Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Miami Heat and their All-Star Trio of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the 2012 NBA Finals. Each franchise owns one NBA championship, and they are both just four wins away from capturing their second.
Thirty-three years ago, while still in Seattle, the Thunder franchise earned its sole NBA championship when the Seattle Supersonics defeated the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) four games to one in the 1979 NBA Finals. Twenty-seven years later, the Heat earned the 2006 NBA championship by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2.
Oklahoma City became the 2012 Western Conference Champions by beating the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. Miami defeated the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics to capture its second consecutive Eastern Conference championship.
The Thunder and Heat are the only teams that remain standing, and only one of them will get to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The final battle of the season will begin on Tuesday, June 12, when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals.
2012 NBA Finals Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, June 12, Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 2: Thursday, June 14, Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 3: Sunday, June 17, Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat, 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 4: Tuesday, June 19, Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat, 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 5: Thursday, June 21, Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat, 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC (if necessary)
Game 6: Sunday, June 24, Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC (if necessary)
Game 7: Tuesday, June 26, Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC (if necessary)
For the Miami Heat to complete the job that they failed to finish in last season's Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, they will have to do something that the Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs (all recent NBA champions) were unable to do during the first three rounds of the postseason--win a game at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena. Since the Thunder have home-court advantage in this series, the Heat have to win at least one game in Oklahoma City to have any chance at winning the championship.
During the first three rounds of the playoffs, Miami won at least one road game each series. If the Heat can continue that trend and get a road win over the Thunder during the NBA Finals, they just might find themselves hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy later this month. However, since the Thunder, who are 4-3 on the road during the playoffs, are more than capable of winning a game in Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat will more than likely have to win more than one game in Oklahoma City to turn their championship dreams into reality.
Getting two road wins against a team that has won eight straight home playoff games will not be an easy task for the Heat. Over the last 27 years, since the NBA switched to the 2-3-2 format for the Finals back in 1985, the team with home-court advantage has won the championship 20 times. Miami was involved in two of the seven Finals when home-court advantage failed to be a benefit.
The Heat failed to hold onto home-court advantage in last year's Finals and fell to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. In 2006, the roles were reversed and Miami overcame Dallas' home-court advantage to earn its only championship.
Only two teams-the 2004 Detroit Pistons and the 2006 Miami Heat-have won all three of the middle games at home; and they were both crowned NBA champions. If the Heat want to give themselves a real chance at winning this year's NBA title, they will have to find a way to become the third team to complete that feat.
Prediction: Thunder 4-2
Mark is a lifelong fan of the NBA who has loved the game of basketball ever since his first trip to an NBA arena. Mark has watched more basketball games than anyone can count and has hundreds of articles about the NBA published on the internet. Mark also shares his random NBA musings and game-by-game predictions on RandomNBAFan.com.
More on the 2012 NBA Playoffs:
Miami Heat's Road to the 2012 NBA Finals: Fan's Take
Oklahoma City Thunder's Road to the 2012 NBA Finals: Fan's Take
2012 NBA Playoffs: Miami Heat Vs. Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals Fan's View
2012 NBA Playoffs: San Antonio Spurs Vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Western Conference Finals Fan's View
2012 NBA Playoffs Final Four Power Rankings: Fan's Take
Information from NBAUniverse.com's NBA Championships: Year by Year Champions; ESPN.com's Oklahoma City Thunder Schedule and Miami Heat Schedule and NBA.com's Finals format another obstacle for Mavericks to overcome was used for this article.
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