoffs since 2001 as well. This was just a stupid overreaction by a dipshit fan who obviously hates soccer. I'm not a big soccer fan myself but to go off on the Sounders at least say something intelligent like complaining how they haven't reach the second round of the postseason. Sorry there Coug fan but the Sounders are not the Mariners, they actually win some games every now and then.

I don't get why fans are against Chris Hansen's arena proposal? See to my right is Hansen with  our good friends from Bring Back Our Sonics. This arena in the SoDo area will bring in the NBA and the NHL. This will also make the SoDo area a kickass area to be around in. Sure the Mariners will be jealous but you know what? Screw em! Win some damn games then you have a right to complain! I'll admit I wanted the team to be in the Seattle Center but it's looking like that isn't going to happen so time to join forces and rally behind Hansen. Hansen is doing what Steve Ballmer has claimed he'd do for four years now only Hansen is actually going through with it instead of blowing smoke up our asses like Ballmer. Hansen is paying for the arena too as the tax payers are getting off. The SoDo district will finally be cleaned up as well and we can have a kickass part of town basically dedicated to us sports junkies. I'm fired up over this plan and I suspect Hansen is going to make this happen regardless of what the longshoreman or Chuck Armstrong think.

Kevin Durant who should be for the Sonics will be playing in his second straight Western Conference finals for Oklahoma City as they take on the San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan. For Duncan this is his seventh Western Conference Finals trip as he has won four NBA championships. While Durant is still looking to reach his first NBA Finals after losing last year to Dallas Mavericks in five games. Both teams have cruised in the playoffs as the Zombie Sonics are 9-1 after defeating the Lakers in five games. While the old Spurs are 8-0 this postseason including two comeback wins at Staples Center to sweep off the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round. This should be a great playoff series which could set up for a good NBA finals. You have the battle of the up and comers(Zombie Sonics) against the old consistent team since 1999(the Spurs). These are the type of matchups the NBA dreams about.

What a difference a week makes for Dwyane Wade and Lebron James? This time last week they were trailing 2-1 to the Indiana Pacers.  Now they are resting to see who they host in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals starting this Monday. Lebron James had a historic performance in game four scoring 40 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists becoming the first player to do that since Elgin Baylor back in 1961. Lebron in the last three games averaged 32.7 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 8.0 APG with 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. Wade since his horrific game three responded as well in game six scoring 41 points on 17-25(68.0%) shooting with 20 points in the second quarter alone. In the last three games Wade averaged 33.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 3.8 APG. He is averaging 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game as well. The Heat proved they can win a tough playoff series and this was without seven-time all-star power forward Chris Bosh who should return this series. When James and Wade are clicking like they were this series they are impossible to beat. If the Heat advance past the winner of the Celtics-76ers that should make for another great highly rated NBA Finals.

This has been another fun week in the sports scene and this weekly rant ran a little bit longer than most. I must admit I probably left off a few things like I always do. Next week my rant will be taking place in Boise, Idaho as I'll be there next week the home of two-time Fiesta Bowl champions Boise State Broncos. These NBA playoffs have been great and I'm back into the fold as a NBA fan once again which is good since our Sonics are coming home very shortly. The NHL playoffs is compelling as well with the L.A. Kings making the Stanley Cup Finals while the New York Rangers-New Jersey Devils are battling it out in a hard fought series. Well guys have a fun and safe memorial day weekend and hope you enjoyed my weekly rant!

Two words I'd thought I'd never utter in my lifetime.........Go Lakers!

By Kshell

There is a saying that an enemy of my enemy is now my friend. That is how I feel about the second round playoff matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics. Sports can be funny sometimes but I'd put this in the cruel category where I'm forced to root on a team that growing up was my first sports team I ever hated. Many people make the mistake that the Seattle Supersonics biggest rivals were the Portland Trail Blazers but that simply wasn't the case. Minus the 1978 season neither team was good at the same time. When the Blazers were contenders the Sonics were rebuilders, when the Sonics were contenders the Blazers making the playoffs as a bottom seed. No the Sonics true rivals were the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and of course the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have ended the Sonics season five times in their history including twice in the Western Conference Finals and twice in the 1990's when the Sonics had homecourt advantage in both series. Still the Lakers are the lesser of two evils this series and I'll be rooting for them even though it's going to be painful.

