Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

It’s easy to look at the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat and see similarities, especially among their two best players.

Kevin Durant and LeBron James play the same position and are considered the two best players in the NBA right now. LeBron is a few years ahead of Durant but we are seeing more and more Durant pattern his game after LeBron.

Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade play a similar position too. Westbrook is called a point guard but his style is closer to that of Wade’s.

Wade doesn’t see the similarities between he and Westbrook though.

“None,” Wade told The Oklahoman. “I don’t see none of my game in him. We’re totally different players.”

Alright, there are differences between the two but this is just an example of a player in Wade getting a question from the media and wanting to sound superior.

Sure, Wade is smoother and has a more advanced offensive game but the way they each can affect the game dominating athletically at their guard positions and putting up all-around numbers is a definite similarity.

“Westbrook is a nightmare to prepare for, for any guard with his athleticism, how quick he is, how athletic he is,” Wade went on to say.

At first, it sounds like it could be a little of slight on Westbrook by Wade. The way it sounds when you read it but clearly he does respect him. You kind of have to after a guy drops 43 on you in an NBA Finals game.

The marquee matchup of the day will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. EST. Westbrook vs. Wade will be a big factor in determining the winner.

The Heat won the NBA title this past season with LeBron James capturing his first championship ever. The common sentiment is that now it’s going to get easier for LeBron and the Heat to keep winning championships because the pressure will be less.

That’s just not true.

“If we learned one thing from the 2006 title, it was that you need to continue to reinvent yourself and improve as a basketball team,” Spoelstra told the Sun Sentinel. “That year we brought the exact the same team back, we thought it would be the same path and same journey. It never is.

“It’s always going to be different. And we ended up losing the first round and we were swept in four games. Another year later, we only won 15 games and we were the worst team in basketball and that’s how fragile this game can be.”

The 2012 team isn’t built the same way the 2006 team was. The 2006 Heat team was one of the worst teams to ever win a title and practically stole the title away from the Dallas Mavericks with a lot of help from the referees. Shaquille O’Neal was very much on the decline and there was not a lot of support around Dwyane Wade.

The expectations for the Heat when LeBron came to town was to win multiple titles. One title would be considered a failure. Even two will not be enough. The Heat have already been to the Finals in each of the first two seasons since acquiring LeBron but Spoelstra is right, it isn’t going to get easier.

Defending a title and repeating is one of the toughest things to do in this league. It’s really a pretty short list of teams and players that have been able to do it.

For the Heat to have a chance to repeat as the champion it would mean making a third straight Finals appearance which is no small task. They have been pretty fortunate in the first two years to make it there with the landscape of the Eastern Conference being pretty weak but that could change this season.

The Heat have gone about the reinvention process this summer by acquiring Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. It’s a move that looks great on paper but it might not have the kind of impact some are anticipating.

LeBron had possibly the best season of his career last year really carrying the team while his running mates Wade and Chris Bosh battled injury and essentially their production declined from the season before. It should not be expected for LeBron to continue playing at this level. He did so much for the team and while he shouldn’t decline in terms of talent, to keep up that kind of efficiency might be too much even for him.

The Heat will likely need bounce back seasons from Wade and Bosh to seriously be a threat to repeat. Neither are too old yet but they shouldn’t expect to have the same kind of season they did last year with the same ultimate result.

Teams will be waiting for the Heat next year, hungrier than ever to give them their best shot. The Heat beat one of the hungriest teams in the league last year in the NBA Finals in the Oklahoma City Thunder who are poised as much as anyone to get back to the Finals again.

The celebrating can stop for LeBron and the Heat and it has. They are self aware of their situation and should make a strong defense of their title. It definitely won’t be easier now though, it never is.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant cemented himself as the second-best player in the league this past season right behind LeBron James. He finished second in the MVP voting behind LeBron then finished second as a team when the Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.

Durant did beat LeBron in one sense making the cover of NBA 2K13 along with Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin. NBA 2K13 wanted to focus on the future of the league as opposed to its past like it has done with the last two installments. That is perhaps why Durant got the nod for the cover over someone like LeBron.

Durant’s overall rating was revealed during the 2K Sports NBA 2K13 live stream interview with Ronnie Singh. Durant received a 95 overall, three points higher than the 92 he got at the start of last season.

This is probably a fair number for Durant. While he is the second-best player in the NBA, you can make the case for him having this low of a number. His defensive ratings will still not be too high and his passing rating will also be a little low.

LeBron will likely receive the 98 overall he has been getting or possibly even a 99 overall rating. After the way he played this past season and especially in the playoffs, a 99 is probably deserving.

The real question is if there will be anyone rated above Durant besides LeBron. In recent years, there has been a few players rated above 95 along with LeBron. Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant have been among the players being rated that high.

Wade and Kobe should dip under that plateau for NBA 2K13 though and definitely should not be rated as highly as Durant. Chris Paul is maybe the only player that should be rated higher than Durant is.

One thing is for sure though and that is that Durant will be unstoppable to play with in the game. He already pretty much has been in past years but he’s really reaching a point now where he is becoming the ultimate video game basketball player.

His height and length is always an asset and his ability to shoot from long range makes him pretty unfair. Expect ratings in the mid-to-high 90s for his midrange jumper.

The overall rating is not always the most important thing. Last year, Dirk Nowitzki received an 85 overall rating but was still unstoppable because he had a 99 midrange rating.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden should get a lot of love from 2K Sports this year as well. Westbrook will be as quick as any player in the game and will also have a very high midrange rating which will make him unstoppable. Harden’s beard length will certainly be more accurate in NBA 2K13 and his ability to finish at the rim with the euro-step will hopefully be unstoppable as well.

Serge Ibaka should be graced with a 99 shot blocking rating after averaging more blocks per game than anyone since the 2001-02 season. Expect Perry Jones to get a nice rookie rating as well, possibly 71 or around that.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The roster for Team USA Basketball was revealed last Saturday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder became the first ever NBA team to send three players to represent the United States in Olympic basketball.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all made the final cut for Team USA. Westbrook and Harden got in thankful in part to the absences of players like Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade.

Kobe Bryant is excited for these Olympics and thinks very highly about his teammates that will be playing with him.

“I think (Russell) Westbrook gets D-Wade’s role for us,” Kobe told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He pushes the ball and gets to the rim and can defend all over the floor. One thing D-Wade did for us was extend possessions for us and create steals that resulted in a lot of easy run-out baskets for us. Russell’s just as good at doing that.”

In 2008 in Beijing, Wade was the sixth man for Team USA and led the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game as the team won Gold.

Westbrook made another big improvement this season in the NBA. He was fifth in the NBA in scoring helping lead the Thunder to the NBA Finals where he had a 43-point game in Game 4.

Westbrook receives a lot of criticism for playing the point guard position the way he does for the Thunder. Defenders of Westbrook often make the point that if Wade played point guard for the Heat, we’d be saying the same thing about him.

Westbrook is a lot like Wade in terms of where he fits in the NBA landscape at this age. Playing for Team USA, Westbrook will probably not be playing any point guard and will be more comfortable even as an off guard, playing the passing lanes and slashing on offense.

Wade would have definitely helped Team USA if he were playing in the Olympics but they probably won’t miss too much with a guy like Westbrook ready to step up.

David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

Ray Allen decided last night to take his talents to South Beach and join LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a Miami Heat uniform next season.

Allen left twice as much money on the table by choosing not to remain in Boston and rather flee to chase another championship with the defending champs.

Allen was one of the most coveted free agents especially by the Heat. The talents of Allen are ones that any team would love to have. No one’s made more threes than Allen in his career and even at 37 he is believed to be a key contributor for the Heat next season.

But how much better did Miami get by adding Allen? Are the Thunder now more worried about beating the Heat this coming season than they were last year?

Allen makes the Heat better. Just not that much better. He’ll fit in just fine, get a ton of open looks from three and every time he makes one expect to hear “That’s why Miami signed him!”

He’s obviously not the same player he was even a few seasons ago. But he isn’t expected to be either.

We saw how good the Heat can look when their role players are knocking down threes. In last year’s NBA Finals, Shane Battier made 15 threes and shot .577 percent from beyond the arc. Mike Miller made seven threes in the Game 5 clincher as the Heat tied an NBA Finals record with 14 threes made as a team.

That was the best case scenario for the Heat. Allen is a great shooter but it’s not like we can sit here and predict the Heat to repeat that kind of performance from beyond the arc in a series again.

The ways the Heat will look better next year aren’t ways that Allen will help them. If Wade and Bosh have a bounce back year, that would be a much bigger deal and even more necessary for the Heat to repeat. If LeBron somehow keeps up a 30-9-6 stat line in the playoffs then they will be a really scary title contender.

Allen will probably help the Heat more throughout the regular season and make them more of a lock to come out of the Eastern Conference. It’s true that Battier and Miller were pretty much absent before the NBA Finals.

Allen will also make defenses less likely to double on Wade or LeBron when he is in the post. That’s not a good thing for most of the league but for the Thunder, that’s actually better.

People don’t realize that the best thing about LeBron is he always makes the right basketball play. It’s more important to his success than his physical abilities. That means if you double him in the post, he’s passing out to the open man, every time.

This happened to the Thunder in the NBA Finals and it played right into the Heat’s hands and to what LeBron preferred to do. Why did the Thunder have to double LeBron in the post? If you remember, it was because James Harden had to guard him so much as the series went on.

Thunder fans will and should concede defeat to Miami if they’re going to have to live with Harden guarding LeBron.

The best part about OKC’s defense up until the Finals was that they never had to double. Against the Lakers they were able to play Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum straight up. The same thing with Dirk Nowitzki in Round 1. Against the Spurs it never made sense to double anyone.

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Thunder didn’t double much either. Kevin Durant was guarding LeBron and did a fantastic job on him. Durant can do a very good job on LeBron but as the series went on, Durant picked up stupid fouls and it put the Thunder in a very tough situation having to take KD off LeBron. The Heat then had a mismatch with their best player and that was all she wrote.

Ray Allen signing with the Heat doesn’t affect the thing that beat the Thunder the most in the NBA Finals. That’s why Thunder fans aren’t too scared about this signing. It’s still more about them. The Thunder have enough talent that they are in control of their destiny in becoming champions and that is comforting to think about.

Allen decided to go with the Heat instead of Boston despite the Celtics offering Allen nearly double the salary Miami could.

The defending champion Heat were very much recruiting Allen including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade expressing their desire for him to join the Heat via Twitter.

“We’re not stealing him,” LeBron told Yahoo! Sports. “He’s unrestricted. He isn’t with nobody man. Ray is a huge piece out there. Who wouldn’t want a dead-eye shooter like that, a complete professional and a champion. He has all the qualities for a team to get over the hump or to compete for a championship each and every year.”

LeBron is right. Who wouldn’t want Allen? And Allen clearly chose the place he feels give him the best chance to win a title before his career is over.

Teaming up with other superstars isn’t new for Allen. In 2007, he joined Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in Boston and they won a title in their first year together and made it to the Finals two years after that and lost.

The rumored deterioration of Allen’s relationship with Boston point guard Rajon Rondo is part of the reason Allen made this decision, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Allen was also upset by the Celtics’ attempt to trade him at the trade deadline to Memphis this past season. The Celtics were shopping Allen from time to time at some point over the past few seasons.

The Celtics re-signed Garnett to a 3-year, $34 million deal this offseason and also signed free agent Jason Terry who plays the same position as Allen. Allen was not starting in Boston by the end of the season with Avery Bradley assuming the position.

These are all reasons Allen may have considered in deciding on Miami instead of sticking with Boston. It will be weird to see Allen wearing the jersey next season of one of his biggest rivals but that’s sports in 2012.

The Heat are better with Allen for sure. It’s not drastic but these are the kinds of moves that championship teams need to make to be able to repeat.

Allen is most likely to choose between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers despite the Boston Celtics being able to offer him the most money, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Allen has been recruited by both teams led by their best players, LeBron James and Chris Paul. Allen is meeting with the Heat Thursday and will meet with the Clippers Friday. Miami will only be able to offer Allen $3.09 million per year while the Clippers can offer Allen the full mid-level exception of $5 million.

LeBron and Dwyane Wade have been open about their desire to bring Allen to South Beach with their recent activity on Twitter.

Allen would make a good fit for either team. The double teams Wade and especially LeBron demand leave tons of opportunities for 3-point shooters like Allen. Playing alongside one of the best point guards in the NBA wouldn’t be a bad fit either.

The fact that Allen is leaning towards leaving Boston makes it appear that money is not the most important factor for him. Allen has been willing to accept less money to chase a title in the past when he came to Boston back in 2007.

In Miami, Allen would most certainly come off the bench. Allen was coming off the bench by the end of the season last year for Boston too.

In Los Angeles, Allen could potentially have a starting role. The Clippers were starting Randy Foye alongside Paul in the backcourt during the playoffs after Chauncey Billups got injured. Even if the Clippers re-sign Billups, Allen might make a better starting two for the team than anyone.

The Heat are coming off winning a title and in the Eastern Conference are the clear-cut favorites to make it back to the NBA Finals.

The Clippers were swept in the second round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs but it was their first season with Paul and things look brighter on the horizon for them. Blake Griffin is likely to improve going into his third season and the free agent signing of Lamar Odom will also improve their roster.

If it comes down to the best chance of winning a title then Miami should be the choice for Allen. The Western Conference is simply too strong to look at the Clippers as a team with a great chance of getting to the Finals next season.

But for a little more money and a little more playing time, Chris Paul might be able to sell Allen on coming to Lob City. We will probably know more Friday night.

Ray Allen has been rumored to be signing with the Heat ever since the season ended and the two Heat stars would be happy to have him in South Beach.

2morrow is a big day for #HeatNation..

— Dwyane Wade (@DwyaneWade) July 5, 2012

Allen is set to visit with the Heat today. Allen is scheduled to meet with the Los Angeles Clippers Friday which means we probably won’t find out Allen’s decision until after then.

The Heat can only offer Allen $3.09 million per year. The Clippers can offer Allen the full mid-level exception of $5 million and the Boston Celtics have offered Allen a 2-year, $12 million deal.

Allen would be taking less money to play in Miami but at this point in his career, chasing a championship with LeBron and Wade may be more important to him.

The Celtics have re-signed Kevin Garnett already and also just signed Jason Terry. They’re not rolling over and dying and still believe they have one last run left in them. It’s just a matter of if they can convince Allen of that too.

Taking less money to chase a championship isn’t always something that makes sense to players too. At this point in Allen’s life, it is his last chance to make this kind of money. Signing with Miami doesn’t guarantee him a championship either and he already took less money in his last contract with Boston to do the same thing.

Miami does appear to be the frontrunner however and we will probably know more later today.

Anthony Davis severely sprained his ankle in a workout with the Hornets and is now very unlikely to play for Team USA in the Olympics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Davis was added to the list of finalists for the Team USA roster along with James Harden in reaction to injuries to Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and a few others.

Since the end of the playoffs, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat have said they will not be going to London to play in the Olympics as they try and recover from being banged up this past season.

Meanwhile, the Thunder still have three players who could compete for the U.S.: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden.

The injury to Wade opened up a potential spot for Harden and almost totally ensured that Westbrook would be playing. Durant is of course a shoo-in.

Team USA may be more thin up front now without Davis and Bosh but there aren’t a lot of replacements in terms of big men.

Tyson Chandler and Kevin Love seem like locks now while Blake Griffin might be the only other big for the U.S.

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon are the other main hopefuls for the team.

Harden may be able to make the roster since the team will also be short of 3-point shooters. Gordon suffered an injury last season so he may not be fully committed to going which would definitely open up the spot for Harden.

The NBA gave us a taste of the future of basketball in the NBA Finals as both the Heat and Thunder played a lot of small ball. Team USA will have to do that in the Olympics a lot too but the competition may be tougher especially from Spain.

Spain will strut out the Gasol brothers as well as Serge Ibaka and combine that with international rules and the United States will be at a disadvantage against them.

