NBA Finals Game 5 Prediction and Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat

With a 104-98 victory in Game 4 the Miami Heat won their third straight game in the 2012 NBA Finals and haven taken a commanding 3-1 series lead vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. No team in NBA history has ever came back to win the NBA Finals after being down 3-1 (0-30), therefore the Thunder’s chances are dim at best. To view an analysis of Game 4 click here.

If Oklahoma wants to send this series back home then they need to stop double-teaming LeBron James every time he touches the ball, because he is too good of a passer and always seem to find an open teammate for a three pointer. With the way the Miami has been shooting from distance in these playoffs the Thunder cannot afford to give wide-open looks (especially to Battier!)  because of defensive breakdowns. Late in Game 4, while James was on the bench with leg-crampings, the Heat ran the same pick-and-roll with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade three straight positions and the Thunder got burnt each time. Serge Ibaka (Bosh’s defender) was too worried about Wade getting around him off the pick, so he over helped which gave Bosh a wide-open lane to the basket.

NBA Finals Game 4 Prediction and Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat

With back-to-back wins the Miami Heat have secured a 2-1 series lead in the 2012 NBA Finals. Game 3 was another impressive win for Miami, who have shown the resiliency to bounce back after the the going gets tough, which has been the major difference from last year. Oklahoma City cannot afford to lose their third game in a row in Game 4, if they do it will almost certainly be the end of their season.

Kevin Durant needs to find a way to stay aggressive on both ends of the floor without getting into foul trouble like he has the past two games. Durant is unstoppable on the offensive end of the court, he even told Dwayne Wade that he is too short to guard him. As dominating of a force that Durant is on offense, he is a liability on defense against Lebron James. James has changed the way he has played the past two games (both of them wins for Miami), and has decided to take the ball to the hole and has stopped settling for jump-shots. Durant is not strong enough to guard LeBron when he has this mindset (but neither is anyone on Earth), therefore the Thunder should put Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden on him. Neither of the two will be able to stop LeBron but it is a tradeoff the Thunder will have to accept because they need Durant on the floor at the end of the game. When Durant got his fourth foul in Game 3 he was forced to sit down in the third, which was the same time the Heat made their run that was ultimately the deciding factor.

NBA Finals Game 3 Prediction and Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat

The Miami Heat were able to hang on to Game 2 in Oklahoma City to tie the 2012 NBA Finals at one game each. An important thing to keep in mind is that the NBA Finals has a different game layout, due to travel difficulties, then the previous three rounds. Instead of playing in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, the Finals is in a 2-3-2 format, meaning in this series the first two games are at Oklahoma City then the next three are at Miami and the final two games (if necessary) will be back in Oklahoma City. This gives an advantage to the Thunder because even if they are down 2-3 the final two games are at the “Thunder Dome.”

Many are placing the Game 2 loss on Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, Stephen A. Smith and Magic Johnson even said it was the worst point guard play that they have ever seen in a Finals game. Magic must have forgot why people gave him the nickname “Tragic Magic” in the 1984 Finals against the Celtics. Westbrook’s stats for Game 2 are 27 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal and only two turnovers! The problem that people are having is that Westbrook shoots too much, this is not breaking news because he has been doing this ever since he has been in the league. The Thunder had a better record in the regular season when Westbrook took more shots than Durant compared to when Durant shot more that Westbrook. This is just a classic case of people over reacting to a few possessions where Westbrook was out of control.

2012 NBA Finals Preview and Prediction: Thunder vs Heat

After a scare from the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat have moved on to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row. While the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached the Finals for the first since relocating (formerly the Seattle Supersonics), after they won the last four
games against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder are a very young, but experienced, explosive team who, like the Heat, have three players that could be the primary scorer any given night. James Harden will have his hands full at the end of games when he will be forced to guard former Finals MVP Dwayne Wade. Russell Westbrook should be able to have his way on offense against Mario Chalmers, because even though he is an underrated defender he could not stay in front of Rondo in the ECF and Westbrook is a much better scorer (not passer though). After Chris Bosh’s huge performance in Game 7 he seems to have recovered from his abdominal strain, which is good for him because he will be matched up against one of the best blockers in the NBA in Surge Ibaka. The center position will be Kendrick Perkins against whoever Erick Spolstra decides to start that specific game.

