Think of where we were just a mere 7 months ago. It was right around thanksgiving, it wasn’t the last year of Earth’s existence (2012!), and no one knew if the NBA would even have a season. Now we’re here in June with one of the most anticipated finals in recent memory. You want superstars? They’re there all over the place. You want two teams that could potentially dominate the rest of the decade? Well they’re right there for you. So, to borrow an old gimmick from one of my favorite writers, I kept a running diary of game 1. The timestamps are Arizona time, so if anyone has the game on their DVR, feel free to follow along.

6:02 – Coverage starts out on ABC with an awesome montage of the great finals players of the past. I don’t know if the average fan would be able to name most of those players just by the site of them. Does the fact that I can make me a weirdo with no life? Or super awesome? I’m gonna go with the latter

6:03 – The last part of that montage was Jordan’s up, bring it down, switch hands and then layup. That has got to be one of the most overrated plays in history right? There was NO REASON to do that, yet he did it anyways. Maybe I am a weirdo…I don’t like Michael Jordan that much…there I said it.

6:07 – the game starts out with James not guarding Kevin Durant. A small tear is going down my eye. You want the best players on one another right? The entire game? I guess it isn’t happening til the fourth when both have dropped 30 and are dead tired.

6:12 – Russel Westbrook flies in with a drive that misses. Everyone loves Westbrook, and for good reason, but along with the fact that I can’t say his name three times fast, I don’t like him much as a ball dominant guy. He’s freakishly athletic but too out of control, and tries to be “the man” too much. Let’s hope it doesn’t kill the Thunder.

6:18 – First TV timeout – Did anyone else get a little chuckle out of the outgoing picture before commercial? LeBron Standing in the background with the trophy in the foreground. Yeah LeBron…that’s as close as you’ll get it seems.

6:19 – I was the only one that laughed? Got it.

6:22 – ABC shows the schedule for the finals with th

e infamous 2-3-2 format of games. Am I crazy in thinking that this helps the team without home court advantage more than it does the team with it? Even if you drop the first two on the road, taking 3 at home means you have a ton of momentum going into game 6 on the road. If you take one on the road, you have a chance to close out at home.  I don’t like 3 games in a row at one place. That’s just me. I also realized that I somehow set my home AC to “heat” and not “cool.” So make sure to take my opinion with about a kilogram of salt.

6:24 – Durant sure showed up for this one. An amazing block on one end, and then an “and 1” on the other after just pure hustle. That’s why I think he’s the one I’d build a team around first in this league. Now if only Westbrook would realize that Durant is about 1000 times better than him and defer a few times, the Thunder might be totally unstoppable.

6:32 Great to see the ASU guy Harden out there contributing despite that ferocious, hideous beard. He gets clobbered as he hits the buzzer beater to cut the Heat lead to 7 at the end of the first. Come on Refs…you can’t start missing calls now.

6:34 – Coming back from commercial…yeah it was a good call, Harden tried to draw that Reggie Miller style (kicking the leg out to get the defender to run into you). Good job refs.

6:41 – An interview with Wade tells us that Wade has “given the team” to LeBron…whatever that means. I fully agree, LeBron is the best all-around player in the world right now, and it’s what should be done. Are you listening Russell??? That’s immediately followed up by a steal by LeBron with a monstrous dunk. Yup, it’s his team.

6:47 – Great job by Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy (our announcers for the night) to talk about Seattle and how much the Thunder meant to them as the Sonics, and how heartbroken Seattle much be now. Too bad bringing up the memories of the Sonics makes the Thunder brick every shot attempt lately. No wonder Udonis Haslem has 8 boards already.

6:56 – Tell me a dumber rule in sports than the continuation rule in the NBA. High school doesn’t have it. College doesn’t have it. Why is it you can get fouled on the dribble then finish your move and score? Wasn’t the foul before you shot? I get the point of it (more scoring) but it makes no logical sense.

6:59 – It always happens this way. Role players play huge roles in the finals. Shane Battier has 13 points and Mario Chalmers has 10. Stars tend to cancel each other out in these games…where are you getting the rest of your points from? So far the Heat role players have stepped up. Heat by 10.

7:03 – Oh it’s on like Donkey Kong now. You’ve gotta love Durant. He puts down a huge dunk right down the middle of the lane.  That’s followed by a three from Bosh and a Jumper from Ibaka. Teams have shaken off the rust…this is when it gets good

More on the Durant thing: I know it’s cliché, but if you’re a casual fan, you have to pick Durant over James right? Durant’s the guy who kisses his mom before every game, allows Westbrook to take so many shots and always says the right thing. LeBron is public enemy number 1 for most people. I like both players a lot, and even respect both teams (they’re both a hell of a lot better than Kobe) but you’ve got to pull for the Thunder here. You just have to.

7:05 – Did LeBron call that? He just banked in a 22 footer…That doesn’t happen often. But that leads us into halftime, with the Heat still up 10. That then leads me into my halftime thoughts-rapid fire style:

Does Greg Oden need a hug every time he watches Kevin Durant?