Team USA will begin training in Las Vegas, Nev. July 5-12. On Saturday, July 7, the 12 members of the final roster will be announced at 7 p.m. EST on NBA TV.

Wade will have knee surgery this offseason. Wade had knee problems during the playoffs and had his knee drained at one point.

AP: Dwyane Wade called Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski today to withdraw from Olympic team. He will need knee surgery.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 28, 2012

Wade’s absence will open up another guard spot which Thunder players Russell Westbrook and James Harden will both compete for.

Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Eric Gordon and Deron Williams are the only other guards trying out for the team so there is a good chance that Westbrook and/or Harden will make the team alongside Kevin Durant who is a shoo-in.

The Thunder are now the only team in the NBA who could be sending three players to the Olympics to represent the United States. They will also be sending Serge Ibaka who will play for Spain.

The general consensus around the NBA is that Ray Allen will sign with Miami. “Barring a change, he’ll join the Heat,” said a league source.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 27, 2012

Allen, whose about to turn 37, would take less money to sign in Miami. The Heat would likely offer Allen the $3.09 million taxpayer mid-level exception for next year which would put the Heat further into the luxury tax.

Allen averaged the least amount of points in a season this year since his rookie season at 14.2 per game. Allen did shoot a career-high .453 percent from three this season despite missing 20 games in the regular season due to injury.

Allen struggled in the playoffs though averaging 10.7 points per game and shooting just .304 percent from three.

Allen was coming off the bench for Boston in the playoffs and would likely do the same in Miami. Allen underwent right ankle surgery on June 13 to have bone spurs removed.

The Boston Celtics and Danny Ainge are still optimistic that Allen may stay.

“Yeah, I think Ray’s open to coming back,” Ainge told ESPN Boston. “But, listen, I don’t know. I won’t even get into details with talking to players other than the exit interviews and Ray was getting rehab here, and we’ve talked. So I have a feel of where his head is, but I’ll know more in July.”

Allen is one of a few big names rumored to possibly be targeted by Miami this offseason. Steve Nash and Jason Terry are two others.

Nash has said that money is still a factor with who he signs with this offseason. Miami would only be able to offer him around $3 million while Nash may be able to get closer to $10 million other places.

Nash also said that signing somewhere to take less money is great to try and win a championship but that it’s not that easy to win a title and only takes one injury to hold you back.

Allen would probably be the best fit for Miami of any of these possible free agents. You can imagine a closing lineup of LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Battier and Allen being pretty tough to deal with.

In the NBA Finals we all witnessed just how many opportunities 3-point shooters can have playing with LeBron. The Heat even tied an NBA Finals record with 14 made threes in their clinching Game 5 win versus the Thunder.

Mike Miller led the way in that game with seven made threes but there is a chance he will retire because of an ailing back this offseason, making the push to go after Allen even more important for Miami.

A potential signing of Allen in Miami would be a perfect fit for the Heat and a great move but it wouldn’t swing the balance of power too drastically in their favor.

Just look at how effective Miami’s shooters were in the Finals this year. Allen is a great shooter and would help them replicate that kind of performance in a series but what Miami did in the Finals was the best case scenario for them. They wouldn’t be guaranteed to match that again even with Allen.

Miami prides themselves on defense too. Allen has certainly taken a step back in that department in the last few years. Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers’ contributions on defense were just as valuable as what they did as spot-up shooters.

It will definitely be a huge signing for the Heat either way if they get Allen. It’s the kind of move that you would expect from Miami if they are going to repeat as champions.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

It’s been a few days now since the Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals and lost the series to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

The last few days have been about mourning, feeling sorry for this team, feeling excited about its future and feeling proud of what they accomplished.

Now we can look back at the series.

The Heat won in five games but it was a lot closer than that. Through the first four games the teams were separated by a total of five points in Miami’s favor. If five or six plays had gone OKC’s way instead of Miami’s, we could be talking about how they won the title this year instead of having to wait until next year.

LeBron James was the MVP of the Finals and deservedly so. He played at an all-time level in the playoffs and that carried straight over into the Finals. His 29-10-7 averages in the five games were one of the best ever.

LeBron adjusted to the series too with what his team needed from him, scoring more in the first few games then playing the role of distributor from the low post in the last two games. It was everything the Heat could have wanted from their MVP.

But the Thunder still could have won the series even with LeBron playing at that level. He was certainly the best player for Miami but take away a few of the X-factors in the series and the Thunder beat the Heat.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The lineups

The lineups situation is probably the biggest regret for Thunder fans. Miami comes out in the series not starting Chris Bosh and going with a small lineup consisting of Shane Battier and LeBron at the forward slots.

It was unknown at first if this would benefit Miami more than hurt them but we quickly found out what would happen. The Heat started off Game 1 hitting a ton of threes led by Battier who was wide open too many times.

The Thunder did not take advantage of their size advantage and that gave Miami a crucial edge.

In a series when someone does something that works, you adjust to it. The Thunder should have done this after at least Game 2. They got out to very slow starts in each of the first three games of the series and their starting lineup was clearly not working.

The Thunder had essentially started the same five guys for a year and a half and Scott Brooks did not want to change what got the Thunder to this point. But he probably should have.

Kendrick Perkins did just about nothing in this series and after the series ended, we found out he was playing with a partially torn groin as well.

Not only should Perkins have played significantly less in this series but there was even an excuse to make that decision. If we saw the last three games with Nick Collison on the floor instead of Perkins for OKC, they might win the series.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden

The Beard was not feared in this series because it was basically nonexistent. James Harden averaged 12.4 points in the series, shot .375 percent from the field and .318 from three.

This was nowhere close to the Harden that was sometimes the most important player in the Thunder’s run to the Finals.

Miami was definitely going to be the best defense OKC had played so far in the playoffs and the slow start to the series was understandable for the 22-year old Harden but never finding his groove was unacceptable.

Harden was forced to defend LeBron way too much in the final three games of this series and this may have aided in Harden’s inability to get going on offense.

This Thunder team needed him though not only to score more but become their best playmaker which he was all season. The Thunder averaged just over 15 assists per game in the Finals which was much worse than their season average which was last in the NBA.

The Thunder desperately needed someone who could create offense for others and with Russell Westbrook not exactly being that guy – especially against a Heat defense that does such a good job taking away your number one options – Harden needed to step up.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Erik Spoelstra

Erik Spoelstra was taking a ton of Heat before this series started and even dating back to last season. He just seemed to be potentially holding this Heat team back or not being dominant enough of a personality to reign in LeBron and Wade.

Spoelstra was significantly outcoached last year in the NBA Finals by Rick Carlisle but that sure wasn’t the case this year.

Beginning with his decision to go small and use LeBron as a point power forward, it felt like Spoelstra made all the right moves while Brooks was kind of stick in neutral.

The Heat roster was not as talented as Oklahoma City’s this year but they were put in the better positions to succeed in these Finals.

Normally, Spoelstra’s lack of a consistent rotation was criticized but whenever he shook things up in this series, the new sub would come in on fire from three whether it was Norris Cole or Mike Miller.

This is what coaching in the NBA is though. You go with your gut on some decisions and when they work (guys make shots) you look like a genius. When they don’t (guys miss shots) you’re an idiot.

Spoelstra had the edge in this series over Brooks and maybe it was just a perfect matchup for Miami. They had the experience, they had LeBron capable of playing the four and not sacrificing anything, and they were more fortunate.

We will remember in this series a few things about the coaches. We’ll remember the moves Spoelstra made all seemingly working and we’ll remember Brooks not pulling the trigger on a couple of things that he probably should have.

So the Heat won and LeBron was the Finals MVP. But they didn’t win just because of him. A million things happened in these five games and if just three or four of them went the Thunder’s way instead of Miami’s, they win the championship.

Alright, that’s enough thinking about what could have been because what will become with this Thunder team can only make you smile.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat won the NBA championship this season despite not having Dwyane Wade at full strength.

LeBron James took over as the clear “alpha dog” of the team and it all worked out in the end.

After a grueling lockout, 66-game season and four rounds of playoff basketball, Wade is considering not playing in the London Summer Olympics.

“I’ve got to make a decision on what my knee needs and what’s best, because my career and finishing my career strong is what’s important to me,” Wade said. “And I know, yeah, the Olympics are coming up. It’s something I really want to do. But at the same time, if I have to make a big decision, if something has to happen surgery-wise, that will have to be a step I have to take. My loyalty and my commitment to Miami Heat basketball is the No. 1 thing.”

There was some controversy surrounding Wade earlier in the season when he said that he thought NBA players should be compensated for playing in the Olympics.

It’s not a real surprise that Wade would opt out from the team this summer. He is 30 years old, isn’t in perfect health and being healthy for the Heat is his number one priority.

If Wade doesn’t play, that will mean three shoe-ins for the team will now not be playing because Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard will also miss the games with injuries.

That opens up more potential spots for Thunder guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Westbrook has more of a chance than Harden of making the team even before his impressive performance in the playoffs. Harden is pretty much made for international play though. He is a great shooter and even an expert at the “euro-step.”

We know Kevin Durant is a lock for the team so the Thunder have the potential to send three players to represent their country, not to mention Serge Ibaka who will be playing for Spain.

With all of these big names for the Olympics dropping like flies, I think we can now put to rest any chance of 2012 Team USA Basketball beating the 1992 Dream Team.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

So LeBron James has now won a championship. Now what?

It feels like for the past five years or so, so much of the energy we put into watching the NBA was all whether or not LeBron was going to win a title.

LeBron received more heat for not winning until this season than he probably deserved. He was criticized for The Decision and then mocked at after choking in the 2011 NBA Finals.

The haters are supposed to go away now that he has won. The stupid LeBron criticism is over. Now it’s time to take a step back and look at what this really means for his legacy.

Well, it doesn’t mean anything yet. Winning one title was never LeBron’s destiny. He doesn’t now deserve a crown. This was simply inevitable and it happened right around the time it should have, maybe a year too late.

He played his ninth season this year and is 27 years old. Michael Jordan got his first ring in his seventh season and was 28 years old. So it’s not like he took that long to win a title.

When he came to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it was to start a dynasty. They talked about it in their introduction party. They don’t want to win just one.

Two years in, they’ve been to two NBA Finals already. The fact that they have accomplished that so soon isn’t a surprise though or a testament to how great they are.

They should have done what they have so far. The balance of star power in the NBA right now is perfect for LeBron to start winning titles.

Who is his greatest competition? It’s 23-year old Kevin Durant and despite the Thunder already making it to the Finals, no one really expects them to start winning titles just yet.

Other than Durant, Kobe is on the way out, Dwight Howard is a mess and Derrick Rose is in the same boat as Durant.

This is how the NBA works. For the most part, you have to wait until it’s your time. So rarely does a team as young as the Thunder win a title when someone like LeBron is in the league, in his prime.

If the Heat just win this one title, in a lockout season, in a season where Derrick Rose tore his ACL, they and LeBron would be considered a failure and rightfully so.

How much do they need to win to not be considered a failure? Two might be enough, three probably should and four would truly silence any possible critics. Four out of seven seems about right.

The window is smaller than people may think for the Heat to become a dynasty. If anything, after watching their first two seasons and the way the team has looked, it doesn’t feel like they will be a dynasty capable of winning four titles.

Rose and the Bulls are right on their heels in the East, although it remains to be seen if they could beat the Heat in a series. Durant and the Thunder have frightening amounts or potential.

LeBron may only be 27 now but Wade is already 30 and considering the way he plays and how injury prone he looks, the window for him playing at this level isn’t much longer.

The Heat have some time though to figure some things out. They will need to improve next year to potentially repeat and protect their title. No one repeats without getting better. The second straight title is always the toughest.

Improving means getting some better pieces to surround LeBron. It worked well this year considering the matchups Miami had but this core is far from complete. They know it though and if they are fortunate (and every champion is) they will find the pieces.

So for now, LeBron’s legacy is closest to Moses Malone, a top 15 player ever most likely. If he gets only one more, he’ll be compared to Wilt. A third and he will be right next to Kobe and Duncan.

If LeBron gets four, he will approach Magic and Bird. And he’s not touching Kareem, Russell, MJ.

Remember, Magic and Bird needed each other to reach their greatness. If we’re lucky, the same will be said one day about LeBron and Durant.

Coming into the NBA Finals, the Thunder were favored to win a rightfully so. They had home court and were playing the better basketball in the playoffs.

But things change in the NBA Finals. They always do. Some players rise to the occasion and some wilt.

Things changed for both the Thunder and the Heat in this series. Here’s a look at some of those changes:

Isolation plays

The Thunder were the best isolation team in the NBA this season and they carried that over into the playoffs. OKC’s isolation-heavy offense was always one of the knocks against them but it didn’t matter until now.

The Heat are the best defense the Thunder have faced so far in the playoffs and it is most evident in the isolation numbers. The Thunder are being forced into more isolation plays in this series and they have become less efficient.

The same can be said for Miami’s offense although their drop in efficiency isn’t as drastic.

Kevin Durant and James Harden have significantly become less efficient in isolation plays in this series.

Durant has been isolating more often which really isn’t a good idea and it has played right into Miami’s hands. Harden’s isolations are usually not planned and come after switches but he has been unable to take advantage of that in this series.

Dwyane Wade is the only player to have improved in this department in the Finals. Wade has come through with some big shots in the past few games in the fourth quarter on iso plays.

The pick-and-roll

The Thunder relied on their pick-and-roll game more than anything else and anyone else before this series. Miami’s defense has limited these opportunities in the Finals.

The Thunder are getting much fewer scoring opportunities in the pick-and-roll in this series and reverting to more isolation. This has happened because Miami has focused on taking the ball out of the pick-and-roll ball handler’s hands and forcing the Thunder to their second and third options.

The Thunder are actually more efficient scoring in the pick-and-roll in this series. If we see OKC come out and get looks within the pick-and-roll, it will really improve their chances at extending this series.

Miami has been largely the same with their pick-and-roll game. Oklahoma City isn’t the best in the league at defending it and it has really cost them in this series.

We see that Durant and Westbrook have been great when they get looks in the pick-and-roll, mainly Durant. The Thunder need to go to their Durant-Westbrook pick-and-roll more in Game 5 instead of simply isolating Durant so much.

Harden has really struggled in this department. He isn’t creating as many assists in the pick-and-roll or scoring. This was a huge weapon for the Thunder all season and suddenly not having it in this series has made it extremely difficult for them to win.

Once again, we see Wade has improved in this series in the pick-and-roll game. Wade hasn’t been extremely effective in this series but taking a closer look it is clear that he is coming through in some important situations for Miami.

In the post

Both teams have posted up slightly more in this series. The Thunder still rarely do it and haven’t been too effective when they have.

The Heat were scoring in the post before this series but the Thunder have actually contained them pretty well in this series.

The Heat have scored a lot from offensive rebounds and cuts in the paint in this series which isn’t represented in this chart.

There has been a lot of attention surrounding LeBron James’ improved post game in the Finals and in this season in general but as you can see, he’s still not dominant there.

In Game 4, the Thunder went to double LeBron a lot while he was in the post and he made them pay by finding open shooters for threes. The Thunder really don’t need to do that as much however much they feel the need to.

One thing that changed as this series went on is Durant guarding LeBron less. Scott Brooks took Durant off LeBron at the start of Game 4 to avoid foul trouble and LeBron responded by taking the smaller defenders into the post.

Durant may need to guard LeBron more in Game 5 for the Thunder to extend this series. A lot of the fouls Durant picked up came in transition and on bad decisions to reach. In one-on-one situations in the post, Durant has been fine defending LeBron.

Amazingly, Wade has not scored on a post-up all series.

Spot-up shooting

You guessed it, the Heat have been better than OKC in this department. The Heat really improved in this series at hitting spot-up shots while the Thunder got worse.

This has certainly been one of the X-factors and if the Thunder are to come back, having an advantage here will be crucial.

