NBA Playoffs: 3 Reasons We're Gonna See a Thunder-Celtics Finals

It may look bleak in Oklahoma City and Boston this morning, but don't be too quick to pull out your Sharpie and write in the Spurs and Heat for the NBA Finals.

It's easy to be a prisoner of the moment, but we shouldn't forget what got the Thunder and Celtics to their respective conference finals in the first place. We shouldn't forget how the Thunder managed a nine-point lead in San Antonio in Game 1. We shouldn't forget how the injury-plagued Celtics were tied at halftime in Miami the other night.

Yes, I would think twice before I went to Vegas and put down money on the Thunder and Celtics to meet in the Finals. But here are three reasons we might actually see it happen.

Home-Court Momentum

There's an old playoff axiom that goes something like this: The series ain't over 'til someone loses on their home floor.

The concept applies to all sports that implement the series system in the playoffs. And it's particularly true when applied to cities like Oklahoma City and Boston, cities that have some of the loudest, most loyal fans in the country.

So long as the Thunder and Celtics are able to hold on their home floors, they're just one good road game away from sneaking out a series victory.

The Thunder are one hot-shooting, 45-point effort from Durant away from stealing a game in San Antonio. The Celtics are one Dwayne Wade no-show—something he proved inexplicably capable of doing against Indiana—from poaching a game in Miami.

Until I see the Spurs or Heat celebrate a victory in their colored jerseys, I'm not ready to discount any of the teams that are left in the playoffs.

Opposition Mileage

For the Thunder-Spurs series, this comes strictly down to age.

The things that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are doing defy the laws of physics. And while I'm just as enamored as everybody else is, I'm rational enough to realize that it can't last forever. The effects of the condensed schedule could rear their ugly head at any moment. Who knows how long Duncan can hold up against his far more athletic opposition?

For the Heat, my concern is a direct result of what I saw in the NBA Finals last season. And what I saw was a team—particularly a self-appointed king—who was worn-out and tired.

Just like Tim Duncan (albeit in a much different way), LeBron James is a physical anomaly. Someone that big shouldn't be able to explode off the ground the way he does. He's a modern-day Goliath—his body seems impervious to the effects of injury and fatigue that the rest of us are burdened with.

But I still saw him break down last season. And I also saw him play 44 minutes in a blowout win over the Celtics in Game 1. And those weren't 44 blowout-intensity minutes; LeBron only knows one speed. Those were 44 balls-to-the-wall minutes.

Spoelstra would be wise to limit the time he has his superstar out on the court, because a repeat of last year's Finals could come at any moment.

Karma

In Thunder-Spurs, there isn't necessarily bad karma going in the Spurs' direction, but there's good karma working for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City is an organization that, by all accounts and indications, does everything right. They're good without being cocky. They're exciting without being flashy. Their superstars are millionaires without having egos.

Why don't they deserve the ball to start bouncing their way? If the Heat were to win the East, who would be a better foil for the evil LeBron James than the saint-like Durant? Nobody, that's who.

Out east, I think it's clear how karma could get in the way of the Heat's title run, but I'll elaborate anyway.

Let's start with the self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing suck-fest that was the Miami Heat Welcome Party. Anti-LeBron sentiment was at its inception after "The Decision," and this only made it worse. It confirmed everything that "The Decision" hinted at: LeBron is an egomaniacal charlatan, the likes of which only Westeros' King Joffrey can compare.

Then, there's Wade and LeBron's sophomoric mocking of Dirk Nowitzki's cold in last year's Finals. I know it's hard to stay humble when you've spent your entire life surrounded by "yes-men." I get that. But that's no excuse for losing your human decency. Just watch that video again; LeBron and Wade both reek of arrogance and self-entitlement.

And then, not to pick solely on Wade and LeBron, there's also this. Oh yeah, and this.

Yuck.

If the Heat keep advancing, people need to start re-evaluating their religious beliefs—God may work in mysterious ways, but even He has some limits.