RealGM

Am I the only one who is surprised at how resilient the Thunder are? The part that still scares me about OKC last night was the fact they once again rallied back into the game and nearly won it... The only real difference between Game 1 (Heat had a 13-14 point lead) and 2 (17-18 point lead) was that the Heat were able to simply slow OKC's run down in the 2nd half of Game 2 instead of just flat out collapsing and letting the Thunder take over like in Game 1. No matter how hard we fought them off they just kept coming at us. The Thunder did the exact same thing to the Spurs by coming back from a large deficit and winning the game in the end, which ended up knocking the Spurs out of the playoffs.

Basically what that tells me is no lead against OKC is safe... No matter how sizable. It's almost as if the Thunder just know how to will themselves back into games. I'm not sure if the Thunder will still be this lethal in Miami but damn even though this series is split 1-1 I still feel a bit nervous knowing that the Heat will most likely have to win another in OKC if they want to win this series. The Heat HAVE to be up at least 3-2 going into OKC. There's a very slim chance they win the last 2 on OKC's home floor if they're down 2-3. The Thunder have shown throughout the playoffs that they're extremely resilient when playing in OKC.

Bottom line is that the Thunder are clearly the most talented team that the Big 3 era Heat have faced so far... I think this is the Heat's year and that they're going to pull it off but it sure as hell is not going to be easy at all.

What do you guys think of the Thunder so far?

Please suck The Thunder off some more, they don't get it enough. The Heat are just blessed to share the same court with them at this point.

I'm really impressed by their 2nd half play as well.
What impresses me most is that it seems everything seems so easy for them suddenly wether it's Westbrook driving to the rim or KD hitting an open jumper.
Somehow they find KD in the right spot all the time in the 4th quarter by setting screens and he doesn't even need to dribble to get an open shot.

My impression of OKC the team:

They are great, young, talented, and resilient. This is why I think in order to win this series, we need to prove that we can crush their resilience in a blow out, instead of giving them confidence after every game that they can come back from any deficit. We need their youthful inexperience/hot head feelings to take over.

I don't like Westbrook or Perkins. Perkins is self-explanatory. Westbrook to me is more of a front runner than LBJ and Wade are. He gets soooo hype, but then when hey are down, he turns into a chucked and goes on erratic drives, trying to get calls, and commits stupid fouls.

I think once our Big 3 era ends, or ends up in a similar situation to Boston's, they will most certainly be the next big thing of the NBA.

Holy crap, how cold is Durant's blood? Someone needs to be glued to him at all times. His 16 pt. 4th Quarters every game only give them more confidence. This is something we don't need.

It is very unlikely, but I feel that if we want to win his Final, we HAVE to end it in Miami and give it everything we got. That crowd ALWAYS gives OKC a mental edge at home, contributing to their come backs and confidence. I don't want to play a Game 7 there or a 2-3 elimination game.

My impression of OKC fans:

OKC just seems like a bunch of blue collared folk who are excited about their team and the game. Good people. Unlike other cities, they focus more on cheering on their own team rather than booing LeBron James and saying cheesy chants like "BEAT THE HEAT!" or "HE'S A FLOPPER!"

Also, they are classy. Look what Juwan Howard's wife tweeted:

Jenine Howard ‏@J9Howard
Say what you will about OKC but these folks r some good ppl! I lost an $$$ earring and they gave it back! Thank U!

Westbrook is a loose cannon and that really hurts them. I'm not sure if Durant can't handle being the primary play-maker or if he's just letting Westbrook do his thing. Harden flops like a fish at the slightest bit of contact and he really pisses me off, Westbrook is annoying, but Durant is a class act and good guy. Ibaka and Collison are annoying, Perkins is a non factor.

We can beat this team for sure, we just have to keep running our offense no matter what they're doing and we can't go into iso mode like we did the last 6 minutes of last night's game. Lebron needs to be on Durant for the second half.

arsenic wrote:Please suck The Thunder off some more, they don't get it enough. The Heat are just blessed to share the same court with them at this point.

Someone's been lurking in the GB too much? Have they really made you feel this bitter?

Chillax dude.

The Thunder have been known to rally back into games, led by Durant and Westbrook or Harden.

This is the Finals so no lead is safe, but OKC is the youngest team in the NBA or so right? The whole "they got tired" like we'd say with Boston, doesn't work. If anything, their resiliency does kick in and Durant missed like 2 shots last night in his last 9 something like that. At one point he made 7 in a row lol.

Their defense is a little better than I thought it would be. They have quick hands.

What scares me if that a missed shot is basically a turn over. They run down the floor so quickly. And it's EVERY TIME.

They start off badly because they have Perkins starting and we have Battier starting. Bosh coming back to provide more offense doesn't help the Thunder either.

Besides Collison and Thabo, who aren't known for their offense, the Thunder rely on 3 guys. It's the same with us. I think Battier showing up bit time has helped us.

But our defense and offense has sucked in the 2nd half of both games.

