Know your Conference Finals subplots

Every year's postseason brings with it a series of tasty subplots, some brand new and some echoes of old, to add spice and give context and make every single series its own unique snowflake. With the playoffs moving into the penultimate round this week, we wanted to get you up to date with some of the most relevant storylines--and maybe a couple that aren't terribly pressing, but are fun anyway--bearing on this year's pair of Conference Finals. 

(1) INDIANA PACERS VS. (2) MIAMI HEAT

Destiny Fulfilled

"Can't we just fast forward to the Conference Finals already?" That was the question for most of the year in the East, as for a healthy chunk of the season, the Heat and Pacers - the co-favorites in the conference going into the season, and then especially once Derrick Rose went down again - were not only the two East teams who seemed title-capable, but indeed, the only two teams above .500. 

But then Toronto and Brooklyn got hot and closed the gap some, Chicago turned out to be Chicago again, and the Pacers and Heat both sputtered their way to season's end, sometimes looking totally out of gas. As the Hawks jumped on the Pacers in the first round and the Heat drew a Brooklyn team in the second round that had swept them in the regular season, it seemed entirely possible that one or both teams might not show up to their long-promised clash of the titans. 

But guess what? Here we are, and here they are. We shoulda fast-forwarded the damn thing after all. 

Third Time's the Charm

In 2012, the Pacers and Heat met in the East semis, with the Pacers putting a scare into the eventual champs by taking a 2-1 series lead, helped in no small part to an abdominal injury suffered by Chris Bosh in Game One that ended up knocking him out of the rest of the series. (The low point of the series would be marked by the infamous sideline spat between Wade and Spoelstra, uncharacteristic for both player and coach.) However, Wade and LeBron would take over in Game Four, scoring a combined 70 points to steal back home-court advantage, then blowing out Indiana by a combined 44 points over the next two games to secure the series. 

In 2013, they met again, this time in the Conference Finals. The third-seeded Pacers were not expected to be much competition for the 66-win Heat, but again put an early shock into 'em by taking them all the way to the buzzer in Game One in Miami, and then narrowly stealing Game Two. The two teams would continue to alternate victories until Game Seven, when LeBron scored 32 to lead the Heat to a Game Seven victory, finishing off the Pacers once and for all.

Now it's 2014, and because it's not possible for the two teams to meet in the Finals --as would befit the escalating nature of their repeated showdowns--they'll instead have to settle for meeting in the ECFs again. Will the third time be the time Indiana finally breaks through? For the record, Miami aside, the narrative would fit for the Pacers, who lost in the first round in 2011, the semis in '12 and the CFs in '13. They should probably get to the Finals before losing this time. Seems only fair. 

(By the way, the last two teams to meet in three straight postseasons? The Jazz and Lakers. Utah lost to L.A. in 2008 and 2009 before meeting them in the '10 second round...and getting swept in four. Oh well.) 

LeBron James vs. Paul George

Two of the very best in the world, particularly at the small forward position, going at it for seven games. It wasn't until his breakout series in the Conference Finals last year that one could even credibly talk about George in the same breath as LeBron, as PG averaged 19/6/5 for the series on 48% shooting, while  playing All-World defense on LBJ and making absolutely enormous plays like this: 

And this: 

But of course, LeBron was no slouch in the series himself, averaging a 29/7/5 on 51% across the seven games, and answering with equally enormous plays like this:

And this: 

LeBron James vs. Roy Hibbert

Noteworthy player that LeBron is, he manages to have one-on-one rivalries against the same team. And really, as good defense as Paul George could play on LeBron, it's really ol' Verticality in the middle Roy Hibbert who ends up doing the most individual contesting on the King--a matchup LeBron has been particularly aggressive in pursuing during the team's regular season matchups this season, as pointed out by Grantland's Zach Lowe in his must-read preview column of the upcoming series. 

And then of course, there was this, the dramatic high point of the teams' regular season matchup: 

If this series goes six or seven games without one of these two guys bleeding at some point, it'd be pretty surprising, and maybe even a little disappointing. 