Shane Battier is literally off the charts this series as a spot-up shooter and it’s no surprise to anyone. He scored 17 points in each of the first two games and helped change this series in Miami’s favor.

Durant has also been fantastic as a spot-up shooter and always is. But Harden’s drop off from “off the charts” to completely ineffective has also hurt the Thunder.

Harden who makes a living from being an efficient player, has been so inefficient in this series in every way. If there’s one thing that needs to change in Game 5, it’s him having a big game for the Thunder.

Conclusion

The Heat are up 3-1 in this series but every game has been very close. The consensus is that the Heat have shown more poise down the stretch and come up big when they have needed to.

The Heat have effectively taken the Thunder out of their comfort zones on offense and exploited their weaknesses on defense.

Give Erik Spoelstra a ton of credit this series. Using Battier in the starting lineup and attacking Durant as a helper on defense has really been big for the Heat.

The Thunder can still win this series though and at least take it back to OKC. If they can find offense earlier in the shot clock and on their first options, they will be in good shape.

But if Game 5 looks like the last few with a little too much isolation for OKC and them not getting the looks they want, we could be talking about LeBron winning his first title tomorrow.

The Miami Heat have won the last three games of this series after the Thunder took Game 1. They haven’t blown OKC out in any of those games they’ve just shown more poise down the stretch.

The Thunder finally avoided a slow start in Game 4 and actually jumped out to a pretty nice lead themselves, going up 33-16 in the first quarter.

The Thunder know what they need to fix and it’s just a matter of executing it and staying alive to get back home for Game 6.

Let’s start with…

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant – 30.3 PPG, 2.0 APG, 4.8 RPG, .550 FG%, .370 3PT%, .821 FT%

Kevin Durant was amazing in the first two games of this series, especially in the fourth quarters. But since the series has shifted to Miami, he really hasn’t played that well at all by his standards.

Durant is still scoring 26.5 points per game in Miami and shooting efficiently but the rest of his game is suffering. His rebounding is way down and his defense in general has been suspect.

Playing with a sense of desperation in Game 5 should hopefully cure these things for Durant. It’s really just a matter of being locked in and focused and flying all over the court. Durant has been caught in no man’s land just watching too often on defense.

Perhaps it has to do with how hard he has had to work just to get the ball. Miami is mostly fronting Durant and he isn’t strong enough to make that an easy catch. This has been going on for two games now and it has really hurt the Thunder offense so it will be interesting to see if they can adjust.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James – 29.3 PPG, 6.0 APG, 10.0 RPG, .472 FG%, .231 3PT%, .811 FT%

LeBron had one of his best games in Game 4 against the Thunder. He dominated the game from the low block, picking apart the Thunder defense on kick outs.

LeBron’s greatest strength in recent years has been reading the situation and taking what’s given. The Thunder defense did not defend him well in the post and LeBron made them pay with 26 points and 12 assists.

LeBron then capped off the night by hitting a huge three despite battling cramps and the Heat escaped with the win.

Other than that LeBron wasn’t too dominant. His jump shot hasn’t been deadly in this series and even when he shoots in the post it is worse than it feels.

LeBron didn’t play much of a distributor in the first three games of this series but he became that in Game 4 when Miami needed him too. Letting LeBron play that role and get the role players involved is not a good idea for the Thunder.

The Thunder do not need to double him too much in the post and need to be more concerned with taking away the spot-up shooters.

Durant barely guarded LeBron in Game 4 to avoid any potential foul trouble. If Durant was able to match up with him in the post, the Thunder could play him more straight up. If Game 5 is close and Durant isn’t in foul trouble, we’ll see if Scott Brooks puts him on LeBron in the fourth.

Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook – 29.0 PPG, 6.8 APG, 7.0 RPG, .480 FG%, .176 3PT%, .810 FT%

Russell Westbrook is coming off the game of his life in Game 4 scoring 43 points on 20-of-32 shooting.

Westbrook was completely unstoppable as his jump shot was falling as well as his shots at the rim when he attacked at will.

The Thunder probably won’t get 43 points from him again in this series but for the first time he didn’t start the game off missing his first three shots which was a great sign.

Westbrook will now not receive any criticism for his play. He showed in Game 4 he has nights where he is better than Durant and while the Thunder didn’t win, they very easily could have.

Westbrook’s confidence has to be at an all-time high even for him now and that should lead to him becoming a playmaker and opening up even more offense for the Thunder which they desperately need.

Larry W. Smith/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

Dwyane Wade – 23.3 PPG, 5.8 APG, 5.5 RPG, .413 FG%, .400 3PT%, .806 FT%

The Thunder have continued to do a good enough job on Dwyane Wade in this series. Wade did not kill the Thunder as a passer in Game 4 like he did in Game 3 but he still made some big shots.

The Thunder have to live with what Wade has been doing. The one area he has been hurting them lately is getting to the free throw line. Wade attempted 20 free throws in the last two games which is a number the Thunder can cut down.

Whenever Wade finds space, he hurts you. Westbrook has done a good job using his athleticism to guard Wade and he should see him some more in Game 5 too.

Wade is simply not the biggest concern for the Thunder right now.

James Harden – 10.8 PPG, 3.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, .351 FG%, .286 3PT%, .722 FT%

James Harden has still yet to play like himself in the Finals and that’s probably the biggest reason why the Thunder find themselves down 3-1.

If Harden is able to get it going just a little, it could be enough for the Thunder to win. His numbers are far below his normal averages all across the board.

We knew Miami would defend him the best of anyone in the playoffs but it is also in Harden’s head now why he’s not producing.

All it will take is a couple of drives to the basket where he gets fouled or finishes strong and that could get the momentum going for him.

If he doesn’t get his act together though, it’s hard to imagine the Thunder coming back in this series.

Larry W. Smith/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

Chris Bosh – 12.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, .396 FG%, .250 3PT%, .833 FT%

Chris Bosh isn’t hurting the Thunder in the ways you would have expected in this series. He’s not scoring very much or doing a ton on offense to make things difficult for OKC.

Bosh is hurting the Thunder with his effort, energy and ability to get to those 50-50 balls. Who would have known?

Bosh’s ability to affect the series that way speaks more to the Thunder’s not matching Miami’s intensity in these last few games.

If you don’t notice Bosh in Game 5, the Thunder will win. If he’s a factor, this series might be over.

The Bigs

The play of the bigs for OKC was much less of an issue in Game 4 than the previous two. The Thunder avoided a slow start with their starting lineup and even got some nice production from Nick Collison when he checked in the first quarter.

The Thunder still have yet to really abuse Miami with their big men. They only got eight offensive rebounds in Game 4 and it feels like they need to be closer to 15 to really take advantage of this mismatch.

Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka combined for just eight points and 10 rebounds in Game 4. They’ve had games this postseason where they’ve both been terrific and the Thunder may need that kind of performance to extend this series.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Spot-up shooters

Shane Battier is no long the sniper he was in Oklahoma City but in Game 4 it was Chalmers who stepped up scoring 25 points.

Miami made 10 threes in the game thanks a lot to LeBron’s work in the post drawing doubles and kicking.

The Heat got too many open looks in the game for the Thunder to be comfortable with their defense and if they are hitting them again in Game 5, things will be very difficult for the Thunder.

The Thunder went just 3-for-16 from three in Game 4. Derek Fisher didn’t attempt any threes and Thabo Sefolosha went 1-for-3.

The Thunder are going to need someone other than Durant and Westbrook to step up in Game 5 if they are going to take this series back to Oklahoma City. Hitting some more threes would be nice.

Prediction

The Thunder have their backs against the wall as much as possible now. They’ve been here before though down two games in a series and responded by winning the next four games against the best team in basketball.

The Thunder know they just need to get this series back to Oklahoma City and they will have a great chance to win it. Game 5 will be their best effort of the season, it has to be.

If the Thunder play their best, there will be nothing the Heat can do to stop them too. It’s all up to them.

They haven’t lost four games in a row all season and I don’t think they start now. This series is still going seven. If they win Game 5, they’re not losing Game 6 and then in a Game 7, anything can happen.

This team doesn’t get down on themselves and they know they can beat this team. They’ve taken the next step so many times this season and it’s no time to take another step and win Game 5 in Miami.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat went into Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead and chance to really put the Oklahoma City Thunder in a hole with a victory. They fell behind early, 33-16, battled back and showed poise in the final minutes to accomplish just that.

The Thunder’s chances at winning a title now look the bleakest since they went down 0-2 in the Western Conference Finals. They still haven’t played perfect or their best basketball but they’ve been in every game and had chances to win in each.

LeBron James nearly had a triple-double in Game 4 scoring 26 points to go with 12 assists and nine rebounds. He’ll be the Finals MVP if the Heat win and he’ll silence many of his critics.

Kevin Durant got off to a great start in these Finals. He scored 36 points in a Game 1 victory and averaged 16.5 fourth quarter points through the first two games.

Things changes in Miami for Durant. His weaknesses were exploited on defense and he got into uncharacteristic foul trouble.

It’s easy to live in the moment in life and sports. Most people do. But the NBA is all about its history and legacies.

It’s time to take a step back…

What are we really seeing?

We’re watching an NBA Finals loaded with stars, some in their primes and some still in their cribs.

The Heat are supposed to win the title right about now. LeBron, Wade and Bosh are each in the ninth season in the NBA. Doesn’t that sound about right for them winning?

The Thunder’s best years are far ahead of them. It was impressive enough for them to even make it to the NBA Finals this year at such a young age. Their talent has given us glimpses of what the future of the league is going to look like for years.

Durant and Westbrook are 23 and Harden and Ibaka are 22. They don’t have to win a title yet. No one really expected them too. The only thing that made us believe they could is that they were better than the Heat this season and they are more talented. But in this series, not enough things have gone their way and here they are down 3-1.

A time will come when everything seems to go the Thunder’s way. They’ll get all of the calls, make all of the important shots and watch their opponent make all of the big mistakes. That’s what happens in this league. Rarely can you cheat your time for winning a title.

In three years, we’ll look back and say…

Watching this Thunder team in this NBA Finals is frustrating. It’s so hard to watch them and not think about their potential and seeing them not hit it is downright annoying.

No matter what happens the rest of this series, a few years from now we’ll look back on these games and chuckle at what the Thunder were, so young and so talented, not totally understanding how to harness and use it in the best way.

Here’s what Thunder fans will say three years from now:

• There was a time where Durant struggled this much to get open. They couldn’t get him the ball sometimes? Why is he isolating at the 3-point line and not in the post? He’s so much better at defense now.
• How is Russell not getting more calls? What are these insane 3-pointers he takes 2-3 times per game? I can’t remember the last time I saw someone score on Russell. How come the Heat defense actually freezes in time when he drives to the rim?
• Look at Harden’s beard! It’s so short!
• I don’t miss the days when Serge didn’t have a post game. Why isn’t Serge playing 40-plus minutes and why does he ever sit the fourth? I can’t imagine anyone scoring in the paint against us anymore.

But it’s still not over

These aren’t excuses for the Thunder being down 3-1 and potentially losing this series. It’s just the big picture of things. Athletes can’t look at it this way and diehard fans can’t either but it is the reality of the situation.

The Thunder can still win this series. The odds are against them now more than ever. Since 1985, when the NBA Finals went to the 2-3-2 format, no team down 3-1 has ever come back to win the series let alone force a Game 7.

The Thunder are one win away from going back home to the best crowd in the NBA. They are looking at this like now like that too. They just need to win one, Game 5.

Watching OKC all year it’s hard to ever imagine them losing four in a row. They haven’t all season. Since they’ll never give up or stop playing hard, I wouldn’t bet against them in Game 5. It’s a game made for the resiliency of this team.

The Heat know this too and they surely don’t want to go back to Oklahoma City. We’re not going to see one of those “Heat didn’t show up games.” We’ll see another close game just like the first four. The last three have gone Miami’s way, the next three could just as easily go OKC’s way.

The Thunder lost Game 3 in Miami 91-85 and really didn’t play a good game at all. The Heat shot very poorly from outside the paint and the Thunder were in great position to steal one on the road.

The Thunder led by 10 points in the third quarter but foul trouble for Kevin Durant helped allow the Heat to come back and close this one out.

Looking ahead to Game 4, the Thunder are going to need to play a lot better starting with…

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant – 31.0 PPG, 1.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, .574 FG%, .409 3PT%, .737 FT%

Durant may have had his worst game of the playoffs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. He scored 25 points and went 11-of-19 from the field but he picked up his fourth foul with 5:41 left in the third quarter and was a mess on defense all night.

The Thunder allowed Miami to get 14 offensive rebounds in the game and Durant was a big reason why. Too many times when a shot went up he showed no interest in boxing out or anything.

Durant is only averaging 5.7 rebounds per game in this series and that is something he really needs to improve upon. With the Thunder playing small so much, Durant needs to be super active on defense and rebounding.

Durant isn’t at his best when he is put in this position as an interior help defender but that’s what we have here in the NBA Finals. He needs to step up in that department or the Thunder are going to have a hard time coming back and winning this series.

Durant may be a little drained from defending LeBron James and having to work so hard to get open on offense. In Game 3, the Thunder tried to isolate Durant a little too much and it became very reminiscent of how the New York Knicks were using Carmelo Anthony against the Heat in the first round.

Durant would work so hard just to get an isolation opportunity against the best defender in basketball and it wore him down. And after working so hard to get the ball, you know you’re going to want to shoot every time and it resulted in stagnant offense for the Thunder.

Durant didn’t have any assists in his 39 minutes of action and that’s never a good sign for the Thunder. You really don’t expect the Thunder to win when Durant has this kind of game but the loss still hurts because they had a great chance to anyway.

Durant was unable to muster up any heroics in the fourth this time though. He scored just four points in the period and had two turnovers. He looked like he lost his rhythm after coming out of the game with his fourth foul.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James – 30.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, 10.3 RPG, .464 FG%, .222 3PT%, .862 FT%

LeBron had another quiet LeBron game in Game 3. He had 29 points and 14 rebounds and it seemed not too spectacular. That’s LeBron for you.

He came out very aggressive again like Game 2 scoring inside and working hard for offensive rebounds. This was something the Thunder could have prevented simply by matching his intensity but they just didn’t have it that night.

LeBron was probably most important defending Durant. He made him work so hard just to get the ball that it took Durant out of the rest of the game in a way.

It is still amazing how Durant can score one-on-one against LeBron so much. You just never expect anyone to do it that way on LeBron and it just goes to show how talented Durant is.

LeBron again had a few transition buckets where the Thunder didn’t pick him up quickly enough down the floor. LeBron does such a good job of taking what’s given to him and it resulted in a lot of easy buckets for him in Game 3 since the Thunder weren’t playing their best.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook – 24.3 PPG, 7.3 APG, 7.0 RPG, .412 FG%, .214 3PT%, .778 FT%

Westbrook isn’t going to get the same blame for the Thunder losing Game 2 but he didn’t even play any better.

One of the things that will stick out from Game 3 is Scott Brooks taking Westbrook out at the end of the third and closing the quarter without Westbrook or Durant.

It’s understandable taking Durant out because he had four fouls but that should have meant Westbrook was staying in. The Heat closed out the third 15-3 with the two on the bench and that may very well have lost OKC the game.

Westbrook didn’t end up shooting as much as he did in the first two games and that was unfortunate because the Thunder really could have used him stepping up and having a 30-point game.

Westbrook continues to struggle finishing at the rim and making the best decisions when he is penetrating. He again missed his first three shots of the game which he has done in each game so far in the series.

The Thunder are always at their best when he is aggressive and taking 20-plus shots. He and Durant were both under 20 attempts in Game 3 and it’s hard to imagine them beating the Heat when that is the case.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Dwyane Wade – 22.7 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, .410 FG%, .000 3PT%, .818 FT%

Wade was very aggressively trying to get his shot in Game 3. He took 22 shots and 11 free throws and didn’t hit a high percentage from the field.

