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: Western Conference Finals

San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: This is the matchup everyone has been waiting for, and it will not disappoint. These two teams are very different but also have some striking similarities.

The Spurs are the “old” team with championship experience from their head coach on down. The Thunder on the other hand, have a young group of core players and a great young head coach in Scott Brooks. The Spurs have Tony Parker at point guard who will go up against fellow all-star Russell Westbrook. James Harden, of the Thunder, will have to go up against an older, carbon-copy of himself in Manu Ginolbli, they have each won Sixth Man of the Year (Harden won this year) and are even both left-handed. The Spurs do not have anyone to matchup against the best closer in the league, Kevin Durant, but neither does anyone else in the NBA. The Thunder have no-one capable of stopping future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan when he goes out for those elbow jumpers, because it will open up the lane for Ginobili and Parker.

NBA Playoff Predictions: Western Conference Round 2

Western Conference 

For the first round we were a perfect 4-4 when predicting the Western Conference, here are our Second Round Predictions:

San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Clippers: The aging Spurs will be well rested to start off the series vs the Clippers, but this often hurts San Antonio because they show rust at the beginning of the first game after a long break. With that said the Clippers could have used the rest because both of their stars, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, are coming of of injuries they suffered in their seven-game first-round series against the Grizzles. The Spurs have the advantage in every aspect of the game with the exception of point-guard (although Tony Parker is no scrub!). The Spurs seem like they are on a mission to prove that what happened last year was a fluke, expect them to take control of the series early at home. Spurs win 4-1.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers: This matchup like the other in the Western Conference involves a team that that swept their opponent, the Thunder, and one that won a seven game series, the Lakers. These two teams have created a heated rivalry over the past few years, and many see this series as a “changing of the guard”. To add to the rivalry, the Lakers small forward Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) will be only playing in his second game after serving his suspension for elbowing Oklahoma City’s Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden. The Thunder have been the better team all year long and will also be in this series, but Kobe Bryant will not go down without a fight, unfortunately for him some of his teammates have shown that they will. Thunder win 4-2.

To see the Eastern Conference Semifinal Predictions click here.

Please “Like” us on Facebook (click here) to receive updates when when post new material