Lance Stephenson vs. Dwyane Wade (and whoever else feels like provoking Lance):

In his four-year NBA career, Lance hasn't exactly made it a challenge to get under his skin, and few vets are as wily in the ways of needling as Heat resident provocateur Dwyane Wade. If you recall, the two got into a quasi-kerfuffle over a whole lotta not much back in February:

Then about a month later, a feeling-himself Stephenson couldn't resist the urge to rub a bucket in Wade's face, inspiring a smirking Wade to tell teacher on him and get Born Ready his second tech of the game and an early trip to the locker room:

It's an especially fun matchup because Stephenson's game resembles few players as it does a young Wade: Creative, explosive, and absolutely fearless. Ideally, Stephenson would grow into Wade as a player as he develops, but his fire can burn out of control--unlike Wade, who's long known how to temper his own, and who (by now) knows how to stoke the flame of others, as well.

But then again, Lance doesn't tend to show a ton of discretion with who he mixes it up with. You might recall Juwan Howard and Dexter Pittman back in 2012, before Lance was even a rotation regular?ll 

The Mark Titus Series

Remember Mark Titus? He was the Ohio State bench scrub and inventor of Club Trillion, the nickname for players who log a minute of game action and chart no other statistics in a garbage time blowout, of which he was a regular member. Anyway, Titus also wrote a whole lot about his four years at Ohio State (and continues to write on college hoops at Grantland), and the two most common recurring characters in his stories were star teammates Greg Oden and Evan Turner - who missed each other by a year, but who both overlapped with Titus. 

Obviously, both Oden (Heat) and Turner (Pacers) will be appearing in this series. though in far more diminished (and possibly altogether nonexistent) roles than Titus or anyone else would likely have imagined when the respective players were chosen with top two picks in 2007 and 2010. Expect some partly-grating, mostly-funny columns from Titus on the Villain (a nickname Titus gave his OSU antagonist Turner) and his good friend Oden (who I guess is the default hero) over the course of the series. 

Shared Players of Note

Jermaine O'Neal spent significant time with both franchises, and Heat jersey retiree Tim Hardaway spent the final season of his career rotting on the bench for the Pacers, as did a key member of the championship-winning '06 Heat, James Posey. Erick Dampier, Samaki Walker, Travis Best and Brian Shaw all spent time with both teams - Shaw as a player for Miami and a coach for Indy - while current Pacer Rasual Butler was originally drafted by the Heat, and current Heatle James Jones was drafted by the Pacers. 

Remember This Dunk? 

...or This Post-Game Interview?

(1) SAN ANTONIO SPURS VS. (2) OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Bye Bye Sergie 

Unfortunately, whatever interpersonal drama this series had - and there's no shortage of that, certainly - was dwarfed earlier this weekend by the news that Oklahoma City Thunder power forward and shot-blocker Serge Ibaka (a.k.a. Serge Iblocka, a.k.a. The Serge Protector, a.k.a. Ibaka Flocka Flame) would be out for the remainder of the postseason, and most immediately, the Spurs series. It's a huge development that leaves the Thunder without their best defensive player, and will likely loom large over the whole series, especially if the Thunder ultimately come up short. 

It's also a huge break for the Spurs in their pursuit of their sixth Finals appearance (and possible fifth championship) of the Popovich/Duncan era, as Ibaka was a monster over OKC's four regular-season games against San Antone, averaging 14 points, 11.5 rebounds and four blocks for the season series. And in a circuitous way, it might even be a break for Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who was in danger of facing heavy criticism, if not outright dismissal, if the Thunder should fall short of the championship this season, and now once again has a built-in excuse for the team underperforming. (Not that he still wouldn't rather, y'know, win, but just sayin'.) 

4-0 Season Sweep

Related to Ibaka's excellent performance in the season series: Oklahoma City went four for four against San Antonio this regular season, which means (as pointed out by editor Joseph Casciaro in our recent Points in the Paint podcast) that the Spurs were 62-16 against the rest of the NBA and 0-4 against the Thunder. What's more, unlike the Nets' 4-0 season advantage over the Heat--which turned out not to have much bearing on their postseason pairing--the Thunder's four victories were moderately decisive ones, coming by an average of over nine points a game. 

Of course, there's still plenty of "if"s and "but"s concerning that small sample size: Kawhi Leonard missed two of those games, Manu Ginobili and Russell Westbrook both missed one, and of course, Ibaka played in all four. Mitigating factors aside, though, there's this: San Antonio had won 19 straight games before their April meeting with the Thunder, and then lost to the Thunder by 12. Feels like that might mean something. 