NBA Playoff Predictions: Eastern Confernce Finals

Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics: The Miami Heat dominated the Indiana Pacers with their two stars, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade taking over each of the final three games. The Celtics on the other hand, struggled to the beat the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers but finally finished Philly off in Game 7, after a heroic fourth quarter performance by all-star point guard Rajon Rondo. These teams also played one another last postseason with the Heat winning in 5, which saw as the passing of the torch in the East.

The Celtics looked to matchup well against the Heat earlier in the playoffs, but that was before Avery Bradley had season ending surgery to cure a dislocated shoulder. Bradley had success guarding Dwayne Wade during the regular season (Boston won season series three games to one). With no one to contain Wade and not a person on Earth that can stop LeBron James, the Celtics’ chances look slim.

Why People Dislike the Miami Heat

I was going to put “Hate” in the title of this article but I feel like that is too strong of a word to use in sports because after all, when it comes down to it, it is just a game. I have created short list on why people do not like this Miami Heat team:

1) The Decision: The phrase, “I am taking my talents to South Beach,” changed the opinions of so many fans in the NBA in the summer of 2010. When LeBron James said this to Jim Gray, the city of Cleveland felt betrayed not only because a hometown hero left for a flashy city but because he did it on a one hour special on ESPN.

2) The Celebration: I can see how this might have seemed like a good idea for the Heat organization to have a party (lets be honest that’s what it was) for their fans but it backfired in a large way. Many people were put off by the pyrotechnics and smoke, but the icing on the cake was when “King” James said that the Heat would win multiple championships, (when I say multiple I mean seven).

Chris Bosh Out Indefinitely with Abdominal Strain

Bosh falling to the court in pain in Game 1 vs the Pacers

Chris Bosh suffered an Abdominal Strain in game one on Sunday vs the Pacers. There is no timetable for his return currently, and will have a massive effect in the Heat’s Championship aspirations. The Heat could start Udonis Haslem but they could be more effective if they kept him on the bench and moved MVP LeBron James to power-forward and then start either Mike Miller or Shane Battier. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James will have to carry the offensive load with Bosh out because now they are the only two that can create their own shots off the dribble. Permitter players on the Heat will face an emcee amount of pressure to knock down jumpers to keep the Pacers defense honest, if they don’t they might be in line for an upset. However, the Heat will still most likely make it past the Pacers in no more than six games, but if Bosh is unable to return by the Conference Finals against either Boston or Philadelphia (most likely Boston), they will suffer dearly because Kevin Garnett has time traveled back to 2002 in his past few games and LeBron is not tall enough to give him trouble on the offensive end (Bosh and Garnett are almost mirror images of each other).

This is a devastating blow for the Heat, but they have enough star power to make it through this tough loss. Even with as much flack Bosh gets from the media, he was arguably the Heat’s most consistent player this year. Also lets be clear what “indefinitely” means in sports, it means there is no set timetable it is on a player by player basis. In the next few weeks we will hear a lot about Chris Bosh’s pain tolerance, you can be sure if he can play he will be out there.

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NBA Playoff Predictions: Eastern Conference Round 2

Eastern Conference

Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers: After a game one slip-up against the Magic, Indiana looked dominant in the final four games of the series. They won’t benefit from ending their series quickly because the Heat also finished their series vs the Knicks in five games. Many “analysts” are saying the Pacers will give the Heat some trouble and turn this into a long, hard-fought series. The Pacers are have one of the deepest benches in the NBA but lack the star-power you need in the playoffs. I can’t see an upset because the Heat are too talented and too motivated and the Pacers are a young inexperienced team (with the exception of David West). Indiana will likely be competitive but the Heat will win 4-1.

Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers: The 76ers beat off the number one seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round, largely due to the fact that defending MVP Derrick Rose torn his ACL at the end of game one. The Celtics and the Bulls are very similar and share almost the same defensive system, so that will work in the 6ers favor. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were both hampered by injuries in the first round, if this continues it will cause problems for Boston on both ends of the floor. When it comes down to it, Philly doesn’t have enough offense to match Boston but they will keep the games close because of their coaching and strong defense (Philly won the season series 2-1). The Celtics are famous for making things for difficult then they need to be, therefore Philadelphia will likely win a couple games. Celtics win 4-2.

The Eastern Conference first round went almost exactly as predicted, except for the 1 vs 8 matchup (click here to see first round predictions). No one could have predicted that both Rose and Noah would have had series ending injuries. Tell us your thoughts.

The Western Conference Predictions can be found by clicking here.