It seems that in basketball there is an up swing and a down. Every great team has an expiration date for when things will cease to be as they were. Jonathan Abrams’s noted this about the Kings in his oral history about the 2002 season. After they lost in Game 7 to the Lakers, many people were consoling the team by saying things like “it’s just the beginning” and “you’ll get another shot” as well as “you have to lose some to win the big one.” However, Abrams had a feeling then, that that game was their shot and they missed it. He was exactly right that that window was went the Kings could have been great, but they failed to walk through the door, thus ending a period of potential greatness and shutting a door for the team forever. The same may be said for the window that Oklahoma City is in currently. This may be the Thunders shot and if they fail it could be the end of their final title dreams for some time.
The reason for the possible end of Oklahoma City is that Kevin Durant is already on his seventh season and Russell Westbrook his sixth. Durant’s contract will expire in 2016 and Westbrook in 2017. Westbrook has also been through three knee surgeries in the past year. On top of those two players they have already almost been out of the playoff. If not for the officials not having it together on Tuesday, Oklahoma City may have lost the Memphis series. Right now, they seem to be hanging by a thread instead of playing surely and confidently. It is tempting to wish that the Thunder will roll in and crush the Miami Heat but it is much more likely that they will miss their window of opportunity and be faced with some disappointing future seasons.
from Douglas MacFaddin’s Sports Page http://ift.tt/1gIcOXx