2012 All Over Again

Of course, this is not the first time that San Antonio and OKC have met in the Conference Finals. In 2012, it was a somewhat similar situation: San Antonio had been the best team in the regular season, riding into the conference finals at their highest point, and running into a Thunder team that seemed a little young and scattered by comparison. This year at least the Spurs have been tested by a seven-game first-rounder against the Mavericks, in '12, San Antonio had closed the season on a ten-game winning streak and then swept their first two playoff rounds with ease. 

Anyway, most NBA fans will probably recall that although the Spurs seemed poised to roll over the Thunder as well, winning the first two games of the series, everything flipped in Game Three, and the Thunder won four straight to make their first Finals since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. 

Matt Moore's fine article on the series points out that the two WCFs can hardly be compared - there was barely any Tiago Splitter and just a rookie Leonard for San Antonio back in 2012, while Oklahoma City still had James Harden (and, sniff, Ibaka) at their disposal for that run. The differences of Splitter and Leonard now being critical contributors for San Antonio while Harden and Ibaka are non-entities for Oklahoma City could certainly be enough to swing the balance, but if Kendrick Perkins starts randomly hitting jumpers again - as he unforgettably did in Game Four in '12, going 7-9 while Ibaka went 11-11 - expect every Spurs fan you know to freak the f--- out. 

Russell Westbrook vs. Tony Parker, Kevin Durant vs. Kawhi Leonard

Geez, can Russ go one damn series without being involved in some sort of marquee point guard showdown? Not in the Western Conference, apparently, as after facing down Mike Conley and Chris Paul in the first two rounds of the playoffs, he now gets perhaps his greatest challenge in Tony Parker, the legendarily crafty scorer who remains the only one of the West's cadre of elite point guards with a Finals MVP to his credit. The matchup may be somewhat diminished by Parker's strained hammy - not expected to keep him out, but possible to hinder his quickness - but it'll undoubtedly be a memorable one nonetheless. 

Meanwhile, KD vs. Kawhi is basically the Western Conference equivalent of LeBron vs. Paul George. KD is the unquestioned man of the matchup, but Kawhi, now in his fourth year as a pro, has held his own against such competition before - and may have to again if the Spurs get to the finals - and may be poised to reach yet another level in his career in this series, as he's played like a burgeoning star for much of the postseason, averaging a 14/8 on excellent shooting. What's more, as a brilliant individual defender, he's one of the few people doing anything resembling "locking up" Durant, a challenge that KD should be sure to rise to on his own. 

Oh yeah, and there's still Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, hanging out. They're available for high-profile individual matchups if you need 'em as well, surely. 

Steven Adams vs. Australia (and whoever else Adams feels like provoking)

The only--only--good thing about Ibaka's bummer of an injury is that it means we're sure to see more playing time for everyone's favorite poisonous Kiwi, seven-foot rookie pot-stirrer Steven Adams. Adams has already gotten into it with Zach Randolph and Blake Griffin this postseason, and while the Spurs are brilliantly lacking in the sort of hot-bloodedness usually needed for the OKC center to properly instigate, he's gonna get enough minutes in this series that if there's someone out there for San Antone with an easily-irked bone in his body, he's gonna find it and twiiiiiiiist. 

The most likely suspects? Backup big man Aron Baynes and point guard Patty Mills, both of whom hail from Adams' much-hated Australia. (Actual Adams quote, following a showdown with Australian center Andrew Bogut: "I search out Aussies and make it my job to make their lives miserable." It's a cricket thing, apparently.) Those guys are gonna have to keep their wits about them at all times, lest they space for half a second and all of a sudden find their elbows connecting with the back of Adams' head out of nowhere and end up facing a mutli-game suspension. 

0.4

Hey Spurs fans, remember this shot?

You can bet the maybe-future coach of the Knicks does. Still playing in this series, believe it or not. 

Shared Players of Note

Malik Rose and Nazr Mohammed are among the few players to have logged time for both the Spurs and the current Thunder incarnation, while of course OKC GM Sam Presti comes from the San Antonio management tree of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford, as does current Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who also assisted in OKC for a spell. Taking it back to the Sonics days, Brent Barry, Kurt Thomas, David Wingate and coach P.J. Carlesimo all spent time with both franchises. 

Remember This Shot?

Or This Performance?

Or this Series-Winner (Of Which There's No Good YouTube of for Some Ridiculous Reason)?