As a friend of mine taught me (Scal) sometimes you gotta suck up your pride, wipe the egg off your of face and go at it again. The mother of all letdowns that I claimed would happen (in the first game between these teams) never materialized. There were two reasons for this:
1) The Thunder were not prepared for game 1. Whether it was bad coaching, the relief of having beaten the Grizz in a series they could have easily lost, overconfidence due to their back to back blow out wins, or their expectations that the Clippers (after a very rough series) would have nothing left in the tank, the Thunder simply did not show up; at least not on the defensive end. And that last part is important because this Thunder team (for all its flaws on offense) is a great defensive team (when they show up).
2) The Clippers never had that letdown because they were so worked up by all the adversity they had to face and overcome (like a soldier who, even after the battle is over, can’t get himself out of combat mode) that they were still in game 7 mode when they met the Thunder. At least that’s how they played that all important 1st quarter: making shot after shot as if their playoff lives depended on it.
Now the line for game 2 is -5.5. The fact that this is an almost a must win game for the Thunder (losing 2 at home is a recipe for disaster) gets us to -2. But there is more at stake than just winning for the Thunder.
The Thunder were embarrassed at home, to the point where they were booed by the home crowd. This is certainly worth 1.5 points to this proud Thunder team that loves playing at home.
The Thunder bench was severely outplayed by the Clippers bench; something they’ve been hearing in the media the last two days. If the Thunder bench is ever gonna show up, it will be for this game. That’s worth another 1.5 points, bringing us to -5.5.
Russell Westbrook was badly outplayed by Chris Paul, and we know what kind of competitor Westbrook is. No way he gets shown up for a 2nd straight game at home. Worth another point, bringing us to -6.5.
Durant just received the MVP trophy and gave a very moving speech about playing for the city he loves and the teammates he loves. He will want to show everyone why he got that trophy, tomorrow night. That’s worth another point at least, bringing us to -7.5.
Even more, however, the Spurs and Heat (two title contenders) just won their 1st home game in blowout fashion; not only showing up the Thunder but showing them how championship teams (or teams that aspire to win it all) go about their business. Do not discount the effect of these wins (on tomorrow’s game) for a second. These players all watch ESPN and know exactly what their rivals are up to. They will want to duplicate what the Heat and Spurs did tonight, which is worth another 2 points, brining us to -9.5.
As for the Clips, it’s finally time for their letdown: after all, they’ve earned it.
The Play: Thunder -5.5, but I'll be buying the hook, cause I hate them.