2012 NBA Finals: Thunder vs. Heat

Who wins?

  • Thunder

    Votes: 17 68.0%

  • Heat

    Votes: 8 32.0%
  • Total voters
    25
  • Poll closed .
cardzfan1234

cardzfan1234

Well-known member
The NBA never got their much hyped Kobe vs. LeBron duel in the Finals, but Durant vs. LeBron is equally as interesting at this stage in their careers. And as long their respected "Big Threes" stay where they are, there is no reason why this Finals matchup won't happen again in future seasons.

When you look at the matchups here, I see a lot of interesting decisions both coaches will be making. Who guards LeBron? Who guards Durant? How often will they guard eachother? Westrbook and Wade are the other two difficult matchups. How will Miami matchup defensively when Westbrook, Harden, and Durant are all in at the same time? How will OKC handle the Big Three with average defenders (at best) in Westbrook, Harden, and Durant?

OKC has a tough inside defensive duo in Perkins/Ibaka, but offensively neither will make Bosh or any other Heat big work too much.

Miami has better defenders and if they win this series, I believe defense will be the reason for it. If Miami really wants to, they can actually defend OKC's Big Three relatively well with Wade, Battier, and LeBron. There is really no combination of OKC defenders that can matchup with Miami's Big Three.

Both teams can and will score big. I know defense wins championships, but both teams have a lot of firepower, guys that go to the free throw line a ton, and young legs to get extra possessions. It will be fun to watch.
 
 
I'm trying to think how Miami will defend OKC. I just see too many mis-matches there. I wouldn't be surprised by either outcome, but I think OKC will take it. I just hope it turns out to be as good of a series as it has the potential to be.
 
DennisRodman said:
I'm thinking LBJ might end up guarding Westbrook at times. I'm curious to see how they play it.
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I think that might happen, but it will be a HUGE mistake for the Heat. Miami needs LeBron on Durant at all times. This isn't like the Celtics, where Miami could get away with Shane Battier guarding Paul Pierce. Battier is too short to defend Durant. Durant can shoot over Battier at any time--heck, he can shoot over LeBron at any time for that matter, but with Battier it's much easier.
 
It is a big decision IMO, as to who they will have James on most of the time. I'd imagine Durant, but it will be interesting to watch it play out.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
When you look at the matchups here, I see a lot of interesting decisions both coaches will be making. Who guards LeBron? Who guards Durant? How often will they guard eachother? Westrbook and Wade are the other two difficult matchups. How will Miami matchup defensively when Westbrook, Harden, and Durant are all in at the same time? How will OKC handle the Big Three with average defenders (at best) in Westbrook, Harden, and Durant?
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Durant, Westbrook and Harden are not "average" defenders. They are all good ones. Not great, but good. Durant did a good job during the regular season games matching up with LeBron. He has the length and quickness to keep LeBron in front of him most of the time.

You forgot about Sefalosha, who will be instrumental in defending Wade. He has the length to frustrate Wade. He gave Kobe fits at times in the playoffs, although Kobe began to wear him down as the series went on. But Wade isn't as effective or resourceful a scorer as Kobe, plus he's not as healthy (this season) as Kobe.

The big mismatch is Westbrook. Neither Chalmers nor Cole has any chance of staying with him. I really don't know how Miami can deal with him.

And in crunch time, OKC as a massive advantage, because Miami does not have the necessary defenders to contain Durant, Westbrook, and Harden. Actually, I don't think any team does.
 
eastside_purple said:
Battier is the same height as James; he'll be fine on Durant.
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That's a wonderful dream to have. I trust you don't really believe that. Battier doesn't have the leaping ability of or stamina of LeBron. It's not just that Kevin Durant is 6'10", it's his long arms as well. LeBron can't challenge his shot, and Battier will be even more at a disadvantage.

As for the height, they are both listed at 6'8". Of course, we all know how "official" height listings are. Bill Walton was listed at 6'11" for his entire career, but he towered over Robert Parish (listed at 7' 0.5") in the 1985-86 Celtics team photo. On the other side, Hakeem Olajuwon was always listed as 7'0", but everyone who played with him knew he was more like 6'10". Most people feel that LeBron grew somewhat since entering the NBA, and hold him to be 6'9". Watching them both, it definitely looks like LeBron is taller than Battier.
 
DennisRodman said:
It is a big decision IMO, as to who they will have James on most of the time. I'd imagine Durant, but it will be interesting to watch it play out.
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It's a no-brainer, actually. Unless they want Durant to shred them, they had better have LeBron on him. The thing is, Durant still has the capacity to shred Miami.
 
Dang....I didn't know the Heat suck so bad. :dang:

The Spurs would have loved to had a 6'8 defender like Battier during that series.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
OKC has a tough inside defensive duo in Perkins/Ibaka, but offensively neither will make Bosh or any other Heat big work too much.
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Serge Ibaka is a deadly spot-up shooter from midrange, but that won't make Bosh work. Bosh is not a shot-blocker, so the fact that he won't be able to be in the lane often won't make any difference. On the other end, Ibaka can defend Bosh on the perimeter. Or, OKC might put Perkins on Bosh, thus allowing Ibaka to roam and block shots, since none of the Miami centers is any threat offensively.

The thing about Perkins is that he won't have heavy defensive responsibilities for the most part. He had the task of guarding Andrew Bynum and Tim Duncan, but Miami has no low post threats like that. I think he'll get fewer minutes in the Finals, with Nick Collison's minutes increasing. However, Perkins may get himself some more minutes through offensive rebounding. He is strong enough and savvy enough to take advantage of any Miami center. Plus, he is the best screen-setter in the NBA.
 
DennisRodman said:
So if Durant is going to shred them either way why would it be a no-brainer? In fact, why would you have LBJ on him at all?
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Once again, read the original post. With Battier on him, Durant would definitely shred the Heat. With LeBron on him, Duran still has the capacity to do the same.

Remember to read the whole post. Each word counts.
 
You keep saying that but you conveniently ignore parts of your own post. Why is it a no-brainer to have James on Durant? I agree he will be guarding him most of the time, but I doubt it would be the best decision to have him guard him 100% of the minutes.
 
bearcatfan said:
Remember when Rich said Battier was just as good of a defender as LeBron? Now he's saying Durant might shred LeBron, but definitely would shred Battier. Which is it? :shrug:
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:laugh: I actually forgot about that....he did say that. He was talking about guarding Kobe, right?
 
bearcatfan said:
Remember when Rich said Battier was just as good of a defender as LeBron? Now he's saying Durant might shred LeBron, but definitely would shred Battier. Which is it? :shrug:
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LOL totally forgot about that. He talks himself in circles more than anyone I can remember on this site.
 
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