Before I can get into why I'm rooting for the Lakers this series(should be pretty clear) I have to explain why it's so painful. There is a deep playoff background between these teams. Back in 1978 the Sonics who started off 5-17 made the playoffs led by new coach Lenny Wilkens. That would mark the first of three straight years the Sonics-Lakers would face off in the playoffs. In this best of three series the Sonics would earn their first ever playoff series win defeating the Lakers two games to one. In 1979 on their way to the franchises only championship the Sonics faced the Lakers in their first round(actually second as top two seeds received byes) which they won four games to one.  That series though featured two overtime games and four games decided by six points or less which the Sonics won three of them. Then in 1980 the Lakers had a rookie sensation at point guard named Magic Johnson. Despite winning 56 games(four more than their title year) the Sonics lost out on the division title to the Lakers but would square  off with the Lakers in the western conference finals. The defending champs upset the Lakers on their home floor in game one 108-107. Then the Magic dynasty started as the Lakers rattled off four straight wins including the final three by six points or less. That paved way to the 1980's as Magic dominated the league winning three MVP's and five NBA championships including a title that year while going to the NBA Finals eight times that decade. In the 1986-87 season the Sonics who were the 7th seed with a losing record shocked the #2 seeded Dallas Mavericks then #3 seeded Houston Rockets before once again facing Magic and the Lakers. The Lakers swept the Sonics in the Western Conference Finals led by Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Michael Coopers defense. The Lakers won game one by five points, game two by eight points then game three by a score of 122-121 before blowing out the Sonics in game four. In the 1988-89 season the Lakers swept the Sonics in second round as Magic Johnson would go 3-0 against the Sonics in the playoffs.

In the 1990's Magic Johnson had came down with HIV virus so the Lakers weren't dominant anymore. The Sonics were the new team on the west coast as they swept the Lakers in the regular season five games to zero in the 1993-94 season in earning the top record in the NBA. The Sonics would of course choke in the first round to the Denver Nuggets. The following year Nick Van Exel would become a Sonics killer as the Lakers won four of five in the regular season against the Sonics. The Sonics would face the Lakers as the 4th seed who won 57 games while the Lakers had won just 48. In game one at the Tacoma Dome the Sonics blew out the Lakers 96-71. Then in game two the Lakers had built up an eight point lead then a sudden power outage happened in the Tacoma Dome killing the momentum. When the game resumed the Sonics made a run but would lose 84-82 as the Lakers stole home court. In game three the Sonics would lose 105-101 which had them facing elimination once again. Then in game four the Sonics were up by nine points after the first quarter and led by eight heading into the fourth only to see the Lakers outscore the Sonics 32-20 to end their season 114-110. After the Sonics won the Western Conference title in 1995-96 the Lakers would sign Shaquille O'Neal. In a tight division title race that came down to the final day the Lakers would lose to the Blazers as the Sonics won the division title over the Lakers. Again in the 1997-98 with Shawn Kemp traded everyone expected the Lakers to win the division title. Once again came down to the final day only the Sonics defeated the Blazers in Portland to clinch the division crown for the third straight year and fourth year out of five. Those two teams would square off in the playoffs. The Sonics would win game one at home before losing the final four games to the Lakers which marked the end of the George Karl era in Seattle.

