The Sunday Rundown 5/27-6/2: The 7 Things You Need to Watch For

We are, surprisingly enough, back in action.

Sunday: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs (8:30 ET, TNT) The two best in the west will two-step against one another in the state of Texas in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. With a ticket to the NBA Finals on the line, the old stallions, the San Antonio Spurs, square off against the young guns, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in what’s sure to be one of the best series in recent memory. That is of course if things pan out for the Thunder who go up against a Spurs team that has forgotten how to lose. San Antonio has won 18 in a row dating back to the regular season and after breezing past Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers, they have looked unstoppable. Only time will tell if the young, upstart Thunder can pose a threat to the established power in the Lone Star State. Tune in anyways, because Game 1 is sure to be a treat.

Bonus Watch: If basketball is not your thing, watch the 96th running of the historic Indianapolis 500 (11:00 AM ET, ABC) presented by GoDaddy.com. Ryan Briscoe of Australia holds the current pole position, who on the season thus far has 0 wins but has supplanted two top ten finishes and one top five in the first race of the year, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg back on March 25. Fellow blogger Ben Florance has picked Marco Andretti to win the race, but I’m going to say that Tony Kanaan finally breaks through, gets the checkered flag, and chugs down some milk. 

Monday: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (8:30 ET, ESPN) The Miami Heat have one more obstacle in their way from a second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. And much like the Thunder, their obstacle is filled with old veterans of the game. The Boston Celtics just went through the Philadelphia 76ers (in, arguably, one of the worst series of all-time) in seven games just to get to this point and the trio of Allen, Pierce, and Garnett, the original “Big Three” (and the one that actually, y’know, worked) have gone through a lot in their four seasons together. Hard to believe it has been four seasons since they joined up, on another note. Needless to say this will probably be a fun series, yet I expect it to be very short at the same time. Still, Game 1 is must-see TV in my opinion after a lot of great baseball on Memorial Day.

Tuesday: Washington Nationals vs. Florida Marlins (7:10 PM ET, MASN2, FS Florida) My MLB.tv game of the week doesn’t pit together two ace pitchers (It’s Edwin Jackson taking on Anibal Sanchez) but both teams have been delivering the goods as of late. The Nationals, as it has been well documented, have been squabbling with the Braves for first place and after some jockeying for positioning, they seem to be gaining a bit of a stranglehold as of late owning a 2.5 game lead over second place, and the Braves have fallen to 3 games back. Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins have been on an absolute tear over the month of May. An 18-7 record has brought them to within 2.5 of the first place Nationals, and by the end of this series the Marlins could very well be in first place. This game will prove to be very pivotal if the Marlins want to do just that.

Wednesday: Los Angeles Kings vs. New Jersey Devils (NBC, 8:00 PM ET) It’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and after an incredible postseason, this final is sure to deliver. Unlike the last two series where you have seen not a lot of open ice action and more catered towards defense, expect a lot of phrenetic and fast-paced play in this contest. Not to say that it will be a goal-scoring fest, but both these teams are far from boring to watch. The Kings are white-hot, having only lost two games thus far in the postseason and for the most part have looked dominant throughout. Meanwhile the Devils since their Game 7 win in double overtime against the Florida Panthers have lost just three games and went through their two biggest rivals (Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers) to get here. This east-meets-west series is sure to be a great way to cap off another incredible NHL postseason.

Bonus Watch: If you’re not into hockey, which frankly, I wouldn’t understand, but if you aren’t, the NBA Draft Lottery (TBA, ESPN) is scheduled to take place. A lot of hype will be going into this one which is going to most likely be dubbed as the Anthony Davis Sweepstakes. Will the Brooklyn Nets be awarded the first pick? Will the formerly league-owned New Orleans Hornets be awarded the first pick? Or will the lowly Bobcats be given the first pick? Tune into find out.

Thursday: French Open Quarterfinals (All Day, ESPN2, WatchESPN) If you are one of those people that can’t get enough of the action on the clay court, the French Open is for you. An impressive field goes at it for the Coupe des Mousquetaires and for the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for the women’s side. Although I’m not sure who will be squaring off on this day, thanks to the French Open not releasing times for these things, I do know this will be on most of the ESPN family of networks all day from today until the middle of June. My picks, on an unrelated note, are Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. Very uninspired picks I know but, hey, that’s where laziness gets me.

Friday: St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets (7:10 PM ET, FS Midwest, SNY) A rematch of the ever-famed 2006 National League Championship Series. The suddenly struggling Cardinals find themselves looking up at the suddenly surging Cincinnati Reds who have been on a roll as of late. The Cardinals meanwhile have taken a bit of a tumble. They have lost three in a row and seven of their last 10, and there is no telling where they might be by Friday but at the moment they remain 1.5 games out of first. Meanwhile the New York Mets have been one of the pleasant surprises of the season, just 2.5 games back of the first place Washington Nationals. The Mets will turn to Johan Santana who, if he performs just as good if not slightly worse than he just did against the Padres yesterday, then we’re in for a real treat as he goes up against fellow southpaw Jaime Garcia.

Saturday: Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros (7:15 PM ET, FOX) Baseball Night in America takes us out to the Lone Star State for an underrated matchup in my opinion of two teams in the NL Central who have been making lots of noise. As already documented, the Reds are in first place and my preseason National League Champion have been surging and getting output by just about everyone. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros have been making headlines for all the right reasons this year, and they currently at this juncture sit in third place, tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates, just four games back. Believe it or not, Houston is fifth in the NL in run differential with a +11 so they are doing it and doing it well. The pitching matchup is sure to impress as well as Mat Latos squares off with Wandy Rodriguez.