Virtually everyone expected the No.1 and No.2 seeds Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs to do battle in the Western Conference Final, but the Oklahoma City Thunder showed great grit and determination to win the last three games of the series to defeat the Spurs in six games. I think they'll give the Warriors a run for their money here in Game 1 of the series.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. The Thunder's Defense - The fact that Oklahoma City has bags of offensive talent has never been in doubt, but the team really buckled down on defense against the Spurs. San Antonio scored opened the series with a 124-92 victory but was held to an average of 96.8 points per game in the following five.

2. Road Warriors - The Thunder have won four of their five road games in the postseason and they are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.

3. X-Factor - Oklahoma City has long been considered a two-man team and to reliant on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but let's not forget center Steven Adams who averaged 11 points on 70.3 percent shooting and 11.8 rebounds in the six games against San Antonio.

Selection: This is a play on the Oklahoma City Thunder 1st Half (10*)