As you can see this Lakers franchise has caused the Sonics fans plenty of grief in thier lifetime. With all that said I'd kill to live those moments again vs the garbage we have to deal with now which isn't having a team. Seeing ESPN jerks posting our stuff as Oklahoma City stuff. I have no choice now to become the type of person that I hated which is cheer on Kobe Bryant and hope the Lakers knock off the Zombie Sonics. The Lakers defeated my team fair and square but what those dirtbags in Oklahoma City did was rip out my heart and now with Durant being so incredibly good like we all knew he would be they are now stomping on my heart  as well. The Lakers have already defeated the Zombie Sonics back in 2010 but this Zombies team is different. The Zombies are trying to take over the Lakers as the premiere team out West since the West has only seen three teams make the NBA Finals since 1999 which is the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. The Zombies are challenging that and hopefully Kobe Bryant still has one last run left in him. This is a great series from a basketball standpoint as you have the estbalished franchise with the established super start going up against the up and coming franchise with the rising super star. Both will be starters this summer on Team USA as well. For now I have to root for the Lakers despite growing up hating that team for breaking my heart in the 1995 playoffs and then putting the final nail in the George Karl era which led to this mess.

At the end of the day in sports when you watch games whether you like to admit it or not you are always rooting for a team. When the Washington State Cougars take on the Oregon Ducks I say "Go Cougs!" as they are the lesser of two evils. In this matchup the Lakers are the lesser of two evils as they didn't pack up and leave my city to some dust bowl in the middle of nowhere. The Zombie Sonics are going to go on a run and the only thing that can prevent that is the Lakers who seem to destroy every young team's chances at making runs. The Lakers since 1980 have won 10 NBA championships and made 16 NBA Finals. They are the most successful franchise in the NBA in the last 30 years and there isn't really a close second. So to this I say Go Lakers proudly! Sure I'll most likely be rooting against them in the Western Conference Finals but for this series I want the Lakers to win. Look they are the lesser of two evils and I encourage everyone in Seattle to hop on the Lakers bandwagon for just this series.

Greg Oden faces third microfracture surgery; career could be over

By Kshell

In Portland you have four guarantees in life which is being born, taxes, death and a Greg Oden injury. Sadly for Portland Trail Blazers fans the picture to my right has been seen far too often in Portland. Greg Oden who hasn't played a game since December 5th, 2009 will undergo his fifth surgery and third microfracture surgery of his career. Despite having just turned 24 years old Oden is facing the possibility of retirement. Oden should be entering his fifth season with the Blazers. The Blazers led by Greg Oden and Brandon Roy(Who also retired too young) were supposed to be contending for championships right now. Instead the Blazers are faced with losing two of their main guys they were counting on to win a title in the same season.

When Oden was selected to the Blazers with the top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft he was supposed to be that once in a generation center. He was supposed to be giving the Blazers what Dwight Howard gives the Orlando Magic every night. Oden immediately was injured at Portland missing his entire rookie season. In what should have been his second year in the NBA Oden played in 61 games for the Blazers averaging 8.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.13 blocks per game in only 21.5 minutes. In a six game series playoff loss to the Houston Rockets Oden averaged only 5.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 0.83 blocks per game in only 16 minutes. Oden's first year of playing in the NBA was a total bust. His third year in the NBA and second full season of playing was finally his breakthrough season. During his first 21 games of the season Oden was averaging 11.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 2.28 blocks per game in just 23.9 minutes. Oden was one of the most valuable players in the NBA during those 21 games then on December 5th, 2009 against the Houston Rockets it all came crashing down on Oden. Oden who was coming off of a 13 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks game against the Miami Heat went down early against the Rockets. He only played in 4 mintues and 15 seconds before going down. Oden would finish his last game with the Blazers like his first game scoring zero points and getting injured. There is a good chance Oden is never going to play again as he missed the final 61 games of the 2009-2010 season, all of 2010-11 season will miss all of 2011-12 season. Good chance he will miss all of next season and the start of the 2013-2014 season. What makes this injury to Oden even worse for the Blazers is the player they passed on Oden for is lighting it up in Kevin Durant.

