2012 NBA Finals (2) OKC vs (2) Miami (x5) (1-1)

[DEEP3CL]

OKC has been on this fall behind crap every game, now Miami is gonna throw haymakers at OKC but this time they won't be able to come back as quickly. Because the calls they receive at home won't be the same in Miami. Harden's and Westbrook forays will most likely be called charges.

I think Miami wins in a blow out, Wade and Bosh will be much better at home.

[Diggity Dave]

[TRG]

FFS I thought the game was tonight for some reason... Talk about a kill joy.

[Jay10]

"Just saw Joey Crawford checking into my hotel in Miami."

- @DarnellMayberry (Darnell Mayberry)

The NBA is becoming a little too predictable at this point.

[theokie]

"Just saw Joey Crawford checking into my hotel in Miami."

- @DarnellMayberry (Darnell Mayberry)

The NBA is becoming a little too predictable at this point.

Damn. Too bad we couldn't get Joey when we played at home.

Were like 5-0 at home with Crawford and 0-5 on the road with Crawford. Then again, who isn't.

[ChildishGambino]

Question to those who watch OKC a lot:
What does KD do when his jumper isn't falling? (Does it even happen?)
Is he good enough a driver to consistently drive to the hoop against a stronger defender like LBJ?

yes he is

I wanted to post that GIF of Durant not being able to drive by LeBron on the last possession and missing his shot, but... then I remembered that realgm only makes fun of LeBron and that this GIF doesn't even exist. Silly me.

Still doesn't change the answer....is Durant a good enough driver to get by Lebron? yes he is......if it's a 1 on 1 situation with KD's combination of length and ball-handling he could get by Lebron at will and it's the same the other way around except Lebron would use his size to his advantage

[Diggity Dave]

Still doesn't change the answer....is Durant a good enough driver to get by Lebron? yes he is......if it's a 1 on 1 situation with KD's combination of length and ball-handling he could get by Lebron at will and it's the same the other way around except Lebron would use his size to his advantage

Honestly, with Durant's size, around doesn't matter so much. His release is so ridiculously high, he can get it off with just a bit of room. LeBron is a great defender, so I would think he would mostly focus on denying Durant the ball, period, assuming he's assigned to Durant.

[freshtrinity46]

saw some highlights on sportscenter of miami high fiving after Game 2. Bosh completely snubbed Wade and Wade just pretended like it didn't happen and acted like it was intended for Lebron. Interesting

[slick_watts]

OKC is going to play their starters again so they'll likely fall behind. With all the criticism of Westbrook, consider the following:

Westbrook w/starters on court: 9 points on 4-16 shooting
Westbrook w/all other lineups: 43 points on 16-34 shooting

Scott Brooks' stubbornness with lineups may finally get the best of the team's talent. Every OKC fan I know at this point is thinking "how much will we fall behind?" when the starters take the court, and it's been that way since the Spurs series. It was the same last season against Dallas in the WCF and to a lessor extent against Memphis.

Brooks and others on the team have stated that it's a question of "effort". Even if this was the case, it's undeniable that the Thunder have better pieces to throw at the small Heat lineup.

[YackYack111]

OKC is going to play their starters again so they'll likely fall behind. With all the criticism of Westbrook, consider the following:

Westbrook w/starters on court: 9 points on 4-16 shooting
Westbrook w/all other lineups: 43 points on 16-34 shooting

Scott Brooks' stubbornness with lineups may finally get the best of the team's talent. Every OKC fan I know at this point is thinking "how much will we fall behind?" when the starters take the court, and it's been that way since the Spurs series. It was the same last season against Dallas in the WCF and to a lessor extent against Memphis.

Brooks and others on the team have stated that it's a question of "effort". Even if this was the case, it's undeniable that the Thunder have better pieces to throw at the small Heat lineup.

As an Okc fan what do you feel is your best lineup?

[LeMVP]

I actually didn't say that he wasn't able to get past LeBron. Though, if they are both 1-1 stationary I don't see him going past him that easy. On movement (cuts, fastbreaks) probably 7/10 times. Thing is, when LeBron is on KD, KD usually doesn't get the ball or is too far away from the basket to do anything other than shoot over him (what is still pretty effective given his high release point).

[[GR]]

"Just saw Joey Crawford checking into my hotel in Miami."

- @DarnellMayberry (Darnell Mayberry)

The NBA is becoming a little too predictable at this point.

[slick_watts]

As an Okc fan what do you feel is your best lineup?

If the Heat are dead set at playing Bosh at center without another big man in the game, then OKC's most effective counter is to match fire with fire.

Ibaka-Durant-Sefolosha-Harden-Westbrook

I'd say that's generally going to be the best lineup against the Heat. Nick Collison in for Ibaka if Ibaka is having issues, or the offense is gummed up (Nick sets better screens). Perkins doesn't have the agility to defend Bosh PnR consistently, and having Durant at PF lets OKC defend out to the perimeter. OKC has better athletes in their small ball lineup and more length as well, so there's no inherent advantages for the Heat.

Any lineup with Durant at PF is going to be better than any small ball lineup the Heat can put out there since it forces the Heat into tougher decisions defensively, and the Heat lose perimeter superiority offensively that they have against the two-big plodding OKC lineup. This has been very obvious in both games, as OKC has dominated the Heat whenever the starting lineup is not on the court. Even when the Heat had Bosh-LeBron-Wade in the game.

[qm22]

"Just saw Joey Crawford checking into my hotel in Miami."

- @DarnellMayberry (Darnell Mayberry)

The NBA is becoming a little too predictable at this point.

Damn. Too bad we couldn't get Joey when we played at home.

Were like 5-0 at home with Crawford and 0-5 on the road with Crawford. Then again, who isn't.

Miami's winning percentage is way down with Crawford as the ref, and Crawford has a 50/50 home/road record.

Hilarious how this is "predictable (rigging)". Just please stop. It's like people complaining about D-Whistle whenever he gets a FT while ignoring he is shooting 5.5 FTs on 19 FGA and 40.5 MPG, basically career lows.

[Seralin]

One thing I'd like to see in tomorrow's game is a low-IQ fatty with a naked belly in partial heat uniform behind the basket blowing his horn during the OKC free throws. Or they can just bring the one from OKC and pay him to play his horn for the Heat. That would be really funny, especially for the fans in OKC.