We’re about halfway through the conference finals and both series are starting to take shape. Sure, the action hasn’t been nearly as exciting as the first (especially) and second round, but that comes with the territory. The conference finals are more meticulous. With the stakes being higher, neither team wants to make that one mistake that could cost them the game and, consequently, the series. It’s interesting because at this point in the postseason, every team has played at least 12 games and fatigue will become more of a factor heading forward. Which team will dig deepest? Right now the favorites (Heat and Spurs) have 2-1 leads, but after three games, we might be in store for long series in each of the conferences. It’s a more surprising result out west but we’ll get to them soon enough.

Judging from last year’s series, one would expect plenty of fireworks between Indiana and Miami. Highlight plays, big runs and intense battle. But the eastern conference finals have been the more meticulous series of the playoffs that we’ve seen so far. It’s a bit surprising. I don’t want to go as far as to say that it’s been boring, but at times the action does slow to an almost laboring pace between the Heat and Pacers. There’s been some hot-shooting that keeps the action going and the scores from being in the low-80s every game but each game starts slow. Maybe that’s just the make up of this series. The Heat used a big 4th quarter to take down the Pacers in front of their home crowd, winning the second game in a row and taking a 2-1 series lead. It was only one week ago today that the Pacers had just won the opening game against Miami and people were wondering if this was the start of the end for the Heat. Since then, Miami has won back-to-back games in the series and is now in control. Impressive response by the Heat this past week. They’ve stolen the home court advantage and have improved in a just a few days. The Heat haven’t looked as impressive as the Spurs, but they’re still gaining form as the series goes one. Indiana, on the other hand, has dropped a bit more each game and needs to turn it around quickly. They had a good first half to start game 3 (up by 15 at one point) but as the game went on, Miami turned up the intensity and the Pacers couldn’t match it. That’s been a big difference and what’s hurt the Pacers even more than that is their lack of bench production. Indiana relies heavily on their starting five to carry them but sometimes, it’s a little too much. Can the Pacers even it up tonight? Indiana has a knack for playing their best basketball when their against the ropes or seen as the underdog. That holds true for tonight (830 ET ESPN) and I expect the most entertaining game of the series.

Out west, things have a taken a turn for the more interesting. I’ll be first to admit that I did not see this series lasting more than five games. That was most mostly due to the fact that the Spurs had looked so impressive in the first two games that, despite some distinct advantages, the Thunder were no match. I also assumed that we weren’t going to be seeing Serg Ibaka on the court for the rest of the series. Things changed over the weekend and all of a sudden, Ibaka might be available for Oklahoma City. Still skeptical, I thought “well…let’s see how he does” before making any rash decisions. Ibaka’s return sparked the Thunder at home, who looked like a new team against San Antonio last night as they bounced back to climb back into the western conference finals. Depending on which team you’re a fan of, that’s either really good or it’s concerning. I’m a fan of basketball, so the more competitive a series can be, the happier I am. Unless it’s the Mavs trying to close out a series, of course. Anyways, we now have an actual series in the west. Remember how the Spurs had done whatever they’ve wanted in the paint in the first two games? The Thunder sliced their paint scoring average by a third last night. Ibaka’s return (15 pts, 7 reb, 4 blk) not only affected the Thunder on defense but it gave OKC life on offense and hope that they can compete with big bad wolf from San Antonio. The Spurs still hold the advantage a 2-1 and they’re still likely to win the series but at the very least, the Thunder have caused some concern in the Spurs’ locker room. The biggest issue for San Antonio? The guard play by anyone not named Manu Ginobili. Previous Thunder killers Tony Parker and Danny Green only managed to combine for 17 points last night, something that can’t continue. A lot of that has to do with Ibaka’s presence in the paint, forcing the small Thunder guards to settle for jumpers. So, the Thunder are back and appear to be a full capacity. The Spurs got knocked back a bit and hope to respond well. Was last night’s game the turning point in the series? We’ll have to wait and see.