Of Game Sevens and Conference Finalists

The NBA should immortalize this day, as a pair of Game 7s showed exactly why this game is so magnificent. On one end, the Portland Trailblazers upened the second-seeded Denver Nuggets 100-96 to earn the right to face the Golden State Warriors.

On the other end, the Toronto Raptors proved they finally have championship mettle, as Kawhi Leonard hit the NBA's first ever Game 7 buzzer beater to propel his team past the Philadelphia 76ers, 92-90.

Here are three thoughts as we enter the Conference Finals:

KAWHI IS A BONAFIDE SUPERSTAR. He certainly made me eat major crow, after I basically pronounced that he wasn't that big an upgrade over DeMar Derozan. But he has certainly upped his game and had me mesmerized almost the entire Game 7. The man is relentless and may be, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis, among the most complete players we have in the league so far. That being said, Milwaukee still has Giannis Antetokoounmpo (and Khriss Middleton, Eric Bledoe, Brook Lopez etc...) so I do still favor the Bucks. But it's going to be a dogfight (and maybe even another series that goes to a Game 7) and I give them a 49.99% chance of winning it.



WHEN DAME TIME IS LATE, BIG McC DELIVERS. Much has been said about Damian Lillard and he deserves all of it. Which is probably why the Nuggets slept on CJ McCollum so badly in this pivotal Game 7, to the tune of 37 points on 58% shooting. Holy smokes, those are some pretty good shooting numbers, especially with Lillard shooting so badly (13points on 17% shooting). But will the nackcourt combination of Lillard and McCollum be better than the Curry and Thompson? That remains to be seen.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR THE YOUNG TEAMS. Both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets are young teams who are still learning what it takes to move forward. With Millsap no longer as dominant as he was in his Atlanta days, it fell to young guns Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, and Jamaal Murray to lead the Nuggets. On the other side of the court were five battle-tested veterans in Lillard, McCollum, Kanter, Aminu, and Harklesss. It was  In the end, experience won over youth. For the Raptors and the 76ers, it was the the pure brilliance of former NBA champion Kawhi Leonard  as well as the suffocating Raptors defense during the last 3 minutes of the game which spelled the difference. The young 76ers couldn't manufacture any points (or any poise) during crunch time while the Raptors practically oozed with it. Again, experience wins.

I am soooo looking forward to the next round. Bucks vs Raptors should be a long series and I have the Bucks winning Game 7. In the West, I predict a shorter series, 4-2, with the Warriors coming out on top but with every game going down the wire.