It doesn’t feel like he is a huge concern for the Thunder to contain. He doesn’t feel like the same Wade that could go for 40 on any given night like the past.

Westbrook actually did a pretty good job defending him too which is a good sign for the Thunder going forward in the series.

Wade was most effective as a passer in the pick-and-rolls in the game. He did an excellent job finding the roller to the basket a ton and that really hurt the Thunder.

The Thunder seemed to be playing for the pick-and-pop instead of the roll and the Heat took advantage. We’ll see if the Thunder adjust to this as the series goes on.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden – 11.7 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.3 RPG, .407 FG%, .333 3PT%, .714 FT%

We’ve seen three games of the NBA Finals and we’re still waiting for James Harden to show up. Harden is far from himself so far against the Heat and that is making things very difficult for the Thunder.

It feels like he hasn’t been able to find where he fits in yet in the series. If he figures it out and starts being himself again it will be great news for the Thunder.

It’s all about getting him going early in the shot clock before the defense is set. He hasn’t gotten a lot of transition opportunities either in the series and that could also help him get going.

Harden has had to guard LeBron a lot in the past two games as well which makes him work that much harder on defense which could also be contributing to his offensive struggles.

He has shown in these playoffs the ability to take over games and the Thunder could really use a game or two like that soon from him.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Bosh – 12.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG, .361 FG%, .250 3PT%, .818 FT%

Bosh has been great for the Heat in these past two games. The energy he has played with and relentless effort getting to loose balls and rebounds has been crucial in the Heat winning.

In Game 3, Bosh was used rolling to the rim a lot more in the pick-and-rolls than just popping and the Thunder had a hard time stopping it.

Bosh will continue to be an important X-factor for the Heat and while at home should produce decently.

The Bigs

One of the biggest issues of this series so far has been the substitution patterns for the Thunder. They are sticking with their main starting five featuring Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka and they continually are getting off to slow starts.

Perkins played well for him in Game 3 and it resulted in him getting 34 minutes while Ibaka played just 22 and sat out the entire fourth.

The Thunder need Ibaka to be their fourth best player to win a title and he’s not that while on the bench in a fourth quarter.

Nick Collison has also lessened his impact on the series since Game 1. He got into foul trouble in Game 3 and needs to avoid that a little more as the series goes on.

The Heat essentially aren’t playing any bigs other than Bosh and Udonis Haslem and it has been working for them. This means the Thunder have an advantage on the offensive glass that they aren’t really taking advantage of.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Spot-up shooters

Shane Battier finally stopped scoring 17 points per game but still had a decent game for Miami in Game 3.

The Thunder clearly made it a point of emphasis to take away the spot-up shooters in Game 3 and it probably contributed to them giving up so many shots inside the paint.

The Heat are making the Thunder scramble to adjust thanks to great outside shooting and it’s really helping them win this series right now.

Miami shot poorly overall from the outside in Game 3 and that’s part of why they didn’t blow the Thunder out.

OKC is getting some production from Derek Fisher as a spot-up shooter but that’s about it. You can count on Fisher to take and sometimes make the big shot but his minutes should be lessened.

Scott Brooks loves playing him big minutes especially when he hits a shot or two. Fisher should be taken out soon after making a few shots because you know once he’s done that, he’ll start missing. It’s not like he’s going to go off for 20 points while you ride the hot hand.

Prediction

This is a must-win for the Thunder while not so much for the Heat. In these playoffs, the Thunder have always come through in these situations while the Heat have not.

Only twice has the home team in the NBA Finals since 1985 won Games 3, 4 and 5. The Thunder are hardly a candidate for a team to be victim to that.

Game 4 is the one the Thunder will win. This series has seven games written all over it and OKC tying the series at 2-2 is the next step in making that happen.

The Thunder did not play very well in Game 3 and it could give the Heat some false confidence with how they played being enough to give them another win.

The Thunder should play better and if they do, the Heat might not know what hit them.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 3 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat 91-85 Sunday night to fall behind 2-1 in the series.

The Thunder continue to leave a lot on the table in this series and have yet to play their best basketball.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting in 39 minutes but for the second straight game found himself in foul trouble.

Durant left the game with 5:41 to play in the fourth quarter and OKC leading 60-54. The Thunder would be outscored 15-7 the rest of the quarter.

“Not foul,” Durant said when asked about getting into foul trouble. “I mean, I don’t know. I’m just trying to play aggressive on both ends, and unfortunately I’m getting some fouls called on me, but I’ve got to play through it. Two games in a row, man, so I’ve just got to play smarter next game, and hopefully I don’t get no fouls called.”

Durant came back to start the fourth and would only score four points in the final 12 minutes. He clearly had lost any rhythm he found up to that point.

The referees aren’t totally to blame for the Thunder losing the last two games of this series but it’s hard not to notice them, and that is never a good thing.

In Game 2, Durant had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds when a blatant shooting foul by LeBron James was ignored. In Game 3, Durant did not deserve all four of the fouls called on him.

Durant doesn’t totally help his case though for picking up four fouls. He was actually pretty out of this game in the first half. He wasn’t giving enough effort on defense rotating or boxing out and picked up another stupid foul reaching at LeBron James in transition.

It’s not the whole series but the calls have definitely been an advantage for the Heat thus far.

Scott Brooks did not help his team in Game 3 when Durant got into foul trouble. He took Durant out after his fourth and then took Russell Westbrook out shortly later claiming that is when Westbrook normally gets his rest and he had a few bad possessions.

This was unacceptable. The Thunder were playing without Westbrook and Durant for over four minutes to end the third while the Heat had LeBron and Dwyane Wade on the floor during most of that time.

Westbrook had to be in during that stretch especially with James Harden struggling for most of the night (9 points, 2-for-10 from the field).

It’s the NBA Finals and Brooks is still stuck on trusting “what they’ve done all year” when there’s no time for little mistakes like this. It’s the same thing with him continuing to start Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins played better in Game 3 but it’s still an issue having him in the starting lineup. It eventually was probably a bad thing too that he played so well because it caused Brooks to play him over Serge Ibaka in the fourth quarter.

How is it possible that we are watching a team in the NBA Finals and thinking that two of the five players on the court shouldn’t be there? Shouldn’t this be clear enough already?

That’s what we have with the Thunder. Perkins and Derek Fisher are in the game midway through the fourth quarter while Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha are sitting on the bench. There is no excuse for this. There is no time for rest.

The Thunder have a good enough team to beat the Heat. They could very easily be up 3-0 in this series right now. Instead they’re down 2-1 and the chances of them winning suddenly seem very bleak.

One thing the Thunder have done in every playoff series so far this year is improve the further they have gone on. The Thunder will have to continue this trend to come back and beat the Heat and did show some signs of that in Game 3.

The home team for Games 3, 4 and 5 has won all three of those games just twice since 1985. The Heat would have to become the third team to do so to avoid going back to Oklahoma City.

The Heat were up 2-1 in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks last year before losing the next three games of the series.

All hope is far from lost for the Thunder.

The Thunder took Game 1 then fell in too big a hole in Game 2 to complete the comeback. Slow starts have been a big issue for the Thunder so far in this series and Miami’s small starting lineups are a big reason why they’ve jumped out to early leads.

The Thunder have actually been pretty impressive in that they’ve even been able to come back against the Heat who are such a good team playing with the lead. Being at home aided in that ability and the Thunder will not have that luxury for the next three games.

The winner of Game 3 in 1-1 NBA Finals series go on to win the series 85 percent of the time. So this is an important game and both teams know it.

Let’s start with …

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant – 34.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 5.5 RPG, .571 FG%, .444 3PT%, .800 FT%

Durant has played great so far for the Thunder, especially in the fourth quarters. He scored 17 then 16 points in each fourth quarter which is the most by any player in the first two games of the Finals since the merger.

Durant was great all-around in Game 1 defending LeBron well also but in Game 2 took a step back in that department. Too often he and the Thunder defense gave LeBron space in semi-transition looks basically enticing LeBron to drive.

Durant will likely continue to still guard LeBron a lot and will have to be more locked in than he was in Game 2 if he’s going to do a good job.

In the first half of Game 2, Durant got into foul trouble and only scored six points. The Thunder are going to need a lot more from him on the road if they’re going to win any more games. The Thunder starting lineup has been atrocious on offense and if they don’t change it, Durant is the only one who can cure it on his own.

Durant is getting his 34 points per game on 21 shots per game. A lot of people would like to see him shoot more.

The real key would be if Durant could get to the line a little more and put more pressure on the Heat defense. He is attempting just 7.5 free throws per game and only averaging 2.5 assists per game. If both of those numbers go up, the Thunder will start winning with more ease.

Jim Young/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James – 31.0 PPG, 4.5 APG, 8.5 RPG, .457 FG%, .200 3PT%, .905 FT%

LeBron has quietly gotten his so far in these Finals and maybe that is a good thing. The spotlight is coming off him some and more towards the Thunder for their struggles.

Meanwhile, LeBron is getting his 31-9-5 and the Heat successfully stole a game on the road already in this series. What more do you want? Maybe we don’t need to want more but the Heat might need more at some point and LeBron will have to be ready to step up.

It does feel like LeBron could explode a little more in this matchup. It would come by getting to the line a ton kind of like what he did in Game 2 going 12-for-12 from the stripe.

The Heat have gotten great production from their role players so far on the road in this series, something that usually is reserved for home games. If that production drops at all, eyes will shift to LeBron to pick up the slack.

The Heat are at their best right now with LeBron doing everything for them and he’s been able to stick to his all-around attack so far in the series. He hasn’t had to completely focus on a one-on-one matchup with Durant and that is a good thing.

The Heat would like to avoid that and let LeBron keep doing his thing where he does a little bit of everything. That will require players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play like they did in Game 2 though.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook – 27.0 PPG, 9.0 APG, 8.0 RPG, .400 FG%, .200 FT%, .750 FT%

So the Thunder lose a game and guess who gets the heat? Of course it’s Westbrook.

While looking at his 27-9-8 line is extremely impressive, Westbrook does have some areas where he can improve and that’s part of being as talented as he is. We’re not comparing your numbers against NBA history. We’re looking at them within the series you are playing in.

Westbrook can and may need to have a gigantic series for the Thunder to win. We have pretty much seen that the Heat can’t matchup with his athleticism so now it’s just up to Westbrook to figure out the best way to hurt the Heat. Two days off from Game 2 should help him.

He is attempting four more shots per game than Durant so far and has even taken more free throws. It would be nice if the Thunder could find a balance where Durant gets more shots but that’s not what this team has been about all year.

Westbrook will continue in this matchup to get a lot of shot attempts and he just needs to start making a few more of them. After two games, he should have a better feel for what works and what doesn’t. The Heat will always be on their heels when covering him and in the long run, that has to be a good thing for the Thunder.

Best case scenario for the Thunder would actually be Westbrook going off while Durant remains an efficient scorer. Westbrook really has the potential for a 40-point game or two in this series and he’s the kind of guy with an attitude made for an “Eff-you” road game.

As long as he starts being more efficient than 40-20-75, the Thunder should be in good shape.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Dwyane Wade – 21.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.0 RPG, .436 FG%, .000 3PT%, .818 FT%

Wade was bad in Game 1 then much better in Game 2. His great start was integral for the Heat winning.

The good news for the Thunder is that they’ve contained him pretty well in the first two games. The bad news is that if he has one of those Wade games where he really goes off, the Thunder might not be able to overcome it.

Like a lot of players, when Wade is hitting his jump shot, he becomes really tough to defend. It feels like he can get his jumper any time too so it’s kind of up to him.

The Thunder really just need to play disciplined defense against him and not go for his shot fakes. This is a focus thing that is harder on the road and the whistles are more likely to go Wade’s way in South Beach.

LeBron asked for Wade’s help in Game 2 and got it. If he’s expecting it for the rest of the series and the Thunder can contain him, they can win a game or two in Miami.

Once again, LeBron-Durant is the key matchup for headlines but the winner of Wade-Westbrook has won each game so far this series.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden – 13.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 RPG, .529 FG%, .600 3PT%, .714 FT%

Harden has been pretty quiet so far in this series. His 5-point Game 1 where he got in foul trouble was avoided because of a great effort from Thabo Sefolosha.

Harden came in Game 2 and brought the Thunder back but disappeared some in the second half.

Harden is always the key for the Thunder becoming great and he is the one player of their Big Three with the biggest room for improvement from his current Finals numbers to his usual averages.

We knew the Heat would defend him better than anyone yet, but Harden improved in Game 2 and that is a good sign. The same thing happened for him in the San Antonio series, having a bad Game 1 then figuring them out and bouncing back.

Harden needs to do the same against the Heat. The role players will fade away even more than they have on the road and the Thunder Big Three will have to carry the load even more than usual.

When Harden gets it rolling, he’s like a snowball rolling down a hill. Not even the Heat will be able to stop him. The two games off to watch film are something that Harden can really benefit from.

He has been shooting the ball well and that is great, but it’s when he’s getting to the line that he makes the Thunder the best possible team they can be. He’s averaging just 3.5 free throw attempts per game in the series and he’s capable of going double-digits any night.

He has to attack earlier to hurt this Heat defense. When they are set up, it’s very hard to get into the lane against them. But if Harden can get going early in the shot clock and get into the paint easier, his game could really explode especially because the Heat don’t have any great shot blockers.

Jeff Robertson/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

Chris Bosh – 13.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, .417 FG%, .250 3PT%, .714 FT%

Bosh came off the bench in Game 1 then started Game 2. Consider the Thunder lucky he didn’t start both.

The Heat are obviously better when he starts and he had a pretty big Game 2 with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The big rebound total was more from the Thunder missing a ton than him being dominant but nonetheless, he is by far the Heat’s best big man and played well.

The Thunder shouldn’t have to worry too much about Bosh going off or anything. They can defend him well enough but they just can’t allow him anything easy. If he stays on the perimeter shooting jump shots and isn’t getting to the line, the Thunder have to live with that.

Whoever gets the better of Harden-Bosh, might start to really become a big difference maker here in Miami. The Thunder desperately need Harden to play much better than Bosh to win games. If Bosh is putting up better numbers than Harden, the Thunder probably won’t be winning.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Bigs

The Heat have done a great job making “The Bigs” become less of a factor in this series. If they weren’t playing so many small lineups and starting Joel Anthony or Ronny Turiaf alongside Bosh, the Thunder would probably be up 2-0 in this series.

The lineup with Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins for OKC is not working out. The floor spacing isn’t good enough and they aren’t capitalizing on their ability to get offensive rebounds.

Scott Brooks will likely not change his starting lineup unless it becomes extremely obvious that he must after Game 3, which means the Thunder will have to survive when their starters are out there. That doesn’t sound good does it?

This puts more pressure on Ibaka making his jump shot. That is really the only thing that is consistently open against the Heat when the starters are in. He needs to either be making that shot or attacking the glass on offense, he can’t be doing neither.

Nick Collison is one of the keys for Oklahoma City. The more minutes he gets, the better for them. He played 21 minutes in Game 1, scored eight points to go with 10 rebounds (5 offensive). In Game 2, he played just 15 minutes, didn’t score and had just three rebounds.

If Collison and Perkins switched their minutes, the Thunder won’t lose any more in this series. It’s that simple.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Spot-up shooters

Shane Battier is averaging 17 points per game in this series and shooting .692 percent from the 3-point line. Those numbers have to go down somewhat but it’s not as if he hasn’t earned those points by spacing the floor great and getting wide open looks.

The problem is it was supposed to be in Miami when Battier had those games, not in Oklahoma City. Even if he’s not 17 PPG for the rest of this series, he could still be a big factor for the Heat if he keeps playing this way.

The more the Thunder have to think about Battier, the worse. Taking him out of the game starts on offense, making more shots and not giving up so many transition opportunities for the Heat where they can take advantage of switches on defense.

