The NBA Finals are finally upon us as the Heat take on
Oklahoma City in what appears to be one of the most hyped finales in
years. With multiple superstars on both
teams this is going to be a phenomenal series that will take great games by
great players if either team hopes to win.
I cannot wait to see it unfold, but right now I think there are 5
matchups that will determine this series:
1.
Lebron vs Durant
Of any of the matchups in this year’s Finals I think
this is widely the most anticipated. The
two best players in the world, who play the same position, go against one
another to determine the NBA Championship.
I have already made my guess for Lebron being the superior player but I do believe that the matchup is more interesting
one on one. Durant has the ability to
not every game, but a few times, win the individual matchup with Lebron and
take control of the series. The difference
between the two teams in my opinion is that Durant can be outplayed and
Oklahoma City can still win, but if Lebron has anything other than a great game
I don’t see Miami winning. For Miami to
win I believe Lebron has to consistently dominate Durant on the offensive and
defensive end of the floor while for OKC to win Durant would have to have
probably 2 performances where he outplays Lebron with dominating games.
2.
Westbrook vs Wade
Player 1: Averages 23.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists
with a shooting line of .457/.316/.823
Player 2: Averages 22.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists with a
shooting line of .497/.268/.791
Do you really see
a considerable difference between the two players, they are basically the same
type of player right, well Player 1 is Westbrook and Player 2 is Wade. I believe most people see this matchup as a
considerable edge to Wade, but I see it as basically a draw. Actually though I believe that Westbrook can
win this matchup because I do not believe that Wade is 100% and I think
Westbrook can wear Wade down and force him into an extremely difficult
series.
3.
James Harden vs Chris Bosh
This is the matchup of the 3rd wheel on
each team should be interesting especially since these players do not actually
play against one another. For OKC Harden
has turned into the perfect complement to Durant and Westbrook. He is able to come off the bench providing
instant offense, he can run the offense, or be a spot up 3 point shooter who
has proven this post season can hit big shots in big moments. Bosh most important for Miami really is his
ability to provide floor spacing. He
forces a defense to defend him at all times with his ability to hit open shots away
from the rim. He is actually a nice
contrast to Wade and James’ attacking styles.
For either team to win this series the 3rd wheel is going to
have to come up large. They are probably
each going to be put into a position to win a game for their team by making
plays and whatever player does so will probably end up winning this series.
4.
The Role Players
If there is one area where I believe one team has a
decided advantage over the other it is in Oklahoma City’s role players in
comparison to Miami’s. This post season
I have been shocked by how well the role players on OKC have played where it
seems like every game a different one of them is playing huge. Serge Ibaka will definitely be the most
important one of these players as his ability to guard Chris Bosh and protect
the paint with weakside help against Wade and Lebron might determine this
series. If he is able to help turn the
Heat into a jump shooting team then Miami will lose this series. OKC this post season has been able to get
consistent solid production out of Ibaka, Collison, Sefolosha, Perkins and even
Derek Fisher. Miami on the other hand
has gotten uneven production out of only 3 players Shane Battier, Mario
Chalmers and Udonis Haslem, every other role player has provided almost
nothing. If OKC’s role players play how
they have been playing this entire post season then they will be fine, but if
Miami’s are able to play well then they could make a series out of this.
5.
Scott Brooks vs Eric Spoelstra
Every series I am of the belief that coaching always
seems to swing one game, and when you have two teams as close as these two that
could easily determine the series.
Brooks this postseason has proven to be an elite coach in his own
regard, developing a great system that utilizes the strengths of the entire
team and even outcoaching the elite Greg Popovich in the Conference
Finals. Spoelstra has been much maligned
this post season and talk of his job security seems to be brought up every round. I think he is underrated as a coach, but I am
not sure he is up to the level that Brooks is up on right now. He does have one easy choice I believe
though, play Lebron 45 minutes a game and hope he doesn’t wear down. The team is basically useless without Lebron
in the game this season and will need him to play at an elite level in order to
succeed.
Overall I think this series is going to be extremely
interesting and entertaining but I feel that OKC will win in 6. I think
that they are going to hold home court the first two games while Miami wins
game 3, then OKC will steal game 4 in Miami, with Miami holding on to win game
5, and finally OKC finishes the series at home in Game 6. Most of these games will be close but I
believe that while the Big 3’s for each team will probably play comparably that
the role players on OKC will tilt the series in their favor. Durant will walk home with NBA Finals MVP as
he enters into the world of elite NBA players.
Stay Hungry My Friends
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