OKC Thunder Preview: Can They Cool Off the Miami Heat?

Early Rumblings is your ultimate OKC Thunder preview for today’s game. Just two-and-a-half seasons have passed since these two teams met in the 2012 NBA Finals. Both teams have evolved – roster changes and injuries make these teams virtually unrecognizable – but share the goal of fighting for a playoff spot this season. Can the Thunder renew their rivalry and find a way to cool off the Miami Heat?

Miami Heat (32-36) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (39-30)

2:00 p.m. CST – Sunday, March 22, 2015 – Chesapeake Energy Arena

Broadcast on FoxSports

STARTING LINEUP: OKC	STARTING LINEUP: MIA
Russell Westbrook	G	Goran Dragic	G
Andre Roberson	G	Dwyane Wade	G
Dion Waiters	F	Luol Deng	F
Enes Kanter*	F	Udonis Haslem	F
Steven Adams	C	Hassan Whiteside	C

Key Reserves

OKC Thunder: Dion Waiters, D.J. Augustin, Anthony Morrow, Mitch McGary*, Perry Jones III

Miami Heat: Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen, Henry Walker, Michael Beasley, Tyler Johnson

*Kanter reportedly practiced with the team on Saturday but may not be available to play during Sunday’s game. If that’s the case, expect McGary to start in his place.

Storm Alert – What to Look For in Today’s Game

Daily Reminder: OKC is currently two games up on the New Orleans Pelicans but that’s hardly a comfortable cushion with 13 games left to play. And while injuries take their toll (Nick Collison being the latest victim), the Thunder have to keep finding a way to push past the adversity to reach their goal of making the playoffs.

Biggest story: If there’s one team that can identify with OKC’s ongoing injury woes it’s Miami, who have lost Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts for the season while Dwyane Wade has missed significant time. The Heat have started a staggering 27 different lineups (10 more than the Thunder, if you can imagine) so obviously there’s been some adjusting to do. But while OKC keeps plugging in whoever’s next in line to fill in as players miss time, the Heat have found a nice chemistry in the midst of their playoff run. While this isn’t the sexy prime-time matchup that it could’ve been if these rosters were at full strength, it’s still a great test to see who steps up when the lights shine brightest.

Best matchup: The two teams matchup better than you might think, even with all the inactive players. And while I’m tempted to pick Westbrook vs. Dragic, the reality is that I’m curious to see how Andre Roberson handles the wily Wade, the person responsible for Miami’s recent surge. He’s been producing at an incredible level of late and, while that’s nothing new, it’s his efficiency over the last few games that has Miami playing at a high level. Some of that is because of Dragic and some because Wade, even at this point of his career, still can dominate when he needs to. But if Roberson can stay out of early foul trouble – watch him bite on the patented Wade up-fake – then his length and tenacity should keep Miami’s leader from blowing up.

Why you should watch: The ongoing playoff race for both teams is what will drive the competitive levels to maximum. The bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings has been a revolving door over the last few days, with Miami out of the picture altogether before stringing together three consecutive wins while other teams go on losing streaks. Despite the injury and inconsistency that has plagued both teams this season, they’ll refuse to quit even if neither are considered legitimate contenders without key players in the lineup. This should be a hotly-contested battle until the very end.

Current trend: If there’s one “positive” resulting from OKC’s injury woes, Westbrook’s MVP-case seems stronger than ever. He’s averaged 32.4 points, 10.4 assists and 9.3 rebounds over his last 21 games…In Miami’s current 3-game win streak (tying their longest such streak all season), they’ve shot 53.7 percent. Their most productive players during that stretch have all shot well including Wade (averaging 28.7 points on 54.6 percent shooting in his last seven games), Deng (62.5 percent) and Dragic (58.1 percent).

History pattern: Of the players that met in the 2012 NBA Finals for both teams, only one Thunder player (Westbrook) will be active on Sunday, while Miami still has three members from that team (Chalmers, Haslem and Wade)…While OKC enjoys a hefty home-court advantage, the Heat have won 7-of-8 road games between these two teams…In 12 matchups vs. Miami, Westbrook’s career-average of 5.6 assists per game is the lowest such mark.

"*Statistics are provided by ESPN.com or Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted"

Check back with Thunderous Intentions for a full recap, post-game grades, analysis and more.

More from Thunderous Intentions

Home/Thunder News