That year in a fluke the Blazers jumped up to the #1 pick in the draft lottery while the Seattle Supersonics had the #2 pick. That year the choices for the top spot was Center Greg Oden from Ohio State who led the Buckeyes to the National title game averaging 15.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG and 3.3 blocks per game in only 28.9 minutes. The other option was the electric Kevin Durant from Texas university. Durant averaged 25.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. I thought Durant was the better player and was less of a risk than Oden so I was hoping the Blazers would choose Oden over Durant. Having said that I thought the Blazers were passing on a Lebron James type of talent for Dwight Howard. Meaning I thought both were going to be all-stars. I figured Durant would win MVP's while Oden would win defensive player of the year awards. The Sonics gift of Durant was quickly stolen to Oklahoma City. Durant in his five seasons has been named Rookie of the Year and is going to his third straight all-star game. Durant who led the Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics to the Western Conference Finals last season now has them with the best record in the Western Conference at 26-7. Durant in his career is averaging 26.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 Steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He is shooting 46.7% from the field, 35.9% on three pointers making 1.4 a game and 87.7% on free throws. He has led the NBA in scoring the past two years and this year is averaging 27.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks. He is shooting 51.6% from the field, 36.7% from three point range making 1.7 a game and 82.9% on free throws. Blazers management ignored their team doctors opinions on Oden suggesting he would break down after three years.  Durant appears headed towards being an NBA superstar while Oden most likely won't ever play a game again. This isn't the first time this has happened to the Blazers either.

In the 1984 NBA draft the Portland Trail Blazers had the second pick in the draft. They passed on five-time NBA MVP and six-time finals MVP Michael Jordan who is perhaps the greatest player to ever play the game. Instead they chose center Sam Bowie who had missed two whole seasons at Kentucky with injuries. Bowie played only four years with the Blazers having played in just 76 games his rookie year, 38 games his second year, five games his third and 20 his fourth. Bowie averaged in those years 10.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 2.67 blocks per game his rookie year. After that it was all downhill for Bowie as he played in just 139 out of 328 games(42.3% of teams game played) in his career with the Blazers. The Blazers would lose to Jordan in the 1992 NBA Finals where he was named finals MVP. The Blazers franchise would never live this moment down and when they had a chance to re-write history instead history just repeated itself.

The anger towards Oden is unfair but I understand it. The Blazers have a great fanbase and they feel like this is unfair. Twice now the Blazers have chosen the injury plagued center who had shown signs prior to the draft of being injury prone. Twice now the Blazers have passed up on a prolific scorer and superstar for the center. The Blazers franchise has nobody to blame but themselves for ignoring the warning signs which was right there. Hopefully in the future if the Blazers do get a third chance to re-write history they take the advice of the warning signs and go with the future superstar. Now the Blazers who already lost Roy and most likely won't ever see Oden play in a Blazers uniform again are only left wondering what if? History has repeated itself once again in Portland which has been a sad pill to swallow for such a loyal fanbase. Even more sad is that basketball fans will have lost out on the chance to ever see what Oden could have done in Portland. Once again the Blazers are left with what if?

Western Conference Finals Preview + Predictions

By Kshell

The Western Conference Finals is finally here and what makes this year strange is that the Lakers aren't in the Western Conference Finals. In fact since 1980 only four years(1981,1990,1993,2006) prior to this year where a Western Conference Finals didn't have the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs or Utah Jazz. What also makes this series unique is that this is only the third time since 1980 that a conference finals didn't have a #1 or #2 seed. The other two years were 1981 when the 6th seeded Houston Rockets defeated the 5th seeded Kansas City Kings. The other year was 1990 when the 3rd seeded Portland Trail Blazers defeated the 5th seeded Phoenix Suns. I should say the Blazers did have the second best record in the west and against the 2nd seeded Spurs in the second round the Blazers had homecourt. So this is the first time the two best teams in the conference haven't been in the conference finals since 1981 in either conference. That still doesn't mean this series won't be a good series as most people had both these teams high up on their list of teams heading into the season.

