Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97 yesterday in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals.

It was a convincing win for the Heat very reminiscent of the way they took down the Thunder a few months ago.

Despite that, Heat forward Shane Battier had some nice things to say about the Thunder.

Shane Battier on OKC “They’ve been the most consistent team… I wouldn’t stop short of saying they’re the best team in the league right now

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) December 26, 2012

Battier is a real professional who always says the right thing in interviews so it’s not real surprising to hear him say something like this too.

He may be right too. The Thunder still are tied for the best record in the league and have so far been the most consistent and best team.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the Thunder just lost to the Heat in the same exact way they lost to them in the Finals then more people would be confident still calling the Thunder the best team in the league too.

This win by the Heat will make a lot of people look at them as the best team in the league again. Many still did but the emergence of the Clippers, Grizzlies and Knicks this season had them second-guessing Miami.

The funny thing is, the Thunder are probably better suited to beat the other elite teams in the league than the Heat are. Yet, when playing head-to-head vs. Miami, have a harder time than those other teams coming out on top.

So technically, sure the Thunder are still the best team in the league this season. But they don’t care about that and neither does the Heat. The only thing either team cares about is what may happen if they meet again in the NBA Finals.

For now, the Heat feel better about themselves than OKC does.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka hasn’t been very impressed with LeBron James in the NBA Finals.

The runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year this season doesn’t think LeBron can guard Kevin Durant.

“LeBron is not a good defender,” Ibaka said Monday. “He can play defense for two to three minutes but not 48 minutes. LeBron can’t play (Durant) one-on-one.”

No player in the NBA received more All-Defensive First Team votes than LeBron James. He has really come a long way as a defender committing on that side of the ball.

Durant is the best offensive player in the world though and Ibaka is kind of right about LeBron not being able to guard him.

Durant is averaging 31.0 points per game and shooting .574 percent from the field in the NBA Finals. Durant is shooting 58 percent when Shane Battier is guarding him and only 43 percent when LeBron is.

But in one-on-one situations, Durant has proved the ability to score on LeBron, sometime with what looks like very little effort at all.

While LeBron may not be able to completely shut down Durant, he is a “good” defender.

Reading Ibaka say something like this sounds worse than hearing him actually say it. If you are familiar with how he talks you can imagine him saying this in a harmless way, not in a “calling out” sort of way.

Ibaka and LeBron are two of the best athletes in the game today and gave us this amazing moment in Game 2 of the Finals.

Here’s to hoping for more of that in this series.

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.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder and Heat split the first two games of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City and now the series goes to Miami for three straight games.

It’s disappointing from a Thunder perspective to lose one at home but the series is by no means over. They need to beware though because they will go 10 days between playing at home if the series goes to a Game 6. Momentum and the entire feel of a series can change in that amount of time especially with all of the games on the road.

The Thunder had the same problem in Games 1 and 2 getting off to slow starts against the Heat. The Heat are starting a small lineup with LeBron James at the four and it has helped them spread the floor to get open 3-point shooters and also render Kendrick Perkins useless.

Perkins was matched up with Chris Bosh to start Game 2 at center which isn’t a great matchup for him. Perkins’ value comes in defending the post, setting screens and annoying opponents with physical contact that can help get some offensive rebounds.

Perkins played 20 minutes in Game 2 and scored four points to go with eight rebounds, four of which were offensive. The Thunder were minus-16 in those 20 minutes.

It seems there is no place for Perkins in this series and the Thunder should seriously consider removing him from the starting lineup, although that will probably not happen.

If Perkins continues to start, the Thunder will likely continue to deal with slow starts from their offense and possible defense too. These are holes you never want to be in, especially on the road against the best front-running team in the league.

Russell Westbrook has been the Thunder player most noticeable in these slow starts as well. Westbrook has gone just 5-for-20 from the field in the first halves of Games 1 and 2 and in both games missed at least his first four shots.