The Thunder could also use more from Thabo Sefolosha and Derek Fisher in terms of making some shots. They were 2-for-10 and 1-for-7 from three combined in Game 2. That’s no help.

Anything they give the Thunder is icing especially on the road and the Thunder may need them to win one or two of these next three.

Prediction

If there was ever a game to pick against the Thunder in this series, this one kind of seems like it. The Heat did their job winning one of the first two and now get to go back home where they should play a little better and the Thunder could be worse.

The Thunder have been one of the most resilient teams in the NBA this season and it’s not easy to beat them twice in a row. They are the more talented team too and if they correct a few of the things they did wrong, should be able to win no matter where the game is played.

The one thing that isn’t happening tonight is the Thunder aren’t blowing the Heat out. You could see the Heat maybe running away with this game or it will be a very close one. If the Thunder keep it close, they have the best fourth quarter player in the league and they won’t be disappointed having to live with what he does late.

The game will tip at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. The Miami fans will show up at 9 p.m. EST.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat did what they set out to do. They took one of the first two games in Oklahoma City and now get three in a row at home.

The Heat got out to a great start leading by as many as 17 in the first half and the Thunder were unable to ever fully come back.

LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists and went 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points for the Thunder with 26 of those points coming in the second half. He was in foul trouble for much of the game picking up two in the first quarter and playing with five for most of the fourth.

The Heat led by 12 at halftime and 11 after three but the Thunder came back in the fourth cutting the deficit to as little as two at one point.

After the terrible start for the Thunder, they got their act together once James Harden checked in. Harden scored 10 of his 21 points in the first quarter after just a five-point Game 1.

Dwyane Wade was the catalyst for the Heat to start the game after a tough Game 1. He finished with 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting.

Chris Bosh started the game for the first time since Game 1 of the Pacers series for the Heat. He scored 16 points and had 15 rebounds for Miami.

Durant had a chance to tie the game with nine seconds left in the game but didn’t get the call on a shot he took from the left baseline with LeBron guarding him. There was contact but the referees swallowed their whistles and it allowed for the Heat to finish off the game with the win.

The Thunder need to correct their slow starts to properly compete for the rest of this series. The next three games will be in Miami which will be a challenge for the Thunder now tied 1-1 in the series.

Game 3 will be Sunday at 8 p.m. EST in Miami on ABC.

Westbrook was taking one-handed shots with his right hand after reporters were allowed in to see the end of the session. He then pulled the wrap back and tried a couple with both hands.

Brooks says “obviously there’s a little pain but nothing to prevent him from playing the way he can play.”

via ESPN

Westbrook is not a player that will ever miss a game. He even seems like the type that could thrive off an injury let alone simply be able to play with one.

Westbrook scored 27 points in Game 1 to go with 11 assists and eight rebounds. The Heat could not guard him or even stay in front of him in a lot of cases.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade even switched onto Westbrook a few times and Westbrook went right ahead and drove right by them. The more attention that Westbrook can take on himself, the better it will be for the Thunder and Kevin Durant.

With James Harden scoring just five points, Westbrook was very much needed to show up in the way that he did.

We’ll see tonight if Harden can get his act together but if he doesn’t, Westbrook will once again have to have a big night.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James has been doing it all for the Miami Heat this season and in the playoffs and now he wants some help.

Dwyane Wade hasn’t been entirely himself in the playoffs and in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City he struggled with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting.

Here’s what LeBron said of Wade:

“A lot of times I try to let him figure it out on his own, but sometimes I go to him and tell him I need one of those games from him, I need one of those performances from him because he still has it,” LeBron said. “He knows he still has it, too, but every player needs a little kick every now and then, no matter how time-tested they are.”

Here we go again with LeBron and Wade trying to figure out playing together. How is LeBron not totally comfortable alongside Wade yet?

LeBron should never be letting anyone do anything on a basketball court. He’s the best player in the NBA and should be taking what he wants.

It’s not that easy for LeBron though. His personality isn’t that and it could cost him another shot at a championship as his Miami Heat are down 0-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder right now.

In Game 1, LeBron was not the best player. Kevin Durant was. This Heat team isn’t good enough to win games when LeBron isn’t the best player in the game.

LeBron should be guarding Durant more in Game 2. That doesn’t mean Durant will get shutdown but he should make things harder for him.

LeBron has been asked to do so much for the Heat and he will once again be asked to do more in stopping Durant.

The Heat better figure things out soon because coming back from down 0-2 isn’t easy for anyone.

Flopping has been a big talking point this year in the NBA and particularly in the playoffs.

Serge Ibaka was asked about flopping and who the biggest floppers were in the NBA Finals. He initially mentioned Mario Chalmers and Derek Fisher casually. Then when Shane Battier’s name was brought up he called him the biggest flopper of them all.

With players like Battier and Fisher, flopping could play a big role in the NBA Finals. Even LeBron, Wade, Durant and Harden do their fair share of flopping trying to get calls.

It is becoming a big deal though even for NBA commissioner David Stern.

“Flopping almost doesn’t do it justice,” Stern said Tuesday. “Trickery. Deceit designed to cause the game to be decided other than on its merits. We’ll be looking at that.

“We’ll be looking at a number of things that make it easier for us to say to our fans what we all know to be true: Our referees want to get everything right.”

The goal with flopping and tweaking officiating in anyway should be to get the referees out of the spotlight in as much as possible. The worst thing about watching a game is feeling that the referees affected the outcome afterwards.

Flopping puts referees in the limelight. There won’t be a perfect fix to immediately get rid of flopping but the fact that Stern is talking about it is a good sign for the NBA.

The Thunder won what was an extremely important game for them. Being in their first NBA Finals you expected them to come out and maybe not play their best with all of the excitement.

That’s kind of what happened with the Heat getting out to an early lead too.

In the second half the Thunder really got their act together led by their two stars: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Let’s start with…

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant

All eyes in the NBA Finals are going to be on Kevin Durant and LeBron James. In Game 1, Durant got the best of LeBron as the Thunder win.

Durant guarded LeBron for most of the first three quarters and did a nice job on him.

Durant carried the Thunder on offense to start the game and then finished strong for them with 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Durant went 12-for-20 in the game and got his points pretty easily. LeBron didn’t guard him much in the game either which may have contributed to that some.

The Thunder needed that kind of game from Durant to win Game 1 and they will hope for him to get more help the rest of the series.

Durant does not need to make a lot of adjustments for Game 2. It would be nice if he could continue shooting the ball this well.

Durant can expect better defense from the Heat in Game 2 and expect more pressure. He turned the ball over only twice in Game 1 and will need to keep that number low if the Thunder are going to keep winning games.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James

LeBron wasn’t bad in Game 1 for Miami scoring 30 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists. Durant was just better.

While Durant scored 17 in the fourth, LeBron only scored seven points.

LeBron is going to have to outplay Durant by a significant margin for the Heat to ever beat the Thunder. That’s going to start with LeBron defending Durant more in Game 2.

LeBron started out defending Kendrick Perkins in Game 1 with Shane Battier matched up with Durant. The Heat need LeBron to do a lot of things for them on defense but it looks like now the most important thing will be guarding Durant more.

LeBron was very disruptive against the Thunder pick-and-rolls in Game 1 and if he is guarding Durant more in Game 2, the Heat will sacrifice that defense some.

This should open up more for Russell Westbrook and James Harden to attack and the Thunder need to be ready to take advantage of it.

Offensively, LeBron will simply need to continue scoring 30 or more every game. He is capable of it but it will be interesting to see if defending Durant more tires him out any on the offensive end.

LeBron shot nine free throws in Game 1 so the aggressiveness was there somewhat. He still appears to only attack when he has a definitive advantage and never forces things which is good in some ways but it often feels like he should try and force more.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook

Westbrook was maybe the biggest reason why the Thunder won Game 1. Durant was great but the help he got from Westbrook was more important.

Westbrook scored 27 points with 18 coming in the second half after he got out to a slow shooting start. Westbrook also dished out 11 assists which is a fantastic number for him.

If Westbrook can keep putting up better numbers than Wade then the Thunder should keep winning. He looked very confident in the second half and needs to carry that over to Game 2.

Dwyane Wade

Wade needs to give the Heat a lot more to beat the Thunder. He scored just 19 points in Game 1 on 19 shots. That wasn’t even close to enough.

LeBron has said that he knows Wade still has some great games left in him and the Heat could sure use one on the road for Game 2 tonight.

Wade didn’t get any easy buckets in Game 1 and shot a lot of jumpers instead. He should come out more in attack mode for Game 2 and if he is getting calls, it will be huge for Miami.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden

Harden only scored five points in Game 1 and it kind of went unnoticed because the Thunder still won. He’s definitely going to need more than five for the Thunder to keep winning games in this series.

There wasn’t a lot for Harden to work with in the pick-and-rolls in Game 1 and he will need to adjust his plan of attack tonight. The Heat try and take the ball out of Harden’s hands in the pick-and-roll and it worked well in Game 1.

Harden needs to try and attack earlier in the shot clock and in transition to get going in this series. Harden got off to a similar slow start in the Spurs series and adjusted fine after Game 1. He should do the same against the Heat.

Chris Bosh

Bosh didn’t start Game 1 and played 34 minutes and scored 10 points to go with five boards. It wasn’t nearly enough for the Heat to win.

It is still uncertain whether he will start Game 2 or not but either way he needs to make a much larger impact if the Heat are going to win.

Bosh seems to only give the Heat spot-up shooting right now and he needs to find other ways to score and be effective.

His real value needs to come on defense. The Thunder scored 56 points in the paint in Game 1 and with Joel Anthony getting little run, Bosh is the only real rim protector for the Heat and needs to do a better job tonight.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Bigs

The Thunder still have a big advantage in this department in the series even though they didn’t take advantage too much of it in Game 1.

The Thunder had 10 offensive rebounds in Game 1 but are capable of much more with the Heat playing so many small lineups.

Nick Collison had a great first game with eight points and 10 rebounds (five offensive) and the more minutes he gets, the better for OKC.

Perkins does not seem to have much effect against the Heat because he struggles against the pick-and-roll on defense and it allowed for a lot of open threes for Miami.

Serge Ibaka didn’t block a shot for the first time in 45 games for the Thunder. He played well on offense though attacking the rim especially and scored 10 points.

Other than Bosh, Haslem was the only real big to play for Miami and didn’t do much. If somehow he can have a solid night, the Thunder could be in trouble because they should dominate these positions.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Spot-up shooters

Miami started out Game 1 great with the production of their spot-up shooters. Battier in particular made his first three 3-pointers in the game and finished with four on the night and 17 points.

The Thunder struggled with Perkins on the floor to get out on Miami’s shooters. The Heat did a nice job too of finding them in semi-transition opportunities after Thunder misses.

Derek Fisher and Thabo Sefolosha stepped up nicely for the Thunder when they needed them. They combined for 15 points.

Sefolosha was key on defense guarding LeBron for most of the fourth and containing him nicely. It will be interesting to see if Sefolosha guards LeBron more tonight.

The Thunder always feel like they’re better with Sefolosha closing out games which will be the case if he guards LeBron in the fourth again.

The best Thunder lineup is usually Westbrook-Harden-Thabo-Durant-Ibaka/Collison. They will get the chance to play this lineup a lot with the Heat going small so much.

Prediction

Before the series started, I predicted the Thunder would win the first two games with Game 1 being the toughest. They overcame a halftime deficit to win that one and I think they have an easier time winning tonight.

At home, it’s always hard to imagine the Thunder losing especially because they have been able to come back so many times.

They have blown out a team at least once in each series this year in the playoffs and I think Game 2 could be one of those games for them.

This game is so important too because all the Heat really have to do is win once on the road to get home court advantage and with the next three games being in Miami, the Thunder can’t afford to lose any momentum.

Players other than Durant will need to play well for the Thunder to win and I think they will. We shouldn’t see another slow start for the Thunder and expect a better performance from Harden and the bigs offensive rebounding.

Miami’s best chances will be 40-plus point nights from either LeBron or Wade. It could happen but it seems less likely than the Thunder playing a more complete game.

Even with a win tonight and going up 2-0, the Thunder’s work will be far from over.

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Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant scored 36 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Miami Heat 105-94 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Durant scored 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder overcame a 54-47 deficit at halftime.

Russell Westbrook scored 27 points to go with 11 assists and eight rebounds.

LeBron James scored 30 points in the game and went 11-for-24 from the field with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Durant and Westbrook outscored the entire Heat team in the second half 41-40.

Dwyane Wade struggled for the most part in the game with just 19 points and was 7-of-19 from the field.

The Thunder turned the ball over only two times in the second half after committing eight turnovers in the first half.

Miami jumped out to an early lead thanks to some hot 3-point shooting, especially from Shane Battier who made three 3-pointers in the first half.

The Thunder took some time to adjust to the Heat playing small and allowed a lot of open looks in the first half.

James Harden was a nonfactor in the game for the most part scoring just five points with three assists. He picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and didn’t play much in the final minutes.

Thabo Sefolosha assumed the role from Harden and also defended LeBron down the stretch, doing a nice job holding him to seven points in the fourth quarter.

Durant also did a nice job on LeBron keeping him from attacking the paint much by playing off him and enticing him to take jumpers.

The Thunder shot 51.9 percent from the field as a team and won by 11 despite missing seven free throws.

The slow start was expected for this Thunder team never having been to the NBA Finals but they continue to impress with their ability to adjust, come back and appear mature in these pressure situations.

Chris Bosh did not start the game and scored only 10 points in 32 minutes for the Heat.

Game 2 will be Thursday in Oklahoma City at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.

The series promises to be a close one. The Thunder are the deeper, more talented team but the Heat have more experience and they have LeBron James.

Regular season meetings

The Thunder and Heat met twice in the regular season with each team winning once.

The Thunder won 103-87 on March 25 at home. Kevin Durant outplayed LeBron and had a stat line of 28-8-9 while LeBron went just 17-7-3. The Thunder shot nearly 53 percent from the field, had 26 assists and forced Miami to turn the ball over 21 times.

Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins both played great with Ibaka having 19 and 10 and Perkins 16 and six.

James Harden was also a force efficiently going 6-for-7 from the field for 19 points and six assists.

In the second meeting, Miami won at home 98-93. LeBron got the better of Durant this time with a 34-10-7 stat line while Durant was 30-3-4 and had nine turnovers. Miami shot just 37.3 percent from the field in the game but went 26-for-29 at the line, made 10 threes and committed just 13 turnovers to OKC’s 18.

Ibaka and Perkins combined for just six points in the game and Harden was quiet with 12.

Russell Westbrook went 9-for-26 from the field in the game and had 28 points.

Isolation plays

Oklahoma City 11.63% of offense, 0.97 PPP
Durant 1.16, Westbrook 0.84, Harden 1.14

The Thunder are the best isolation team in the NBA because of these three players. The Heat are the best defense the Thunder have seen so far in the playoffs so scoring in this way will get harder.

Westbrook has the biggest advantage as Mario Chalmers will be matched up with him a lot and he needs to take advantage. Durant will have LeBron on him a lot so over-isolating isn’t a good idea. Harden is the wild card here as Battier played him well in the regular season but if he can break out in this series it will be huge for OKC.

Miami 13.17% of offense, 0.78 PPP
LeBron 0.88, Wade 0.71

LeBron and Wade aren’t going to have an easy time isolating against the Thunder because the Thunder will play them straight up. If the ball stops moving for the Heat, they will play right into the Thunder’s hands.

Isolations are inevitable though and if LeBron and Wade are pulling up for jumpers, that will be just what Oklahoma City wants. If they are driving and getting to the line it will be better for the Heat.

Pick-and-roll

Oklahoma City 27.91% of offense, 0.87 PPP
Durant 0.97, Westbrook 0.91, Harden 0.77, Ibaka 0.96

The Thunder’s bread and butter is their pick-and-roll game. It is really important for Westbrook to be doing well in this area, scoring himself and also getting others involved, especially Ibaka for his midrange jump shot.