Durant – 7 shots, 13 points. Westbrook 10 shots, 9 points. This makes sense how? Stop shooting Russell!! I’m glad Mark Jackson is

gone, the booth is so much better with Breen and JVG. I’m fully on board if Party Rock Anthem is the music theme of the finals. It’s much better than the Pussycat Dolls in 2007. This should be a great game.7:29 – Ok, maybe I’ve been too hard on ol’ Russ. That was an incredible drive to the hoop and an amazing finish. I’ll give you permission to shoot within 10 feet of the hoop, but if you’re 11 feet out, get the ball to Durant, who might literally end up on fire at the end of this game. Time will tell.7:38 – Is it possible to have two better basketball players that plain can’t shoot than Wade and LeBron? Both are electric and amazing. Yet they can’t consistently hit a jumper. What gives? I’d just play off about 3 feet when they’re at the three point line and let them chuck it up at this point.

7:46 – Westbrook with a brilliant move to draw a foul on Bosh. That good old sprint, then stop on a dime to make the defender crash into you. It’s like a car accident; it’s always the guy’s fault who hit you from the rear. (Giggle)

Speaking of Bosh, have we been able to decide what animal he looks like most? Some people say an Ostrich or an Emu, and I like that comparison. The raptor made sense when he was in Toronto. I think we might need to have a further discussion about this. Ostrich is winning down the home stretch though.

7:54 – ABC flashes the graphic “Westbrook has never missed a game in high school, college, or pros; which immediately makes me think his ACL will snap very VERY soon. What’s the over/under I can get here? 3 games? 2 quarters?  I probably am going to hell.

7:58 – I hope not, Westbrook just tied the game with another amazing drive. The “and 1” puts the Thunder up 1 going into the fourth (74-73). The question everyone wants to know is…will LeBron show up in this fourth quarter? Durant is a given, but can LBJ silence his critics? I can’t wait to find out

8:05 – A very underrated play there by Thabo Sefelosha, and stuff I love seeing on the basketball court, even if it does make me the aforementioned weirdo. Collison tips the ball out and Thabo had an open three, but he wasn’t in rhythm to shoot. So he holds up a second and then gets a beautiful give and go with Fisher for a layup. For the record, I would have shot that 99 out of 100 times if I were playing. I guess that’s why I’m not in the NBA.

8:10 Well refs…you guys were having a great game. Really you were, no one mentions this ever if you do well. But Bosh just got bailed out by a horrific call. That sound you heard was all the conspiracy theorists screaming bloody murder.

8:12 – …and again. Wade draws a block when it was clearly a charge. Now the

conspiracy theorists want Oliver Stone to make them a movie. Maybe instead of JFK we can call it LBJ? Eh, this might need work.(I hate conspiracy theories by the way. The league isn’t rigged, get over it.)8:17 – Great tip out by Collison leading directly to a Kevin Durant 3. He’s been the underrated guy in this game. I thought that he was going to be the big white stiff that couldn’t do anything, but he is coming up huge with the hustle plays. I always appreciate that when watching basketball – those hidden plays that never get on sportscenter, but always matter in the end.8:18 – I’ve watched basketball all my life and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ball get stuck in the basket support like it just did. It’s up over the top of the backboard and stuck. I wonder how they get it out? Not even LeBron or Durant can jump that high.

8:19 – Of course ABC doesn’t show us how they got it down…good job guys.

8:22 – Well we wanted a superstar matchup and we got one. Coming down to the wire Durant has 32 (13 in the fourth quarter alone) and LeBron has 25. But LeBron seems to be starting that annual “place hands around throat area and squeeze” dance that he does so well.

8:28 – LeBron is 1-5 to this point in the fourth, Thunder up 93-85 with 2:44 left. Then gambles and misses on a steal. Have we gotten to him? Does he get tired? It really seems like a mental thing with him in the fourth quarter. I hope he can overcome it. The basketball fan in me wants to see him play Durant about 100 times a year in this setting. Mind you I’m still rooting for Durant, but I’m not NOT rooting against James…does that make any sense? Ok I’m rambling.

8:31 – Well, never mind that. James is unstoppable driving to the hoop as always. 30 points, and that drive just cut the lead to 5.

8:37 – Well, maybe 5 more drives like that would have made the difference. But it’s not enough. Ball game. Thunder win 105-94.

So what did we learn from this game? It seems like LeBron gets tired and is asked to do way too much (which is why he didn’t guard Durant the whole game.) Also, LeBron has to hate how this is playing out. He scores 30 points, plays his tail off at both ends and gets totally overshadowed by the quietest 36 points ever scored by Durant. Seriously, Durant made that seem so effortless that I don’t remember him getting all of those, but that’s why he’s the 3 time scoring champ.

I think that game 2 will be a much tighter battle. Both teams have an equal amount of rest, and most likely Eric Spoelstra (Heat coach) will stick LeBron on Durant, and rely on Wade and Bosh for the scoring. Though…Wade looks slow so far, he didn’t play well tonight, and Bosh didn’t even start. Game 2 is going to look mighty different I imagine. This one however was a great game. Yes, LeBron had a great game. Unfortunately, I can only golf clap for him while I go nuts over Durant’s huge night. He is already my favorite non-suns player…and if Nash leaves he might become my favorite.

And that’s saying a lot. Go Thunder!