Also that was the very last year of the Original Spurs SBC/AT&T center court.
Which aligned pretty much perfectly with my childhood/teenage hood.
Our last game on that court was the game 5 heartbreaking loss, Manu's night was pretty epic, it's too bad he didn't make that last three which would have gave him 40 and forced OT.
ever since they changed it in the summer of 2012, the home advantage never felt the same.
As for OKC in 2012, I thought they were better than the Heatles that year. The Heatles got pushed by Indiana and were a hair away from losing to the Celtics in the ECF. OKC won handily in Game 1 and should have won Game 2, but Durant choked a chip shot, and the team in general started going ice cold, which became a trend. Russell Westbrook was actually by far the best player in that series, and Games 3 and 4 were close (OKC had plenty of chances to win but Harden went historically cold and the rest of the shooters couldn't buy a clutch shot) and by game 5 OKC had given up.
Still think Presti is a dumbass for trading away Harden. Whatever you think about
Harden, he was the best #3 offensive option of all time, better than Heatles Chris Bosh, Lakers Connie Hawkins, 80s Robert Parish, 2008-12 Celtics Ray Allen, Tony Parker, or anyone else in league history. They could have jettisoned Perkins and kept Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka together for 10+ years. Golden State wouldn't have beaten them, even with the rise of the Splash Brothers and Co. OKC would have won 5+ championships from 2013-2025, easily. Presti deserves a tornado to hit his house for his all-time up of a truly historically talented young team. It wasn't like the Boston Three Party Celtics which were old or even the Heatles who were in their primes but Wade and Bosh were on the decline. OKC in 2012 were extremely young and their core should have remained intact for 15+ years, it's an absolute crime what Presti did.
/rant