It will be very hard against Miami’s defense for Durant to be efficient in the pick-and-roll. He needs to make sure he limits his turnovers and makes good passes.

Harden is the beast in the pick-and-roll and once he finds out how to attack in it, it’s over for the defense. It took him awhile in the San Antonio series to figure it out and the Thunder will need him to be effective quickly in this series given the 2-3-2 format.

Miami 20.89% of offense, 0.94 PPP
LeBron 1.04, Wade 0.85, Bosh 1.28, Chalmers 0.79

The Heat also run a lot of pick-and-rolls and now with Bosh back, they should get better at it. Bosh helps spread the floor for LeBron and Wade to attack in the pick-and-roll and when he is hitting his jumper makes it really hard on the defense.

The Thunder need to defend the pick-and-roll to do everything to keep LeBron and Wade out of the lane and live with jump shot results.

Spot-up shooting

Oklahoma City 15.75% of offense, 1.09 PPP
Durant 1.18, Westbrook 1.08, Harden 1.60, Sefolosha 0.95, Fisher 1.09, Ibaka 1.03

The Thunder don’t get as many spot-up looks as you would think but the opportunities are there, Durant and Westbrook just need to do a better job of finding the open men.

The Thunder have really improved their ball movement in the playoffs resulting in more assists and more open shots. Durant is the best on the catch and shoot but Harden has been on fire in the playoffs.

The more spot-up shots the Thunder can get, the better.

Miami 21.78% of offense, 0.95 PPP
LeBron 0.69, Wade 1.06, Bosh 1.07, Miller 1.02, Battier 1.00, Chalmers 1.05

The Heat can hurt you with spot-up shooters and that’s where their role players really come into play. Shane Battier and Mike Miller will play big roles in this series not only on defense but whether or not they can make open 3-pointers.

LeBron is the best at finding open shooters so if OKC falls asleep on defense, he will make them pay. LeBron isn’t a very good spot-up shooter himself though so when the ball is swung to him, the Thunder defense shouldn’t rush out on him too hard and rather invite the spot-up jumper instead of giving him a chance to drive.

Post-ups

Oklahoma City 4.77% of offense, 0.70 PPP
Durant 0.81

The Thunder barely ever post-up unless you count when Durant does it at the top of the key. Durant can sometimes have an advantage doing so because he is so tall but that won’t be the case with LeBron guarding him.

Durant may be able to find times to do this when LeBron is off him but the fact remains that the Thunder simply don’t post-up much.

Miami 8.11%, 0.92 PPP
LeBron 0.94, Wade 0.90, Bosh 0.88

All you heard at the beginning of this season was how LeBron and Wade were posting up more. It was true and they improved at it but not too drastically.

It could play a huge role in this series though especially with Wade. Wade will have an advantage over Harden or Westbrook in the post and even Sefolosha. This could be a way that Wade gets his offense going.

LeBron probably won’t post-up as much with Durant on him, who plays him well down low. This is a great thing for the Thunder but they will need to be ready for LeBron to look to distribute out of the post and not fall asleep on defense.

In conclusion

The offenses have been better than the defenses for both teams. The team that plays the best defense should win this series though. And the team that turns the ball over the least and scores on the break will be in a good position to win as well.

The Thunder will probably come out of the gates in Game 1 really excited and may not be executing their best. The Heat will need to take advantage of this and get out to a lead and to try and steal this first game and steal home court.

1. Is OKC-MIA the best possible NBA Finals matchup this season?

Blake Potash (@FreeBigMacs): Is it the most exciting? Definitely. Best? Maybe not. Personally I would’ve loved to see a Chicago-OKC finals matchup, but with Rose out that wasn’t possible. The Heat and Thunder have two of the most unstoppable offenses in recent memory, and these games should be full of high-flying, fast-paced action.

Cody Brees (@CodyBrees): As far as entertainment, it is by far the best matchup. I am sure the NBA would have loved for a bigger market to be in the final, but the talent and pace of this series should make up for that.

Paul Brookshier (@LCredentials): Yes. This was the popular matchup pick heading into the season, and many got their wish. With the top two MVP vote getters going head to head and stars like D. Wade, Westbrook, and Harden, this has the potential to be a series for the ages. Great players, exciting story lines, what’s not to love?

2. Does Kevin Durant have to outplay LeBron James for OKC to win this series?

BP: No. It will be pretty hard to outplay the best player in the league, but if Durant manages to, the Thunder should win. The Thunder have plenty of other weapons that can carry the Thunder to victory if Durant isn’t playing lights out.

CB: Not at all. If Durant played LeBron to a stalemate the Thunder will win this series easily. Thunder have the far better role players, and as long as they step up should take a lot of pressure off Durant.

PB: No, I think the excellence of these two superstars will cancel each other out. KD will get his and the same goes for LeBron. It’ll come down to which supporting cast can play more consistently throughout the series.

3. How important is it that OKC has homecourt advantage?

BP: Fairly important. I expect the series to reach a 2-2 tie, so that means the Thunder would either have an elimination game or a closeout game at home. Oklahoma City is home to one of the best crowds in the NBA, which would help, especially in a close series/game.

CB: I would say it’s an advantage, but not a significant one. On one side it is very hard to play three straight games in Miami, but if they go back to OKC, it will be very tough to win a closeout game in OKC. It will be an advantage, but you still don’t want to come back to OKC down 2-3.

PB: When two teams are this evenly matched, and a game 6 and 7 being pretty much inevitable, I think it’s very important that the Thunder get to go back home to the always-wild Chesapeake Arena for those last two games. You’d have to imagine the noise level at the ‘Peake being in complete frenzy mode with the stakes reaching an all-time high for this franchise (in OKC at least). The Thunder still have not lost at home this postseason.

4. What is the Thunder’s greatest advantage against the Heat in this series?

BP: I’m tempted to say the bench, but against a much better defense and a younger core, Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison won’t be leading the team in scoring. Both teams have relatively no front court offense and awesome wing play. So the only thing I can come up with is the home court.

CB: There is much less pressure on the Thunder. No one expected this assent to greatness this quick. All the pressure is still on LeBron. Along with that the role players for OKC have a great opportunity to help this team. We saw it against the Spurs and I expect we will see the same in this series.

PB: Russell Westbrook vs. Mario Chalmers. This is a matchup that Westbrook needs to flat-out dominate for OKC to have a chance. Chalmers did a poor job containing Rajon Rondo last series, and Russ is twice the scoring threat that Rondo is. I expect to see stretches where Dwyane Wade is switched onto Westbrook, as he was able to do a pretty good job on Rondo whenever that switch was made last series. Asking D-Wade to guard Westbrook would surely affect Wade’s impact on the offensive end though (just ask Tony Parker). I know we’re not supposed to bring up the regular season when discussing the playoffs, but Russ was a combined 15-42 shooting in the two regular season matchups between these teams. He’ll need to play much better than that for OKC to have a chance.

5. What kind of production does OKC need to get from Westbrook and Harden to win?

BP: James Harden is the key to this series. The Heat are going to have trouble finding a way to guard both him and Westbrook in the fourth quarter, without leaving Durant free to score at will. The way these playoffs have been going, Harden will be the featured ball handler in the clutch and it looks like most of these games will be close. I don’t want to give specific numbers on what they need to do to win, because I have no clue what the pace of the games will be. Shooting 50/40/90 would be a good start.

CB: Westbrook needs to, and will torch Chalmers. This is important to not only get some easy buckets, but sooner or later they will have to put Wade on Westbrook. This will take away from his late game offense helping the Thunder on both sides of the ball. From Harden all you need him to be is consistent. He still lacks the consistency to be a all-star. He needs to have one or two big games in Miami to win this series.

PB: As the case with Westbrook, Harden will have to have a HUGE series and exploit the Heat’s weak 2nd unit. I hope to see the Thunder continue to put these two on the floor together for long stretches, which will force the Heat to guard Westbrook or Harden with Chalmers. As I stated earlier, Chalmers doesn’t possesses the defensive chops to guard either of them for an entire series. With a defensive team as talented as Miami, Russ will need to continue to keep the turnovers down and limit Miami’s fast break opportunities.

6. Is there any chance Chris Bosh has a good series?

BP: Absolutely, especially with this matchup. The Thunder are going to have trouble guarding Bosh if he keeps up his recent hot streak from outside. Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison should split time guarding Bosh. Collison has been one of the best defenders for OKC so far, which has been huge. I don’t expect a completely healthy Bosh, but he will definitely be the best post player on the floor.

CB: Yes. Bosh will give the Thunder the most problems. His pick and pop with LeBron or Wade is deadly. If the Thunder focus on not letting LeBron and Wade to get to the paint like I am expecting, that will leave room in the mid range for Bosh to make his living.

PB: While I’m not exactly predicting huge individual games from Bosh, I expect his presence to have a positive impact for Miami. With his ability to stretch the floor, it will force Ibaka to have to come out from under the basket, which will negate his shot-blocking abilities. I would like to see more Collison/Ibaka in the frontcourt than Perkins/Ibaka in this series, as Collison has the ability to step out and guard Bosh, or even go small with a Russ-Harden-Thabo-KD-Ibaka lineup. I fully expect to see some non-traditional lineups in this series from both teams.

7. What is your prediction?

BP: Thunder in 7. I have no clue what is going to happen in this series, except that we are going to have plenty of highlights. The starpower is insane, and it will be one of the most exciting finals I’ve watched.

CB: Thunder in 7. And you know the rule, if you pick someone to win in seven you are basically just guessing.

PB: Thunder in 6. While both team’s big 3 are fairly evenly matched, the supporting cast in OKC is far superior to that of the Heat. This along with how well the Thunder have been playing in the post season overall and the fact that they have home court advantage (think Miami is regretting tanking that final game against Washington?), I just don’t see how the Heat pull it off.

1. Do you think Miami will be able to win one of the first two games in OKC?

Of course Miami is able to steal one on the road. The thing about rest, is that it gives you time to recover, watch your opponent, and you have an edge to study more film and practice a little bit more. On the flip-side, OKC isn’t a veteran team like San Antonio or Boston, so rest isn’t an issue like rust could be. With that said, these are the top two teams in the NBA, and rust shouldn’t play much of a factor if any, especially in front of the best home crowd in the league (this season at least). The excitement will be in the air and both teams are nearly unbeatable at home. But on the grandest stage full of stars and title hopes, I do see the Heat splitting the first two games with a healthier Chris Bosh.

2. If LeBron outplays Durant in this series, could the Heat still lose?

Absolutely. LeBron James has been the one constant for Miami all season long, and throughout the playoffs. He is the MVP for good reason, but Dwyane Wade has alluded a majority of his due criticism. Wade may very well be banged up, but you’re expected to perform at a high level when you get minutes on the floor. Given that Miami has a mediocre supporting cast and bench, well that’s why they invested into the big three and they have to play at the all-star level they’re capable of.

OKC is a deeper team, more balanced, and they also have different options to close a game. Not only do they have the scoring champion in Kevin Durant, but Russell Westbrook finished 5th in scoring and they form the highest scoring duo in basketball. Beyond those two, James Harden is a two-way playmaker that can takeover a game, hence the Sixth Man of the Year award. Then you have guys like Serge Ibaka who led the league in blocks, a great defender in Thabo Sefolosha, and a physical Kendrick Perkins in the paint. That’s a lot to deal with, and the Western Conference found out the hard way.

3. What is Miami’s greatest advantage over OKC?

Miami’s greatest advantage in the NBA Finals, is that they were on this stage last year. It was their first year together and we’ve all seen the obstacles they’ve overcome. The Heat had to get on the right page with chemistry, Wade was on-and-off injured this season, Bosh missed 3 weeks while they were fighting for their playoff lives, Erik Spoelstra has to learn on the fly and improve as a coach. Nothing different than most teams and their challenges, but last time I checked the New York Knicks are as talented as anybody. Phil Jackson knew which buttons to push in L.A. with big time players and egos. Miami played around with their roles and found themselves. Like with most young players, they fluctuate through trials and tribulations, and that would be the one issue I worry about with the Thunder. More times than not, Russell Westbrook is going to put up shots. He doesn’t always take a back seat to Durant as Wade does with James. It helps when Durant is off, but often times I’ve seen Durant succumb to Westbrook and that even takes Harden out of the equation. I just think Miami’s big three is more seasoned, and they will take this personal battle to the highest level of urgency.

4. What does the Heat need to do to win this series?

James can and will do it all. Wade is assertive and can takeover at any time. Bosh provides interior length on the defensive end that they missed in his absence, and he’s a guy that can score 20 points. When you down the roster: Chalmers has his moments, Battier is the defensive specialist and shoots the open 3 (Bruce Bowen style), Haslem contributes on and off the stat sheet, Anthony will alter shots in the lane, Miller can do a little bit of everything, and most importantly, this team hounds you defensively and rebound collectively for 48 minutes.

You already know what James will bring to the court on both ends. It’s just a matter of time, but Wade will make his presence felt. It gets overlooked, but besides the ability to stretch the floor with his shooting, Bosh is a good distributor. He’s been the x-factor for this team and pulled out the secret weapon against Boston, the 3-pointer. In a series where Westbrook-Harden-Durant will touch the ball every play, it’s vital for Miami to keep Bosh consistently involved.

5. What is your prediction for this series?

Either way, talks about a dynasty will conclude this series. I think Oklahoma City got to this point a year earlier than I personally expected. They’re a great franchise from the front office down, and the team has quickly played itself into elite status.

My objective opinion has the Heat winning the series, game 6 in Miami. The basketball fan in me and like most people out there, I’m rooting for this series to go the distance in an epic 7 games. The fallout of this NBA season will have a storybook ending. I see LeBron James getting his ring and officially earning the nickname “King James.” I don’t know about 5, 6, or 7 championships, but at the end of the day I see the more seasoned big three stepping up to the challenge and celebrating with the mastermind of it all, Pat Riley.

The Thunder and the Heat are the matchup the fans wanted. They are the two most talented teams each with one of the two most talented players in the league.

There are a ton of matchups to look at in this series and ton of important factors that will affect who wins.

Let’s start with…

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant and LeBron James are the headline of this series. They are the two best players in the NBA and will be matched up for most of the series. It’s not all about which one is better though.

LeBron is better overall than Durant but Durant has the potential to outplay LeBron on any given night. And on those nights, the Thunder should win.

In the regular season, that’s exactly what happened. Durant outplayed LeBron in the first meeting and the Thunder won 103-87 at home then LeBron outplayed Durant the next time in Miami and the Heat won 98-93.

Durant’s first challenge will be scoring efficiently with LeBron guarding him. LeBron has essentially turned into the best defensive player in the NBA whose strength and power could bother Durant.

Durant needs to not be hesitant on his catch-and-shoot opportunities which should be plenty with the way Miami plays defense. Durant is the best in the league at those kinds of shots and taking them usually helps him find his rhythm.

Durant can get in trouble with LeBron on him when he tries to drive. LeBron will be physical with him and Durant isn’t going to get a ton of calls with LeBron on him. Durant commits most of his turnovers on drives and when he does against Miami, it will quickly turn into points at the other end.

Durant will need to continue with his improved passing especially in the pick-and-roll. Miami is going to hedge hard and double on the pick-and-roll ball handler and it will be crucial for Durant to make the smart pass when that happens and he doesn’t have an opportunity to look for his shot.

On defense, Durant has his work cut out for him…

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James

LeBron won his third MVP this season and has been playing the best basketball of his life of late. He averaged 33.6 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting .527 percent from the field in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston.

LeBron is going to need numbers close to that for Miami to beat the Thunder but it won’t be as easy for him. Durant is an underrated defender when it comes to matching up with LeBron. He can bother him with his length and doesn’t have to play as close on him.

The goal for the Thunder will be to make LeBron a jump shooter. They will play him straight up too which will make it harder for LeBron to have his big assist nights which usually come when he sees a lot of doubles.