This series features a matchup of the veteran Dallas Mavericks who have a roster full of guys chasing their first championship. For the other side you have the Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics which feature the third youngest team in the NBA. The Zombies have two all NBA guys in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook plus a plethora of big men to throw at teams. The Mavericks will have that big game experience so it will come down to talent vs experience this series. Like I did with the Eastern Conference preview I'll give three keys for each team to win the series then I'll offer up a prediction. I'll start off with the Zombie Sonics(thanks Schultz!) who despite what morons on ESPN keep saying making their first conference finals.

Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics:

The city of Seattle right now should be buzzing with the Sonics instead due to idiots at high places we can only suffer. The Zombies feature a championship roster which has all the ingredients for a championship team. They feature a closer at the end of games and a top five player in the NBA in Kevin Durant. They feature a second star in Russell Westbrook which almost every champion needs. They feature good depth as seven guys give them 20 plus minutes a game this playoffs. They feature plenty of big men who they feel comfortable with. The only thing the Zombies don't have is experience but they are gaining experience from this postseason. Now I'll give my three keys they must do to win this series.

1. Give Kevin Durant the ball he's the best scorer in the NBA

Very rarely do you have a scorer like Kevin Durant if ever. There is no way to defend Durant as he can shoot over the smaller defenders or blow right by the bigger defenders. The problem this playoffs is at times like game four vs the Memphis Grizzlies where Durant went the final nine minutes of regulation without one shot attempt. Durant is a first team all-NBA performer as he averaged 27.7 points per game while shooting 46.2% from the field, 35% on three pointers making almost two a game and 88% from free throws on nine attempts a game. Durant is a scorer who can get to the rim or beat you on the outside. In the playoffs he has been even better averaging 28.9 points per game shooting 45.8% from the field, 38% on three pointers making 2.5 a game and 82.2% from free throws on 10 attempts a game. Durant is a dangerous player to go up against in a seven game series.

2. Zombie Sonics bigs must defend the three ball:

This will be a tough matchup for the Zombies as all four of their bigs in Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed are all bangers. The Lakers had that problem too as it became obvious pretty quickly that Andrew Bynum couldn't play that series. Well this series I don't know what the Zombies plan on doing to slow down Dirk Nowitzki but that will be a huge key. You can't stop Nowitzki but you also can't allow him to take over games especially in the fourth quarter like he has. I'm sure the Zombies will put the more athletic Ibaka on him as Ibaka is a great shotblocker as well. The Zombies don't really feature anyone who is capable of defending Nowitzki they might have to put Durant on him in late game situations.

3. Russell Westbrook must dominate the Mavericks point guards:

I just told you the Mavericks big advantage this series well the Zombies have a big advantage themselves in Westbrook. The Mavericks had the perfect storm to hide Jason Kidd the first two series. Kidd went up against Andre Miller then Steve Blake and Derek Fisher who Kidd is more athletic than. This series that won't be the case as Westbrook should be able to dominate that matchup and if he doesn't well this will be a short series. Westbrook was named second team all-nba behind MVP Derrick Rose as he scored 21.9 points per game, dished out 8.2 assists per game, grabbed 4.6 rebounds and had 1.9 steals. He also shot 44.2% from the field, 33% from three pointers and 84.2% from free throws. In the playoffs Westbrook has been criticized for shooting too much but he is a good player himself. These playoffs he's averaging 23.9 points per game, dishing out 7.0 assists a game and grabbing 5.6 rebounds. For the Zombies to have a chance Westbrook has to dominate the Jason Kidd matchup.

