NFL Tickets
A funny thing happened on the way to the Cleveland Cavaliers versus Golden State Warriors NBA Finals rematch. The Toronto Raptors actually showed up and did more than steal two games at home, ruining — for now — the narrative of DeMar DeRozan leaving his home court arena, where security allegedly does not recognize him, for the glitz of playing 41 games in his hometown for the Los Angeles Lakers.
A little less surprising, but equally unforeseen was the Oklahoma City Thunder jumping out to a 2-1 lead over the defending champs out West. Not because the one-two punch of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is not potent enough to push their team to the finals, but because no one even put them in the conversation of getting within six games of their first ring.
Two unexpected stories indeed, not simply from the standpoint of pundits missing on their predictions, but because of the implications it could have on the Western Conference’s biggest free agent.
A few weeks ago Pat Riley used his end of the season presser to talk about the flexibility that the Miami Heat have to chase a “whale, if there’s one out there” in the offseason.
Any sports fan with the slightest bit of basketball knowledge would know that there are only two “whales” in the 2016 class that are not already on Miami’s roster — Durant and LeBron James. And there is no way to imagine that a grudge holder like Riley would set himself up to be embarrassed by James again after the way he left in 2014, which is why the courtship of the Thunder’s All-Star small forward was obvious long before the Heat president gave a shout out to “the good people” of Durant’s Roc Nation Sports management team before he welcomed their other client, Justise Winslow, to the team after last June’s draft.
That plan was in motion for so long that there is no shock when Miami Herald reporter Dan Le Batard says that getting to Durant has become the team’s top priority over bringing Hassan Whiteside back or rewarding Dwyane Wade with a big contract for all of his years of service.
It all sounds great, however, it would have felt more plausible if Oklahoma City did not get past the San Antonio Spurs in the last round or were not giving the Golden State Warriors problems that prove that he and Westbrook are not too far off from being able to reach their goal.
Calling it unprecedented for Durant to leave if he makes it to the Finals would be a stretch after seeing James do the same two years prior. But this run makes it more likely for him to sign a one-year contract with a second year option so that he and his point guard can make the decision on their futures together, leaving Riley whale watching for another year.
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