Westbrook plays his best in space and Perkins minimizes that for the Thunder offense. That’s why we’ve seen Westbrook struggling to get clean looks and appear to be forcing a lot.

The other problem for the Thunder early on is the offensive sets they run. They aren’t exactly the same sets they run all game.

The most common one is when they set a cross screen to try and get Kevin Durant a post-up. With LeBron guarding him in Game 2, they never successfully got this look from this set and it led to Westbrook having to create with nothing in front of him a few times.

LeBron can obviously out-physical Durant some and the other Heat defenders can help a ton against this set especially when Perkins is in and the floor spacing is worse.

Getting your best player post touches early in the first quarter is a common thing for a lot of teams but given the Thunder’s matchup with the Heat, it isn’t a great idea.

If Perkins continues to start, the best bet for the Thunder will be getting either Westbrook or Durant on the move and in pick-and-rolls with Serge Ibaka.

The Thunder often run a version of the Spurs’ weak set that does just this for Westbrook. They haven’t been doing it enough early in the game with this lineup but it may be one of the only sets that could be effective to start out the game and might get Westbrook into some rhythm.

It is frustrating watching this series so far for the Thunder. It was great that they were able to win Game 1 and almost came back in Game 2 but it doesn’t have to be this way. Perkins simply needs to be benched and it doesn’t even have to be for James Harden.

If the Thunder used Nick Collison instead of Perkins, it would make a world of difference. Collison would have no trouble matching up with Shane Battier on defense and always makes the Thunder defense better with his great understanding of rotations.

It’s ok to make drastic starting lineup changes in the NBA Finals too. The Dallas Mavericks did it last year inserting J.J. Barea for DeShawn Stevenson in the middle of the series and it became a very crucial decision that helped them beat the Heat.

One of the only good things about losing a game in a series is that you have the luxury of being able to adjust for the next game and possible catch your opponent back on their heels.

The winner of Game 3 in NBA Finals tied 1-1 goes on to win the series 85 percent of the time. It may be now or never for the Thunder to adjust. Another slow start could cost them a championship.

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.

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Miami Heat 105-94 in Game 1 while Bosh scored 10 points to go with five rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench.

Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday it’s more important that Bosh be put in positions to be aggressive than whether he’s on the court when the game starts. And Bosh is simply amused by all the interest his status is getting.

“I didn’t know it was such a big deal, the starting thing. I just thought people were happy to see me out there,” Bosh joked.

via ESPN.com

The Heat didn’t exactly miss Bosh as a starter in Game 1 since they jumped out to an early lead thanks to good floor spacing with their small lineup.

Bosh could still start with the Heat remaining small if he replaces Udonis Haslem as the starting center which would allow Shane Battier to continue starting.

The Heat are going to need more from Bosh to beat the Thunder in this series whether he starts or comes off the bench.

Spoelstra announced an hour before Game 1 that Bosh would be coming off the bench and he will likely make the announcement around the same time before Game 2 which tips at 9 p.m. EST on ABC tonight.

Kevin Durant leads the Thunder with 13 points as the Thunder trail 54-47 at halftime of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.

LeBron James has 14 points, four rebounds and two assists but has had a hard time scoring when Durant has been guarding him.

The Miami Heat jumped out to a lead because of 3-point shooting. They’ve made 6-of-10 threes in the game as Shane Battier has made 3-of-4 and has 13 points.

Russell Westbrook has struggled from the field starting 0-for-4 and has nine points and six assists.

Derek Fisher provided a nice lift off the bench with six points for OKC.

The Thunder missed a lot of good looks and let Miami get a lot of which they made most. The Thunder will need to tighten up on defense and continue to move the ball on offense to come back in this game and avoid going down 0-1.

Erik Spoelstra has elected to continue with the same starting lineup from Game 7 against Boston, starting LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem.

Bosh had 19 points and eight rebounds coming off the bench in Game 7 and went 8-of-10 from the field.

The Thunder will have to take advantage of their size with their starting lineup.

