The Oklahoma City Thunder have solidified their position as the clear favorites to win the NBA Finals, with odds hovering around +135 to +140 at most shops. This reflects their dominant regular-season, where they currently hold the best record in the league.
The gauntlet was laid well before New York Knicks owner James Dolan strolled into the WFAN radio studio for a nearly half-hour interview, during which he discussed the Knicks' championship aspirations. "We want to get to the Finals," Dolan said last week ahead of New York's loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, "and we should win the Finals." Then he lightly slammed his hand on the desk for emphasis, grasping the gravity of his words.
The American white ibis struts along the Florida coast and the Everglades like they own the region and rightly so. You can see these proud and very territorial birds defending their nests and display sites with an intensity that suits them, lunging their long orange beaks at all intruders, foreign and domestic to the area. They snap bills, lunge, grab and bite their opponents' wings and heads.
"I was definitely hyped," Allen told ESPN. "I had Paul Pierce in my ear telling me, 'Get ready! You stick me every day [in practice]. You should be ready. Let's go! That's Kobe Bryant!'" The No. 25 pick in the 2004 draft was trying to soak everything in and get himself in the right frame of mind for the 54th game of his young NBA career.
