Step aside, Hugh Jackman. Take a load off, Ian McKellen.
With X-Men: Days of Future Past coming out to loads of fanfare (and a surprisingly high RottenTomatoes score) this past weekend, just as the NBA’s Conference Finals heat up, we couldn’t resist a little classic mash up fun. Read on for our take on the five real X-Men of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
While you read about these fictional ballers you can bet on the real ones by creating a betting account and getting into the mutated bball action all week long.
[sc:NBAArticles ]The X-Men of the 2014 National Basketball Association Playoffs
Serge Ibaka as Wolverine
Just as the Oklahoma Thunder seemed to have a lot in common with a certain battered group of underappreciated mutants, Serge Ibaka returned. Injured calf be-damned, Ibaka returned after it was reported he would be out for the playoffs. No big deal.
Ibaka was a force in Game 3, dropping 15 points with seven rebounds and four blocks while disrupting the Spurs’ master plan to rid the league of all mutants, er, Thunder players.
Gregg Popovich as Magneto
In his 16th season as the Spurs coach, Popovich is the longest-tenured coach for any team in any of the major professional league. His savvy tactics have preserved his aging stars’ best performances for the team’s biggest games, with the Spurs in control of Oklahoma City in their Western Conference Final series. Furthermore, it wouldn’t surprise us for a second to see Pops use his all-world brain to bend the metal around the rim and open up some easy shots as the Spurs fight to return to the Finals.
Roy Hibbert as Mystique
The shape shifter himself. Once a world-beating All-Star, Hibbert has proven in the last two months he can turn into any kind of player. From double-doubles to double-zeroes (0 points and 0 rebounds), the former Defensive Player of the Year candidate seems able to use his abilities or lack thereof to surprise opponents and fans alike on a nightly basis.
LeBron James as Beast
In the middle of a wild playoffs that have seen everything from controversy to near-upsets, LeBron has been the one rock, even has his teammates have swayed. His freakishly athletic body are matched only by his next-level basketball IQ, all of which has helped him put a struggling Chris Bosh and a hot-and-cold Dwyane Wade on his back as the Heat march through the playoffs.
Donald Sterling as Toad
Toad is a repugnant, ugly, poorly-conceived character that returns to the screen in the latest instalment of X-Men. Just like Toad, Sterling spouts vile garbage. and presumably performs a large number of indecent acts with his weird tongue. Sure, it’s a stretch to call Sterling a mutant, but then, maybe it’s a stretch to call him human.
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