Serge Ibaka will likely be matched up with Battier on defense which will make it hard for him to help off and go for shot blocks.

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.

“I’ll consider everything by tomorrow night,” Spoelstra said. “I think he can handle more minutes. We’ll have to see. He was able to handle the 31 minutes. He had to come out a couple times because of wind, but I think each game we’ll get better.”

With Bosh out of the starting lineup, Miami has been starting Shane Battier in his place and playing small with LeBron James and Udonis Haslem.

That small lineup won’t be ideal against the Thunder and their front line of Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. It also disrupts the rotation of bringing Battier off the bench who did a very good job in the regular season guarding James Harden.

Bosh will have to play well for the Heat to beat the Thunder. He played 31 minutes in Game 7 against the Celtics and scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with eight rebounds.

The Heat did not use Bosh much in the pick-and-roll since his return and he scored mostly as a spot-up shooter.

“Like I’ve been saying the past week, it really doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be out there and we want to give ourselves the best chance to win,” Bosh said. “So, whatever that means, that’s what’s going to work out for me and the team.”

Game 1 tips tonight at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.

They’ve become the most athletic team in the league and flex their prowess embarrassing opponents by throwing down on them.

They’re led in this and in everything on the basketball court by their big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. They each cover a different dimension of highlight-making facials.

Here are my five best dunks in Thunder history.

5. Russell Westbrook on Omer Asik

Westbrook has turned into one of the best players in the league off the ball. This is interesting of course because he has the ball so much and shoots so often while being the primary ball-handler on a possession. But Westbrook is better than anyone at catching a pass and immediately attacking a defense with the drive.

On this play the Bulls are playing zone against the Thunder and Westbrook shows why he is so great against the zone. After swinging the ball around the perimeter a few times the ball gets to Westbrook and he springs into action.

Westbrook tries for a dunk like this once a game by the way.

4. James Harden on J.J. Hickson

Harden is one of the most graceful players in the NBA with the ball. He has a great handle and moves so efficiently and effortlessly covering the ground he wants. This dunk on Hickson is a perfect example of a Beard facial.

In transition he is picking up speed maybe even faster than he knows at the time. Concentrating on beating defenders with the dribble, he finds himself unexpectedly in perfect position to take off. As so often happen, Harden is a split-second ahead of Hickson who thinks he can get the block. One of the biggest secrets in the NBA is that Harden is a super athlete (I think his beard hides this some). He surprises Hickson with the flush that of course goes through the net perfectly.

3. Russell Westbrook alley-oop from Kevin Durant

The best part about this dunk is how perfectly it represents this Thunder team this season. From the moment Durant gets the ball your eyes immediately try and find Westbrook. I saw this one coming but thought it might not happen when Durant stumbles.

The pass was a little off but when does that not help a huge dunk? Westbrook cleanly makes the catch and is in perfect position to extend and take out his hate on the rim. Notice how high the ball bounces after it goes through and then the best part is Thunder play-by-play announcer Brian Davis reacting again about five seconds after the dunk.

2. Kevin Durant on Brendan Haywood

The Mavericks got the best of the Thunder last season in the playoffs but the Thunder had their moments. This was maybe the best in Game 2.

Durant has Peja Stojakovic on him (bad idea) and easily gets by him to his strong hand, which Durant will always do if he can choose. His takeoff is from so far away that Haywood has no chance of reaching the height Durant does. Throw in Durant’s length and any shove he got from Haywood doesn’t matter and improves the dunk as Durant extends and throws down with big time force.

The “jaw face” by Durant after the dunk makes it awesome.

1. Russell Westbrook destroys Shane Battier

You know how Battier looks like he’s lost a step this season? Well, I think this play might be exactly when Battier lost that step.

Like I said before, Westbrook tries for a dunk like this it seems every night. That’s why I always say he has the best chance of topping Blake Griffin for the Dunk of the Year crown.

Here Westbrook again shows how good he is at attacking after the catch. There’s no defender with him right away so he can gather perfectly. Battier is late getting there and may have wanted to take a charge but Westbrook soars around him in the air.