If LeBron gets out on the break a ton and gets easy baskets that way, it will spell trouble for the Thunder. All easy baskets for LeBron need to be limited by Oklahoma City for them to win. Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison know this and will be fouling hard every chance they get when LeBron is open inside.

For Miami to beat the Thunder, LeBron has to put him a stat line close to 32-10-6. Anything less and the Thunder should have the advantage.

LeBron does everything for this Heat team and while that is impressive, it will be harder for him to do so in the Finals when he is matched up with Durant. So much of LeBron’s energy will be spent on stopping Durant or scoring on Durant that it could make his overall impact less.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook

The Thunder were able to beat the Spurs in six games with Westbrook not being the scorer he was all season long. Westbrook averaged 23.6 points per game in the regular season but just 18.2 in the Western Conference Finals. Westbrook did become more of a point guard against the Spurs averaging 7.3 assists per game.

With Mario Chalmers matched up with him, Westbrook will have to assume more of a scorer’s mentality against the Heat. He is at his best aggressively looking for his midrange pull-up jump shot and he should be able to get that shot a lot when Chalmers is on him.

If Westbrook can start hitting that shot, it will open up the rest of his game and likely force Dwyane Wade to start covering him. Wade did a nice job on Westbrook in the regular season but if he has to expend energy on defense, it will take away from his offensive production.

Turnovers are still probably the biggest concern with Westbrook though. While he has improved in this department, he is still capable of big turnover games when he becomes frustrated. Miami is the wrong team to do that against so staying under control and taking good, calculated shots will be extremely important for Westbrook.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

Dwyane Wade

While LeBron has been on a tear this season and in the playoffs, Wade has had a drop in his production. Wade averaged 21.4 points per game in the Boston series and shot just .444 percent from the field.

Oklahoma City has a much better cast of defenders to throw at Wade than Boston did. Things will become more difficult for him and if he has a bad series, Miami may have no chance.

There is a lot of talk surrounding the LeBron-Durant matchup but it’s really Wade vs. Westbrook that may be more important. If Westbrook has better numbers than Wade, can you really imagine the Heat winning the series?

Wade has improved his post game this season and that’s where he could really hurt the Thunder. If Westbrook or James Harden is forced to try and handle Wade in the post, it will be really tough on the entire Thunder defense.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden

The Beard has taken the next step toward stardom as the Thunder have been taking the next steps toward becoming a champion. Harden has increased his output in the playoffs too and has not shied away from the big moment when OKC has called on him.

Harden is always important for the Thunder and their second unit and that won’t change in this series. In the regular season, Shane Battier often guarded Harden and did a very good job on him, reading his moves and anticipating passes and getting deflections. If Battier draws the assignment of Harden, expect things to be difficult for him.

Harden should be able to figure it out though and the further this series goes on, the better he will get. That’s what we saw against the Spurs. Harden attempted zero free throws in Game 1 of that series then figured out their defense, adjusted and started getting back to the line.

One area where Harden can struggle is on defense. We saw him have his troubles against Kobe Bryant two series ago and in crunch time, he may have to guard Wade some. Wade can hurt Harden with his back to the basket in a similar way that Kobe did and that may be a tough thing for the Thunder to overcome at times.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Bosh

Bosh got injured in Game 1 of Miami’s series with Indiana and didn’t return until Game 5 against Boston. He played great in the final two games of that series and was a big reason as to why the Heat won.

If Bosh isn’t 100 percent, the Heat will have a near impossible time beating the Thunder in the Finals. Bosh needs to be hitting his spot-up jumpers which will pull Serge Ibaka away from protecting the paint and he also needs to be active on the boards.

Bosh is also going to be the Heat’s last line of defense a lot of times as Miami will play small a lot in this series. If Bosh is unable to make it hard on Durant, Westbrook and Harden to attack the rim, Miami will be in trouble.

The Bigs

The Thunder have a big advantage against Miami in how physical their big men are. Perkins and Ibaka will look to bang and crash the glass at will against a slim Miami frontline. If they can help the Thunder produce double-digit offensive rebound games, it will be a big advantage for the Thunder.

Ibaka and Perkins will also have a lot of opportunities to score like they did in Game 4 against the Spurs. Miami will want to take the ball out of the hands of the pick-and-roll ball handler which will open up lanes for Ibaka and Perkins. If they are active and look to score they could play a huge factor in the series.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Spot-up shooters

The spot-up shooters from both teams could swing a game or two in this series. Miami relies on spot-up shooting much more than Oklahoma City and will definitely have to hit their open threes to win games.

The Thunder are very used to defending spot-up shooting after playing six games against the Spurs so they should be able to do a decent job against Miami in this department.

Derek Fisher is the X-factor in terms of a spot-up shooter for the Thunder. We know Scott Brooks will play him crunch time minutes and the opportunities will be there for him to hit big shots, which he’s done before.

Prediction

This series is going to be a close one. Both teams are very good with stars on the roster and neither should get blown out in any way.

Home court advantage will be huge for the Thunder. It is hard to imagine them losing a game at home but with the Finals and its 2-3-2 format, there will be a lot of pressure for the Thunder to win both of the first two games.

Miami could be drained from the Boston series but the Thunder have never been to the Finals before so we might see some overexcitement from them early on in Game 1. You don’t want to get behind the Heat because they are the best team in the NBA at playing with a lead, although the Thunder can come back on anyone behind their home crowd.

I think the Thunder win the first two at home then Miami comes back to tie the series 2-2. I think the Thunder pull out Game 5 on the road then Miami hands Oklahoma City their first home loss of the playoffs in Game 6.

That will set up the ever epic Game 7 in Oklahoma City.

My money’s on the Thunder.

Kevin Durant

When asked about how he remembers NBA Finals growing up: “I remember a team versus a team.”

“I learned that when I was a kid: Don’t let age be the reason you don’t succeed.”

When asked about the Heat and Thunder as an NBA Finals matchup: “That’s the sexier matchup I guess. But I don’t read newspapers, I don’t get on Twitter anymore.”

About working out with LeBron before the season: “Just two guys who wanted to get better, and that’s what we did.”

On LeBron: “He can score at will. He’s strong. He can shoot it. But it’s got to be a team effort.”

LeBron James

“I don’t really care. I don’t get involved in the best player in the game. It doesn’t matter to me. When I go on the basketball court each and every night, I want to be the best player on the court. I don’t care what people say. At some point, it has to happen. I won’t be the best player and KD is. Then KD won’t be the best player and someone else is.”

On the Heat not being favored: “It’s not weird, it’s not welcome. It’s a seven-game series. We’re the two best teams in the league right now. It doesn’t matter who’s favored, who’s not favored. You just go out and play.”

On his relationship with KD: “Our relationship has been growing since he was in high school. From Day 1, I always kind of laid my hand out to guide him, to mentor him if he needed it.”

Russell Westbrook

On the LeBron KD matchup: “I think it will be a great match-up. But after talking to Kevin, Kevin’s locked into what… he needs to do to help the team win.”

Dwyane Wade

On Westbrook: “There’s no one else like him in the NBA. I think he’s the most athletic guy in the NBA.” “I think it’s going to be a great match-up… I look forward to seeing what my teammate has going against one of the best players. I’m glad he has that challenge. It’s going to make him focus more… I think it’s going to bring out the best in both of them. I think it’s going to be great for the game.”

Scott Brooks

On the KD-LeBron matchup: “There’s always games within the games. It’s not going to come down to one guy guarding one guy. It’s a matchup that definitely will be enjoyable to see.”

Erik Spoelstra

On OKC vs. Dallas: “Totally different, just in terms of force and will and explosiveness. Dallas really did it with a veteran poise and experience. This [Thunder] team is very similar to us, in terms of how forceful they can play on both ends of the court.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat matchup is a dream come true for NBA fans as it pits arguably the two most talented teams against each other with the two most talented players.

LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant.

It’s the matchup we always wanted: the two best players in the NBA to lead their teams to the NBA Finals and square off.

One of the special things about this matchup is that LeBron and Durant play the same position. They will be guarding each other throughout the entire series. And each has advantages against the other.

LeBron is of course the ultimate athlete with his strength and power being his greatest advantage. Durant has traditionally struggled somewhat against more physical defenders with LeBron fitting that exact mold.

Durant is taller than LeBron, listed at 6-foot-9 but may be closer to 7-feet according to many NBA players. He can give LeBron trouble using his length. He can play off him on defense and entice LeBron into shooting jumpers.

LeBron is the better all-around player and was the MVP this year rightfully so but he’s not better than Durant at everything. Here are their numbers from the regular season and then the playoffs.

It’s not that common for the two best players in the NBA to meet in the NBA Finals. It’s also not common for the two best players to play the same position.It doesn’t get much better than that. But is it the best individual matchup in NBA Finals history? It’s closer than you think.

We always hear Bird-Magic as the greatest matchup ever but the truth is those two rarely guarded each other. Not taking anything away from those ‘80s Celtics-Lakers series because they were the best NBA Finals’ ever.

Even looking back in 1991 at Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson matching up. They didn’t quite play the same position or guard each other much either. Magic vs. MJ might get the edge in LeBron vs. Durant in how big the names were, LeBron vs. Durant will be better in a lot of other ways too.

The only matchup in NBA Finals history that really is better than what we are about to see is Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain.

It sounds a little silly already comparing LeBron-Durant to Russell-Wilt but it really could be the beginning of the next great NBA rivalry.

The Thunder aren’t going away for awhile. They look like a team that could be dominating the West for 5-6 more NBA Finals appearances.

The Heat and LeBron are the same way. If the Thunder and Heat manage to meet in the Finals three or four times over the next five years, LeBron-Durant has the potential to turn into the greatest rivalry of all-time.

The first chapter begins Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder beat the Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals and the Heat needed seven games to beat Boston.

• Game 1 – Tuesday June 12 – Miami at Oklahoma City – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 2 – Thursday June 14 – Miami at Oklahoma City – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 3 – Sunday June 17 – Oklahoma City at Miami – 8:00PM – ABC
• Game 4 – Tuesday June 19 – Oklahoma City at Miami – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 5 * – Thursday June 21 – Oklahoma City at Miami – 9:00PM – ABC
• Game 6 * – Sunday June 24 – Miami at Oklahoma City – 8:00PM – ABC
• Game 7 * – Tuesday June 26 – Miami at Oklahoma City – 9:00PM – ABC

*if necessary

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat didn’t have the perfect season this year. After making it to the NBA Finals last year and losing, they were supposed to come out this season more prepared, better and stronger.

It didn’t happen, unless you only watch LeBron James play on this team.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh battled injuries this season including in the playoffs. The team finished with the second-best record in the East despite the Bulls playing much of their season without Derrick Rose.

The Heat seemed to take a step back. They did, except for LeBron who came out and won his third MVP in four years with one of his best seasons ever especially from an efficiency standpoint.

In the playoffs it did not at first all come together for Miami. They had no trouble with New York in the first round but then they started to stumble against Indiana in the next round.

Bosh went down with an injury that kept him out until Game 5 of the East Finals and it forced the LeBron and Wade show to manifest.

It was cool to watch, the duo combining for huge numbers together with not much help from other Heat role players. It worked enough and the Heat took a 2-0 series advantage over Boston.

Then the Celtics came back, stopped looking so old, started looking more Rondo and an upset was suddenly in the realm of possibility.

The Celtics went up 3-2 with a chance to close out the series on their home floor but LeBron wouldn’t have any of it, putting in one of the great performances of his career 45-15-5, and extending the series to seven back home.

Game 7 went as scripted. The Celtics didn’t quite have enough despite some impressive shot making but everything seemed too difficult for the Celtics. It was just a matter of time for the Heat to dispose of them. They pulled away at the end with the help of some Bosh threes and that was that.

After beating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last night, it all seems ok now for the Heat. They made it back to the NBA Finals, right where they were last year and it feels like they are ready for the challenge.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be waiting for them in OKC Tuesday night for Game 1 of the Finals. The Thunder closed out the San Antonio Spurs in the West Finals in Game 6 Wednesday night and have been playing better basketball than any team in the playoffs, including Miami.

The series will be epic, there’s no way around it. The two best players in the league play the same position and they will be guarding each other the entire series.

Game 1 will be Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. EST on ABC.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. EST.

LeBron James scored 31 points and had 12 rebounds and played the entire game for the Miami Heat. It wasn’t the level of performance LeBron had in Game 6 but it didn’t matter for the Heat.

Rajon Rondo had a triple-double for the Celtics with 22 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

This may very well have been the last game that the Big Three in Boston will have played together. They had a great run winning the title in 2008 and making it to three Eastern Conference Finals but this was not their year.

The Heat advance to the Finals despite not having a healthy Chris Bosh for the entire series and Dwyane Wade not being quite himself either.

LeBron and the Heat have gotten over the hump of beating the Celtics. They did it last year too. The only problem is whenever they beat the Celtics, a team better than Boston is waiting for them in the NBA Finals.

LeBron vs. Kevin Durant. It’s on.

NBA.com, the official site of the league, thinks that “true hoops” fans would prefer the Heat and Thunder play in the Finals instead of the Celtics.

It is no secret that the NBA likes their ratings and a LeBron-Durant, Heat-Thunder NBA Finals would put those ratings through the roof. It would be good for the league.

But for the league’s official website to have a headline suggesting that a Heat-Thunder Finals would be better seems a little off.

There are plenty of conspiracy theories about the NBA out there and how the league maybe pulls strings to have its stars in the biggest markets and on the biggest stages.

This headline doesn’t mean the game is going to be fixed tonight but who is going to be surprised if LeBron shoots 20 free throws tonight? What if LeBron and Dwyane Wade go to the line 35 times? That seems pretty likely.

But the Heat aren’t playing just anybody tonight. The Boston Celtics are as respected as any team in the league and have one of the best fan bases as well.

The Celtics have also over the past two years been a team has at times been able to get away with physical play on LeBron and Wade.

The fix shouldn’t be in tonight. Either the Heat or the Celtics will make a great NBA Finals against the Thunder.

Well, maybe LeBron-Durant would be better.

LeBron James scored 45 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out five assists as the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics in Boston in Game 6 98-79 to push this series to a Game 7.

LeBron played the first 45 minutes of the game and went 19-for-26 from the field. LeBron really had his fadeaway jump shot going in the first half and that opened up the rest of his game.

The Celtics had no answer. Rajon Rondo led Boston with 21 points and 10 assists but did have seven turnovers.

The Celtics were just 1-for-14 from three in the game. Paul Pierce went 0-for-6 from three and was 4-for-18 from the field in general and scored just nine points.

Dwyane Wade was the only other Heat player to score in double-figure with 17.

Chris Bosh played 28 minutes and scored seven points with six rebounds.

The Heat will go back home Saturday night for Game 7 to try and get past the Celtics. The winner of that game will play Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City Tuesday night.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have found themselves in a tough spot. Being down 0-2 in an NBA Playoff series is not a good place to be.

In the history of the NBA, only 14 teams have comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series. Three times it happened in the NBA Finals, three times it happened in the Conference Finals and three times it happened in a 5-game series.

The Thunder will have to do just that against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals if they don’t want their season to end.

The problem is that the Spurs are playing like the best team in the NBA right now. They’ve won 20-straight games, which is tied for the third most ever in the NBA, and haven’t lost since April 11.

But it has happened before and if there is one thing you can say about the Thunder it is that they never give up and stop fighting.

How do teams come back from a 0-2 deficit? What usually happens?

The Thunder can look at a couple of teams that may show them a possible blue print.

2007 ECF: Cavaliers beat the Pistons 4-2

LeBron James and Cleveland lose the first two games 79-76 each time in Detroit. Those weren’t fun games to watch.

Then LeBron makes the leap. He has the memorable 48-point game five and it feels like the NBA will never be the same because LeBron is becoming the most unstoppable force ever.

The Cavaliers would lose to the Spurs in the NBA Finals but LeBron gave us a glimpse of just how talented he could become.