Dallas Mavericks:

The team who is best known for choking in the playoffs has yet to lose a game since blowing a 24 point lead to the Blazers in round one. The Mavericks shocked everyone by not only beating the Lakers but they swept the Lakers. In game four the Mavericks hit 20-32(62.5%) from three point range. The Mavericks feature tons of players who have been close to winning a title from Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry who were on that 2006 Finals team who blew a 2-0 series lead over the Miami Heat. They also have Jason Kidd who lost back to back NBA finals in 2002 and 2003. They also have Peja Stojakovic who was on that Kings team in 2002 who lost the Western Finals in a game seven. The Mavericks also have Tyson Chandler who was on the 2008 New Orleans Hornets team who blew a 2-0 series lead over the Spurs in the second round. The Mavericks have Shawn Marion who lost back to back Western Conference Finals with the Suns in 2005 and 2006 as well. As you can see this is a hungry roster trying to erase those horrible memories. Now I'll give three keys for the Mavericks if they plan on winning this series.

1. Continue to make Nowitzki a matchup nightmare for opponents:

The Zombies like I discussed earlier have nobody who can even come close to matching up with Nowitzki. Nowitzki has been a force these playoffs averaging 26.5 points per game while grabbing 8.4 rebounds. He is shooting 49.7% from the field, 60.0% from three pointers on two attempts a game and 89.9% from the free throw line. In the fourth quarter Nowitzki has hit tough shot after another on the Blazers and Lakers. Nowitzki is still capable of bringing the ball inside and drawing fouls which is an automatic two points. Nowitzki will try to bring out one of the Zombies shot blocking duo of Perkins and most likely Ibaka. By doing that the Mavericks will have more room to penetrate the hole. This will be Nowitzki's third conference finals. The first one saw him get hurt as the Mavericks lost to the Spurs in six games in 2003. The second one saw Nowitzki drop 50 on the Suns in a critical game five as the Mavericks won in six games in 2006. Nowitzki like the rest of the roster is hungry to prove the doubters wrong.

2. Make it rain three pointers:

The Mavericks have been draining three pointers these playoffs especially against the Lakers. In the playoffs the Mavericks are averaging 9.5 three pointers a game on 41.9% shooting. The Mavericks have plenty of people who are capable of burning you on three pointers. We all know about Nowitzki but he isn't the only one. Jason Terry coming off a game where he hit 9-10 from three pointers these playoffs is hitting 2.2 a game for 50.0% from downtown. Stojakovic coming off a game where he hit 6-6 from three point range is making 2.4 a game for 46.2% from downtown. Jason Kidd had a huge Blazers series for the playoffs he's hitting 2.2 a game and DeShawn Stevenson is hitting a three pointer a game. The Mavericks stretch the floor so well and always have four guys on the court who can drill the three pointer on you. They also get to the rim so they don't live and die by the three pointer.

3. Mavericks bench to continue playing great:

The Mavericks bench led by Jason Terry has been outstanding these playoffs. In the game four win over the Lakers the bench scored 86 points which is incredible. The bench features Jason Terry who is averaging 18.3 points per game, Peja Stojakovic averaging 10.7 points per game and J.J. Barea who is averaging 7.7 points per game. Barea changed game two of the Lakers series with his constant penetration and kicking it out. While Terry and Stojakovic have given the Mavericks huge lifts in these playoffs. Both veterans are shooting great and give the Mavericks a very deep roster. The Mavericks have eight guys who average 17 plus minutes a game which shows you how deep this team is. The Mavericks other than Nowitzki have several key pieces that can come in and out. If the Mavericks continue this production from their bench look for them to win the title.

Prediction: Mavericks in Seven games

You think I was going to pick the team that was stolen from Seattle? Child please! Actually I think this series will be a great series that will go the distance. I think the Mavericks could even lose tonight due to rust as they haven't played in nine days. I'm picking the Mavericks because I think the Zombies are too young and a year away. The Mavericks are hungry plus feature a deep roster. The Mavericks also have a great closer in Nowitzki who the Zombies have nobody capable of guarding him. I do think the Zombies will give the Mavericks some problems too why I said seven games. This should be a great conference finals just wish this was in Seattle. Also remember the only owner who flat out voted no against the Sonics move was Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. At the end though Nowitzki will prove to be the difference in a critical game seven.