With one hand Westbrook hangs on the rim like he just conquered a city and provides one of his better celebratory roars.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

It was a game that would probably decide the MVP winner. LeBron James everybody.

James scored 34 points and dished out 10 assists as the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-93 Wednesday night. Kevin Durant scored 30 points but also had nine turnovers.

With 1:01 left Chris Bosh made a jump shot to put the Heat ahead 96-93. With 43 seconds left Kendrick Perkins was fouled on a layup from a baseline out of bounds play but would miss both free throws.

James missed a jumper on the next possession giving Oklahoma City another chance to cut into the three-point deficit.

With 16 seconds left, Durant came off a down screen to the left wing and fired a 27-footer that missed. It was a look that Durant can make but the Thunder had time to go for the two-point shot since they also had two time outs left.

Oklahoma City did not play their best game and struggled for the most part. Again, it was impressive that they were even able to stay in the game so late with their lack of execution on offense and 18 turnovers.

James definitely stole the show as the Heat needed him as much as possible. In the seven minutes James didn’t play, the Thunder outscored Miami by 13.

Russell Westbrook continued his struggles from the floor going 9-for-26 with 28 points, two assists and four turnovers. Westbrook did help the Thunder come back with some big plays in the second half but overall he was out of sync for most of the night.

The game had the feel of a playoff matchup with the Thunder committing a couple of hard fouls in the first half. First Perkins came down hard on Dwyane Wade’s head and received a technical. Then Westbrook hit James hard from behind on a fast break receiving a flagrant two.

Those plays seemed to wake up the Heat who were noticeably more aggressive than they were in the first meeting between these teams. Miami shot nine more free throws than the Thunder tonight and James shot 13 after shooting just one 10 days ago against the Thunder.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden played well for Oklahoma City but they needed more of him. He scored 12 points to go with five assists and five boards but didn’t aggressively penetrate as much as he usually does, especially when Wade was covering him.

Oklahoma City had their best moments on offense with Harden in the pick-and-roll and Westbrook playing off the ball.

The Thunder played very physical from the start and blocked four shots in the first eight minutes of the game with Serge Ibaka accounting for three of them. They would only have four the rest of the game and Miami always seemed to take advantage of the small units Oklahoma City had out there by scoring in the paint and outrebounding them.

The defense wasn’t the same it was the first time the Thunder played Miami. Durant didn’t seem as locked in on James and that allowed for James to get to the rim more.

Miami seems to have the best answer for defending Oklahoma City’s big three. Wade does a nice job on Westbrook, James can be physical with Durant and Battier gives Harden fits.

The things that usually go right at home went right for the Heat tonight and vice versa for the Thunder in the first meeting. The Heat shot well from three with James, Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier each making three triples. Miami also probably got a few more 50-50 calls and in a game decided by five points or less, that is big.

There is no reason for alarm for the Thunder with this loss. Miami is obviously one of the best teams in the league and in the season series both teams did what they were supposed to. They each protected their home court and that’s how it goes sometimes.

The Thunder are off tomorrow night and then will play in Indiana Friday night for their next game.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (1-game losing streak)
107.6 Offensive Efficiency (1st)
100.0 Defensive Efficiency (10th)
95.5 Pace (6th)
57.2 True Shooting % (1st)
51.4 Rebound Rate (5th)

Heat (1-game winning streak)
106.1 Offensive Efficiency (3rd)
97.4 Defensive Efficiency (4th)
94.1 Pace (13th)
55.9 True Shooting % (2nd)
51.1 Rebound Rate (7th)

The potential NBA Finals preview is more than just that tonight. It is also a game where the MVP of the regular season may very well be determined. It’s Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James.

The Thunder and Heat played two Sundays ago and the Thunder got the best of the Heat in that matchup winning by 16 at home. Now in South Beach the Heat will look to exact revenge.

The Thunder had their six-game winning streak stopped in their last game Monday night versus the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies showed the formula for beating the Thunder with great defense, rebounding and ball security.

