NBA Finals Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder Over the Miami Heat in Six - AllMediaNY

12 Jun 2012 09:23 AM EST

-by Kenny Franek, Contributing Writer; Image: It says here that OKC’s Kevin Durant will get his first ring before LeBron James. (Image Source: Getty Images)

NBA Commissioner David Stern has to be giddy over this Finals matchup. This is what the fans wanted and they got it. Any time LeBron James is in the Finals it will draw eyes to the television, not because everyone loves him, but because he is as hated as much as he is loved. There are millions out there that want him to win his first ring and there are millions that want to see him lose for the third time in his career in the Finals.

No matter what side of the fence you are on, the fact remains that this is the best possible conclusion to the NBA playoffs, a postseason that has been the most thrilling and compelling in recent memory. You have the Miami Heat playing the role of the villains and the Oklahoma City Thunder who are the lovable young bunch of new kids on the block. The star power is abundant and sure to shine. The biggest headline to the Finals is this: who will win their first ring, Kevin Durant or LeBron James?

What to Watch for: If just watching the NBA Finals because you’re a fan of the game wasn’t enough, here are some things to look for during the series. Durant vs. James and Dwayne Wade vs. Russell Westbrook. These are the top matchups in the series. James will assuredly be glued to Durant throughout the entire series, which makes sense. James is an All-Defensive first-team performer and the Heat’s best defender, while Durant is the regular season scoring champion. LeBron will cause headaches for Durant due to his size and speed, something Durant hasn’t had to face thus far in the playoffs. Then again, James hasn’t had to defend a player with Durant’s freakish length either. On the flip side, Durant will have to try and slow down James, who has been on a tear over the past few games. You can bet your bottom dollar that Thunder head coach Scott Brooks is putting together a defensive scheme to give Durant help and use numerous players to neutralize LeBron’s ability to get to the hoop.

And then you have Westbrook and Wade. Wade is an excellent defender in his own right and is much larger than Jason Kidd and Tony Parker, the two most formidable opponents Westbrook has faced in the playoffs. It’s unclear how often the two will be matched up head-to-head, but when they are it will be interesting to see if Westbrook will be able to blow by Wade with his advantage in quickness and speed. Even if he can get by Wade with ease, he better watch his back because Wade loves to fly in from behind to block opponent’s layup attempts. Like Durant, Westbrook may need help on defense to try and contain Wade, if he is asked to cover the shooting guard. There is a distinct size advantage for Wade and he will take full advantage of it should the Thunder decide to play straight-up man defense. Westbrook has the ability to recover like Wade does, but he isn’t nearly the defender as his counterpart. Having said that, don’t be surprised if we see a lot of Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden on Wade. Even if Westbrook and Wade don’t cover one another, the game within the game is to see which guard is the better Robin in this series.

How the Thunder Will Win: The Thunder’s version of the “Big Three” needs to keep on the same pace they have had since the Los Angeles Lakers series. OKC has been amazing, playing together as a team and sharing the ball. When one player is slumping, the others pick him up and carry the load. This team has grown up before our eyes and they just passed the ultimate test by beating a San Antonio Spurs team that was being coined as the best team in the league two weeks ago, all while coming back from an 0-2 deficit. That Thunder team is what everyone has expected to see, just not this quickly. They can’t get the jitters now, not after they have faced virtually every kind of veteran opponent and adversity and passed those tests with flying colors. They will now be playing a Heat team that has speed and can get out and run. The Thunder play that game better than anyone in the league and that is their bread and butter. If the Heat want to play a run-and-gun style of basketball, the Thunder will be quick to oblige and the series will be theirs.

How the Heat Will Win: LeBron James can’t do his best Houdini impression and disappear like he did last season in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. If the Heat get the LeBron that showed up in the final two games against Boston they will be tough to beat. Wade has let James go to work early and then add his finishing touches to games throughout the playoffs, which will likely be the case again in this series. As much as people thought the Heat would be fine without Chris Bosh in the lineup, they were wrong. He proved to be a huge factor in Games 6 and 7 against Boston [especially Game 7] and he will play a huge role in this series too. Bosh has the ability to pull defenders away from the basket with his shooting touch, which opens lanes for LeBron and D-Wade to slash through. But even more important than the Heat’s Big Three are the role players. Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, and Udonis Haslem must be a factor for the Heat to have a chance. The Thunder will likely clog up the lane and force Miami to become a jump shooting team. If these players can’t hit some big shots and pull defenders back outside, then it could be a short series.

Prediction: Thunder in 6: The Thunder have home court advantage in the series, which is a huge plus considering Miami plays worlds better on their home floor. But even more important is the Thunder are the better TEAM. They are better at sharing the ball and getting players involved. They have a deeper bench, are faster, and can score points in a hurry. Time and time again they have battled back from large deficits and have showed the composure of a championship team. No one is saying the series will be easy, as the Heat will impose their will from time to time and win a couple of games. But they rely too much on LeBron and Wade to beat a complete team like the Thunder. If one of those two has an off night, it’s pretty much over. Bosh will add the dimension they were missing while he was out with his injury, but it won’t be enough to get them over the hump. They couldn’t beat the Mavericks last year and that team wasn’t nearly as good as this year’s Thunder squad. There are too many scoring options for the Thunder and their defense has been playing as good as any team in the league all season. Kevin Durant will get his first ring, while LeBron has to settle for the consolation prize of his three MVP trophies for yet another year, while the conversation of who the best player in the NBA is, gets a little murkier.