The lockout, regardless of your personal feelings, led to a great start of a great season and a wonderful Christmas present. Basketball fans have been treated to a season filled with great plays and raised blood pressure. We saw the Clippers become relevant again. We saw the Lakers look human. We rooted against the Heat, to know avail so far and we witnessed the apparent end to the Big 3 in Boston. The Bulls run to a title was cut short due to a injury to Derrick Rose and the Knicks teased us with what could be but ultimately wasn't. Who would have thought that Jeremy Lin would be considered "the missing piece" over Melo? I know I didn't. We can play the "what if" game all day but at the end of the day, the teams that won beat the teams that were put in front of them. No question that the Thunder and Heat have earned their place in the NBA Finals. Now, we find ourselves at the end of a great season, even in its shortened state and excited about what the Finals could bring.
The stage for the NBA Finals is set and we couldn't ask for a better matchup. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the OKC Thunder against LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat. So much for the small market teams not having a chance of winning in this league. We have watched the Thunder grow over the last couple of years and we knew that they were something special and would be for quite sometime. Some say that the Thunder are a year ahead of schedule but how is that true? The Thunder have played well the last 2 postseasons and lost to the eventual champions in those years (Lakers in 2010 and Dallas in 2011). This was their "growing up" time and they have proved that in the playoffs this year. Its no secret that in order to get to the Finals, the Thunder beat the last 3 Western Conference champions and 3 of the last 4 NBA champions (Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks). Winning his 3rd scoring title, Kevin Durant proved that he deserves to be considered a superstar in the NBA. At 23 years of age, Durant and Westbrook have shown that they are hungry and more experienced then some give them credit for. The Thunder have a "Big 3" of there own when you add Sixth Man of the Year James Harden off the bench. Get off the "youth" thing. Over the last 2 years, the Thunder have gained the necessary experience needed to win a title. From a first round exit in 2010 to the Finals in 2012. That doesn't happen by accident. The Thunder are the Western Conference champs, not because the other teams were bad but because they wanted it more. The best part is that the Thunder believe that they could and should win.
The Heat, are in an "unfinished business" mode. Last year, the Heat fell apart as the Mavs won the franchises first NBA title. Two years after promising multiple championship runs, the Heat are still looking for number one. In order for the Heat to win, LeBron James will have to play like the 3-time MVP that he his. He has to play up to and beyond what he has shown in two Finals series that he has played. LeBron must play the part that Michael Jordan once called a "utility position". He must step in and deliver where ever the Heat are lacking. LeBron must plug the holes that the Thunder could expose. LeBron needs to be the LeBron we know he could be and not the LeBron who we have seen. LeBron must be the dominate force he was in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If LeBron drives to the rim at least twice as much as he shoots jumpers, then the Heat can spread the floor and open up shots for Chalmers and Battier and James Jones. Dwayne Wade will find his way like he always does. In many ways, the 2012 Heat remind me of the 1996 Bulls with LeBron playing the part of Jordan, Wade as Pippen and Bosh as Rodman. I'm talking in terms of play and potential. Don't get it twisted thought, the 1996 Bulls team would destroy the Heat. If Bosh plays the way he played in Toronto, then the Thunder will have no chance. Bosh is the difference maker because he is the only real low post threat the Heat have. The time for excuses is over. The Heat must win this year or face the prospect that this group can't win. It will only get harder as teams are getting better each year and the injuries won't be as many next year. The time is now.
At the end of the day, basketball fans want a great series. This is, afterall, the NBA Finals. This is where legends are made and legacies are written. Its where champions are made. The Thunder are the younger, less experienced team but the Heat must match the hunger that the Thunder have in order to win. LeBron has to want it more than Durant. I predict a 7 game series with the Thunder winning. Yeah, I said it.
D!
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