Miami has been in a slump themselves until last night beating the Philadelphia 76ers without Dwyane Wade and getting 41 points from James.

Tonight, Wade will play and that could spell trouble for Russell Westbrook who struggled in the Thunder’s last game. Wade looked to have Westbrook’s number on defense in the first meeting and the Thunder had to rely on a great all-around game from Durant to get the win.

Durant gave them just that completely outplaying James and may have to do that again tonight, especially because the game is in Miami.

The Thunder bench plays worse like so many benches when on the road. This includes James Harden who also struggled with the Heat defense two weeks ago mostly when Shane Battier was covering him.

If we see the same story tonight with Westbrook and Harden struggling then the Heat should be able to get the win.

Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka combined for 35 points in the first meeting and it would be surprising if they do the same again tonight. The Heat’s game plan defensively was to take the ball out of the hands of Durant, Westbrook and Harden in the pick-and-roll and make the other players beat them. They did on that night.

The real story tonight will be the battle between Durant and James. They are the two leaders in the MVP race and whoever gets the better of the other tonight will surely be in the lead for the award.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder sent a message to the Miami Heat and the rest of the NBA tonight beating the heat 103-87 in Chesapeake Arena.

Durant completely outplayed LeBron James and heard the crowd chanting “MVP, MVP” as he was shooting free throws in the final minutes of the game. Durant put up a James-like stat-line tonight with 28 points, nine rebounds and eight rebounds.

James had just 17 points and seven assists, was visibly passive with Durant guarding him and attempted just one free throw in the game.

The Thunder would get 35 points and 16 rebounds out of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka tonight as the two combined to go 16-for-21 from the field. Perkins – who said this game meant more than the usual regular season game before the tip – especially helped set the tone finishing off strong dunks all night including this one where he got tangled up with Wade on the follow through.

With Russell Westbrook in foul trouble in the first half it would be James Harden who stepped up for the Thunder and helped them start pulling away. Harden scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half and also added six assists in the game. He actually had one of his bigger struggled of the season dealing with Miami’s Shane Battier and turned the ball over seven times.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The headline will read Durant and LeBron when looking at this game. James seemed to revert back to a similar mode that he was in during the NBA Finals last year with the announcers mentioning how he needed to be more aggressive. Credit the Thunder defense and Durant in particular for the attention they paid him all night.

Miami relies a lot on spot-up shooting and didn’t kill the Thunder in that department tonight making just 7-of-22 threes in the game. Wade and James who have been taking far fewer threes this season attempted seven in the game with Wade being the only one to make any converting three including a 68-footer.

The Thunder would also have less turnovers than Miami on the night with 16 compared to 21. The Heat have one of the best defenses in the league but Oklahoma City was up to the challenge tonight and took care of the ball for the most part and had some of their best ball movement of the season with 26 assists as a team.

Westbrook would have a tough night for the Thunder and was unable to find any rhythm after getting into foul trouble in the first half. He was 4-for-16 in the game and Wade noticeably seemed to have his number whenever they matched up.

The Thunder simply outplayed Miami tonight and also “out-efforted” them. This is the kind of team the Thunder are never taking nights off while Miami is known for it. You would have expected in this game for both teams to bring their best stuff but it was simply not the case.

The teams will meet again once more this season on April 4 in Miami. The Thunder (37-12) will play next at Portland (22-26) on Tuesday.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston. The conference was founded in 2006 and is co-chaired by Houston Rockets GM and MIT alum Daryl Morey and Jessica Gelman.

The conference is basically the most sports nerds ever gathered in one place during the year listening to panels and presentations on all of the cutting edge analytics in sports today.

This year the Godfather of sports analytics, Bill James, was in attendance. Baseball was really the first sport to delve into statistics and use analytics at the professional level and was most recently featured in the movie Moneyball.