Kevin Durant has a chance to do exactly what LeBron did in 2007 in this series. It’s time for him to step up and have a huge playoff series. Only once in his career has he averaged more than 30 per game in a playoff series.

Durant may need to suddenly jump to another level of greatness for the Thunder to win.

2006 Finals: Heat beat Mavericks 4-2

Dallas proves why they are a much better team than Miami in Games 1 and 2 then Dwyane Wade and the referees take over the rest of the series.

Wade shoots 739 free throws in the final four games of the series and puts up historic NBA Finals numbers.

The Thunder are a team with a ton of bogus-foul calls potential. Couldn’t you see Durant, Westbrook and Harden start flailing their bodies into the Spurs over the next four games and getting every call?

Doesn’t David Stern and the NBA want to see LeBron vs. Durant in the Finals? Let’s make this happen.

1993 ECF: Bulls beat Knicks 4-2

The Thunder are reminiscent in many ways of the late-80’s, early-90’s Chicago Bulls teams. They may not have a Michael Jordan but overall they look comparable from time to time.

The Bulls lost the first two games on the road to the Knicks in this 1993 series. Those games were physical and the Bulls were not in their usual rhythm until they returned home and showed why the more talented team won the series.

The Thunder and Spurs games haven’t been especially physical but the Thunder have been out of rhythm so far in the series and haven’t been playing to their potential yet.

There is a ton of potential for this series to look a lot different when it gets to OKC on Thursday and that could propel a Thunder comeback.

Conclusion

It is possible but very unlikely for an NBA team to come back from a 0-2 deficit in a playoff series. It is even harder when you are playing a team as good as the Spurs.

But if you were going to pick a team to do this wouldn’t it be a team like this Thunder team? A team on the rise who shows tons of potential but not all the time? A team with the best player in this series who is on the verge of “making the leap?”

There’s still hope.

LeBron James added 28 points and seven assists as the duo continues their recent dominance over the Pacers.

In the last three games of this series all that Miami won, LeBron and Wade outscored the Pacers starters by themselves 197-184.

The Heat were down 2-1 in this series after losing Chris Bosh in Game 1 and it looked like the Pacers could be poised to pull off the upset.

LeBron and Wade really stepped up in the final three games to lead Miami and take the series.

The Heat await the winner of Boston and Philadelphia who will play Game 7 of their series Saturday night. Game 1of the Eastern Conference Finals will be Monday night.

Durant has now been on the All-NBA First Team for the past three seasons. Durant led the league averaging 28.0 points per game this season to go with 8.0 rebounds. He also had a career-high .610 true shooting percentage this year as well as tying his career-high with a 26.2 PER.

Durant received 117 First Team votes, just one less than LeBron who had more than anyone. There were a possible 120 votes so a few people who voted don’t watch basketball and didn’t think LeBron or Durant deserved to be on the First Team.

Russell Westbrook made the Second Team with Tony Parker, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Andrew Bynum.

Westbrook makes the Second Team for the second straight season. Westbrook would have been available for the “Rose Rule” salary bump because he made an All-NBA team but he waived it in his extension.

Westbrook averaged a career-high 23.6 points per game this season but his assists per game dropped to 5.5 from 8.2 a season ago. He did shoot a career-high .457 percent from the field this year.

Westbrook finished the voting with just one more point than Wade who made the Third Team. Westbrook also had five First Team votes while wade had just one.

The All-NBA Third Team consists of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Rajon Rondo and Tyson Chandler.

Here is how the voting went:

Bosh is likely the miss the rest of this series even if it goes seven games and may even miss some of the Eastern Conference Finals if the Heat make it there.

“I’m just hoping that everyone can keep doing what they’re doing and extend the season,” Bosh told ESPN.com. “I do have a chance to play again. That’s the light at the end of the tunnel for me. That keeps me going every day.”

The Heat are up 3-2 in their series against the Pacers winning the last two in very convincing fashion.

The Heat will likely win the series but those words from Bosh have to be concerning. If the Heat don’t get him back near full strength and have to play Boston in the next round, it will be a very tough series for them to win.

The Heat still have not put a timetable on a return for Bosh although it is anticipated he would at least try to return in the next round.

Miami looked like the easy favorites in the Eastern Conference to make it to the NBA Finals and possibly win it when Bosh was healthy in these playoffs. Without him, they certainly would not be considered favorites against San Antonio or Oklahoma City.

The one silver-lining from the Bosh injury is that it has pushed LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to step up their games which they have been doing.

LeBron last night became the only player to have two straight games of 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists or more since Oscar Robertson and Dolph Schayes.

LeBron scored 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and eight assists and Wade scored 28.

This series has been a chippy one and last night it got a little out of hand with some flagrant fouls.

Tyler Hansbrough starting things off with a really hard foul on Wade where he went for the ball but cut Wade above his left eye on the follow through. Hansbrough got a Flagrant 1 for the foul.

Udonis Haslem then retaliated with a dirty hack on Hansbrough a few plays later and also only received a Flagrant 1 even though he should have definitely been ejected because it wasn’t even close to a basketball play.

Things got even worse in garbage time with Dexter Pittman essentially clothes lining Lance Stephenson causing Stephenson to break his collarbone.

For the Pacers, if the 32-point loss wasn’t enough, Danny Granger went down with an ankle injury in the game and could not return.

After the game, Larry Bird called out his Pacers team.

“I can’t believe my team went soft,” Bird said. “S-O-F-T. I’m disappointed. I never thought it would happen … That’s all I have to say.”

The Heat are now up 3-2 in the series having won the past two games handedly with LeBron and Wade having huge games in each. Miami should have no problem winning the series and will likely close it out in Game 6.

LeBron James commented today on the Pacers’ attempt to play physical with the Heat and get in their faces.

“Whatever he’s trying, it is not working,” LeBron said of Danny Granger. “He’s said he’s not scared of LeBron, I want to let (James) know. I guess he’s doing it for his own psyche. It’s stupid.”

Granger has picked up technical fouls in each of the last three games and gotten into LeBron’s face as well.

In Game 4, the strategy by the Pacers to do this did not seem to work as it seemed to awaken Dwyane Wade and LeBron who went off in the second half as the Heat came back to beat the Pacers in Indiana and tie the series.

“I think there is a line and I’m tip-toeing it,” Granger said. “That’s a product of the chip on my shoulder and we have on our shoulder as a team of not being respected. That goes not just for this series, but all year. We had the fourth or fifth best record in the NBA and I think we only had one televised game. Three or four teams that didn’t make the playoffs had more televised games than us. It was just a matter of being disrespected nationally.”

Granger can feel this way and that’s ok but it might not be the greatest idea to get LeBron and Wade riled up.

Despite losing Game 4, the Pacers are still confident they can win this series and they should be. They beat the Heat in Game 2 in Miami and both of their wins have come when All-Star center Roy Hibbert has had big games.

In Game 4, Hibbert and David West were in foul trouble and it helped allow LeBron and Wade to get going and attack the paint which they did very efficiently.

Hibbert and West will have to play big for Indiana to have a chance as Chris Bosh is still out with his injury and inside is where the Pacers have their biggest advantage.

Granger too will need to step up as he hasn’t played very well at all this series while he’s mostly been matched up with LeBron.

The Heat shot terribly from three in the first two games at home and that was a big reason why Indiana kept those games close and won one of them. The role players for Miami picked up their shooting somewhat in Game 4 and one would expect them to be better for Game 5.

Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James had one of the best games of his career Sunday as the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 101-93 to tie the series at 2-2.

LeBron played 44 minutes and scored 40 points to go with 18 rebounds and nine assists. He was 14-of-27 from the field, 12-of-16 at the line and also had two steals and two blocks. He did this in a must-win game for the Heat where they were without Chris Bosh and the performance also seemed to wake Dwyane Wade.

No one in the NBA is capable of filling up the stat sheet like LeBron is. But we’re not going to see LeBron doing this if the Heat make it to the NBA Finals.

LeBron and the Heat are probably the best team in the Eastern Conference right now and they should be very thankful that is the conference they play in. With the way the Heat have played this season and in the playoffs so far they may not have made it out of the first round if they were in the West.

That may be a little unfair since LeBron and the Heat tend to play to their competition. We haven’t seen the best of the Heat yet because they haven’t needed to show it.

But like the Heat found out last year in the NBA Finals, it isn’t that easy to suddenly flip the switch when your backs are against the wall. They were able to yesterday but let’s not forget who they are playing. Indiana is a nice team and a decent matchup against Miami but they really shouldn’t be winning this series even with Bosh out.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

Waiting for the Heat this year in the NBA Finals won’t be Dallas and Dirk but most likely San Antonio or Oklahoma City.

The Spurs are the best team in the NBA by far and especially lately. They haven’t lost since April 11 and they have the championship experience in their best players and head coach necessary to continue playing at this level.

The Thunder are the most talented team in the NBA right now with the highest ceiling. When they play to their potential which they are fully in control of and doing a lot in the playoffs, they will beat anyone.

The Spurs and Thunder would also each have home court if they play the Heat in the Finals. This actually does matter since the Heat haven’t been great on the road this season and the Spurs and especially the Thunder are nearly unbeatable at home.

Watching the Western Conference makes it frustrating to hear the talk surrounding the Heat and LeBron: “After yesterday’s game, the Heat are now back as one of the title contenders and possibly the favorite. If LeBron can play like he did yesterday for the rest of the playoffs, no one’s beating them.”

That’s not fair because LeBron doesn’t always play that way and certainly won’t against the Spurs or Thunder.

It is becoming evident that the Miami Heat this year would need LeBron to play like he did yesterday for an entire series if they are going to win the championship and that still could possibly not be enough.

It isn’t quite clear yet whether the Spurs or Thunder would be the toughest matchup for Miami, only that either should beat them.

San Antonio, very much like Dallas last year, would kill Miami with their ball movement and perimeter shooting. Tony Parker would have a field day as most point guards do against Miami and Tim Duncan would likely continue his “throwback” play against them.

The Spurs wouldn’t be the best at making things difficult on LeBron and Wade though. Their wings are nice and have really bought into defense but LeBron and Wade could have big series against them.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder would be able to do a much better job of containing LeBron and Wade. Kevin Durant is showing growth on defense and is underratedly becoming the best possible player to have guard LeBron. He shut down Kobe in crunch time of Game 4 against the Lakers and did a very nice job against LeBron in the regular season.

The worry for OKC would be their offensive efficiency against Miami’s defense. The Thunder can be up and down in this area but thanks to James Harden are making significant strides on offense these playoffs.

The Thunder would also have a huge advantage inside with Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison and would be the more physical team all series long.

The point is: good for you LeBron and Heat for showing up yesterday with a great game. It should never have come to this. They should have had the best record in the NBA this season and should never be trailing in any series with a team from the East.

Let’s not lose perspective of what is really happening in the playoffs right now. The NBA Finals will truly start in a few days when the Spurs and Thunder begin their series.

LeBron played 44 minutes in the game and had to play that well as the Heat were again without Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade was not himself until the second half.

Wade would come around with a huge second half and finish the game with 30 points, six assists and nine rebounds.

The Pacers didn’t have their usually advantage over the Heat yesterday as Miami outrebounded Indiana 47-38 and had more offensive rebounds as well (14-8).

The Heat shot 47.5 percent from the field while Indiana shot just 41.8 percent.

Roy Hibbert and David West combined for just 18 points and 15 rebounds and only played 60 total minutes as both were in foul trouble a lot.

The Heat will go back to Miami for Game 5 to try and take a 3-2 series lead Tuesday.

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Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Indiana Pacers have surprised a lot of people this season. Last night, they beat Miami at home 78-75 to even the series at a game apiece.

The Miami Heat were without Chris Bosh for the game and may not get him back for the rest of the series. They did seem to miss him as Bosh was someone who was going to be a tough matchup for the Pacers.

LeBron James scored 28 points to go with nine rebounds, five assists and six steals in the game but was not the one head coach Erik Spoelstra was designing the plays down the stretch for.

Dwyane Wade was that guy and finished the game with 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting. Wade had a chance to tie the game with 16 seconds to play and missed a driving layup with George Hill covering him.

Neither team played exceptionally well again with the low scoring but you have to credit Indiana for pulling this one out and playing great defense.

The Pacers outrebounded the Heat 50-40 in the game and took advantage running the floor to with 13 fast break points.

Indiana is closer to even with the Heat now that Bosh is out but the Heat could still win this series. It just got a lot tougher and if they don’t improve from Game 2, the Pacers could easily pull off the upset.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio Spurs once again looked like the best team in basketball last night beating the Los Angeles Clippers 108-92 in Game 1 of their series.

Tim Duncan had another throwback game scoring 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocks.

The Spurs play the best basketball in the NBA and have the personnel to pull it off with fantastic ball movement, perimeter shooting and decision-making in general.

The matchup between Chris Paul and Tony Parker was highly anticipated but didn’t live up to much in Game 1 with Paul scoring six points with 10 assists and Parker seven points with 11 assists.

The Spurs shot 48.8 percent from the field in the game and made 13-of-25 3-pointers. Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Manu Ginobili each connected on three treys.

Offense seemed easier to come by for the Clippers early on compared to their series vs. Memphis but they couldn’t stop the Spurs on the other end and it just became too much to handle.

Bosh was going to need to step up against the Pacers after playing below his averages in Round 1 against the Knicks. The Pacers’ greatest strength against the Heat is a size advantage down low and Bosh was going to be matched up with Pacer’s All-Star center Roy Hibbert.

Bosh was doing his job in Game 1 taking Hibbert away from the paint and then driving on him when he would get the ball.

Without Bosh in the second half, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had to step up their games and they did just that. LeBron scored 32 points and Wade scored 29 as both players logged over 40 minutes.

The Heat team we saw in the second half is now the one we will likely see for the rest of the series. Miami is still favored to win the series but it just got a lot tougher.

We can now expect huge numbers from LeBron and Wade and they should continue to be efficient in doing so as Indiana’s wings really match up poorly with them.

The biggest concern for Miami will be Bosh’s health moving forward past this series. They are going to need him to contribute to win a championship this season and if he’s not the same when he comes back the Heat might end up having to wait another year for that first title.

Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies promised us a great series before it even started. They came through with the series going seven games with a physical playoff style of play in each.

Chris Paul and the Clippers came through on the road in a Game 7 shocking the home crowd in Memphis. The Clippers won Game 7, 82-72 as Paul led the team with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

The Clippers won this game in a way that no one expected too. Their bench rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter scoring 25 of the team’s 27 points in the final period.

The Clippers entered the fourth quarter trailing by one and outscored the home team 27-16 in the final 12 minutes.

Vinny Del Negro gets a lot of heat but credit him for sticking with the right personnel down the stretch. He sat Blake Griffin for most of the fourth quarter and played guys like Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin instead, two guys the Clippers needed to close out the Grizzlies.

Both teams were shooting poorly in the game but Memphis was the worst shooting 32.5 percent from the field and going 0-for-13 on threes.

Marc Gasol and Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 19 points each but Zach Randolph again did not look like the Randolph from last year as he was held to just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting.

The Clippers now move on to play the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Spurs swept the Utah Jazz in the first round and have been waiting awhile to play their next game.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 95-86 Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in their series.

LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes on the day he was presented with the MVP trophy before the game.

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points in 40 minutes and the duo of LeBron and Wade combined to go 21-of-24 at the free throw line.

LeBron and Wade had to step up not only because the Pacers came out strong but Chris Bosh went down with an injury late in the first half and did not return in the game.

Indiana played better than most people thought they would but did not come through in the areas they needed to pull off the upset. They gave up 15 offensive rebounds to Miami and Danny Granger went 1-for-10 from the field with only seven points.

The Pacers looked young and inexperienced and the Heat looked like they knew they were going to win the game no matter what. This series will be frustrating for Pacers fans but they could have a window of opportunity if the Bosh injury proves to be more serious.