Basketball is on the rise in this department. Basketball is different than baseball in that it is less measureable because there is less one-on-one competition in the games. Plus-minus is a useful stat for a player but there are 10 players on the court at once.

At the conference there were probably more presentations on basketball than any other sport. The big moment of basketball analytics that kept being brought up was the Dallas coaching staff’s decision to start J.J. Barea in the final two games of the NBA Finals versus the Heat last season.

The decision was largely influenced by analytics determining Barea’s effectiveness while on the floor with certain players and what Dallas’ offense was missing at the start of games (penetration mostly).

Right now in terms of basketball analytics were at a stage where there is a lot of data and much less information on how to best implement and interpret the data. We can see what percentage a player shoots at every exact location on the floor but how useful is that information and how do you use it to your advantage.

“A lot of analytics is just noise,” says Dean Oliver, ESPN’s Director of Production Analytics.

A big consensus from many of the panelists was just that. A lot of times analytics were just confirming what already was thought about something. And analytics aren’t going to turn the Charlotte Bobcats in an NBA Finals team either. Sometimes the effect they have can be very small.

“I asked Daryl [Morey] if we shot two-for-one every time how many wins would that translate into,” Jeff Van Gundy said. “He said about one every two years.”

Relaying the information and translating it into coaching is another thing. Van Gundy, who is very skeptical and not that into analytics, often was making remarks about how some things you just can’t tell players because you don’t want them over-thinking during games.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Jackie MacMullan mentioned coming across a stat depicting Kevin Durant’s shooting percentage based on how many dribbles he took. He shot 55 percent when he took no dribbles, 58 percent with 1-to-2 dribbles, 39 percent with 3-to-4 dribbles and 40 percent with 5-plus dribbles.

“I wouldn’t tell a guy you’re 39 percent on 3-to-4 dribbles so dribble the fifth time to go up to 40,” Van Gundy joked.

It also depends on the player. Van Gundy said there are things you can tell Shane Battier and you know he will understand you but that’s not the case for every player in the league.

“Coaches might have 20 things they want to implement in practice that they believe will help win,” Mike Zarren, Assistant General Manager of the Boston Celtics said. “You can only focus on six in practice and the players might remember four of those things and execute one in the game.”

It almost sounds hard to believe something like that. But especially during this condensed season when the players have almost no time for practice, scouting in this way can be very tough.

I go back to Tyreke Evans and how successful he was in his rookie season in the NBA. One of the things about Evans when watching the games was that you knew he would always go to his right hand to finish, always. It was amazing to see players not adjust to this. Then I heard how sometimes it can take an entire year before scouting reports come out on a player and are implemented in games

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

A popular area that basketball analytics cover is crunch time stats. We all know how Kobe Bryant has made the most game-winning shots of any current player in his career but he also takes the most.

“There’s no accepted definition of what crunch time is,” ESPN columnist John Hollinger said. “There’s so little data over one season that random noise is going to blow away anything you can determine as an actual skill. You really need to look at multi-year data to have anything even remotely convincing as far as making conclusions especially predictive conclusions.”

It’s also tough even to do that because players aren’t the same for their whole careers. They’re not robots and that seems to be sometimes overlooked in a way with these analytics.

“Guys aren’t static either,” Zarren said. “You become a better player over time.”

The game also changes during crunch time as there are less transition opportunities and defenses are usually set resulting in a lot of isolation offense.

“It’s not who elevates their game when the game is on the line it much more of who Wilt’s,” Zarren said. “The first thing you want to look at is the team. If the team is always good in those situations then there’s probably someone on the team that’s doing something worthwhile.”

One thing everyone can agree on is that the playoffs — when there are fewer games per week and you can prepare for one team at a time — analytics can become the most impactful.

We saw it last year with the Mavericks and we’ll probably see it again this year with someone. Every team has analytics. It really just comes down to who knows how to use it.

Analytics might make an impact on one or two plays throughout the course of a series and that doesn’t seem like much but remember that the Miami Heat were just two plays away from sweeping the Dallas Mavericks last year.