Durant man, this man is for real. People these days, they just say "pack the paint" to neutralize most of the stars these days, and this includes our guys in LBJ and Wade. But Durant can shoot anywhere from the floor and it doesn't matter how far. I wish LBJ and Wade would solidify their midrange game... both of them are unstoppable when they are on fire from midrange.

I don't like Westbrook to be honest, but he plays his heart out. Both of them are only 23. But the thing is, Westbrook has to score IMO for them to be successful. I mean Westbrook took more shots than Durant in game 1.... they won so no one said anything (the majority anyway). Westbrook is the PG, he has the ball in his hands before Durant does, and Westbrook is basically a shooting guard, he's going to shoot if he gets the opportunity.

I mean are people expecting Westbrook to keep passing and keep passing to Durant so he can score 50? Heck, Westbrook twice has flirted with a triple double lol. He's so friggin quick and he just gets to the lane, thank god he's a little erratic and he misses shots sometimes at the rim.

I think you should get used to them, because this isn't the last time you'll see them in the finals.

DefenseWins wrote:Durant man, this man is for real. People these days, they just say "pack the paint" to neutralize most of the stars these days, and this includes our guys in LBJ and Wade. But Durant can shoot anywhere from the floor and it doesn't matter how far. I wish LBJ and Wade would solidify their midrange game... both of them are unstoppable when they are on fire from midrange.

As much as we love the Heat we gotta give credit where credit is due... Durant is a monster. His ability to efficiently score literally anywhere on the court is insane. He reminds me of Dirk, but with far more athleticism which is kinda scary when you think about it.

But overall the Heat HAVE to do something about his 4th quarter scoring sprees those 16 points or whatever he scored in the 4th in Game 2 were just ridiculous. Maybe we should consider trapping him in the closing minutes? But then that frees up space for Harden and Westbrook...

TRG wrote:

DefenseWins wrote:Durant man, this man is for real. People these days, they just say "pack the paint" to neutralize most of the stars these days, and this includes our guys in LBJ and Wade. But Durant can shoot anywhere from the floor and it doesn't matter how far. I wish LBJ and Wade would solidify their midrange game... both of them are unstoppable when they are on fire from midrange.

As much as we love the Heat we gotta give credit where credit is due... Durant is a monster. His ability to efficiently score literally anywhere on the court is insane. He reminds me of Dirk, but with far more athleticism which is kinda scary when you think about it.

But overall the Heat HAVE to do something about his 4th quarter scoring sprees those 16 points or whatever he scored in the 4th in Game 2 were just ridiculous. Maybe we should consider trapping him in the closing minutes? But then that frees up space for Harden and Westbrook...

I'd stick Lebron on him to hope he never lets Durant get going. Give Durant a soft double, and always leave a guy or two behind Lebron so he can play up into Durant and not have to worry about the drive.

TRG wrote:

DefenseWins wrote:Durant man, this man is for real. People these days, they just say "pack the paint" to neutralize most of the stars these days, and this includes our guys in LBJ and Wade. But Durant can shoot anywhere from the floor and it doesn't matter how far. I wish LBJ and Wade would solidify their midrange game... both of them are unstoppable when they are on fire from midrange.

As much as we love the Heat we gotta give credit where credit is due... Durant is a monster. His ability to efficiently score literally anywhere on the court is insane. He reminds me of Dirk, but with far more athleticism which is kinda scary when you think about it.

But overall the Heat HAVE to do something about his 4th quarter scoring sprees those 16 points or whatever he scored in the 4th in Game 2 were just ridiculous. Maybe we should consider trapping him in the closing minutes? But then that frees up space for Harden and Westbrook...

In game 2, Durant didn't even hold the ball. Besides some drives and dunks, Durant camped at the 3 point line. He isn't a bad shooter, so the whole "live with a Durant 3", if they are thinking about that, is bad. Having them wide open isn't going to help either. So many times our guys lost Durant, I think that's unacceptable. It's why he has went off. So much switching and no one actually sticking to their man. The Wade turn over and Durant 3 in transition just says it all. Losing the best shooter for the other team... it's how this team lost Ray Allen some times. It's like, how can you do that?

But also they are hiding Durant on Battier. Battier is a good, but LeBron is stronger and our best wing defender. Also this man had 5 fouls with 8 mins left or so and this team didn't do anything to make him foul out. Battier tried but they should have kept attacking Durant or something.

Durant is insanely good offensively, even with a hand in his face, if he throws it up, its probably going in.

Their very good and durant, westbrook and harden will only keep improving over time. the only thing that will hurt that team is what will most likely hurt every team in the league i.e. the lux tax.

Forget the large leads held in games 1 and 2. The games were night and day. Game 1 we led by like 13-14 and were only up by 7 at the half with OKC shooting over 50%. Game 2 had us up at the half by 12 with OKC shooting like 35%. THIS was the difference. We led in the beginning of game one by being scorching as opposed to game 2 which was predicated on our defense.

Now, as far as the game 2 rally is concerned, we held a nice 11 point lead going into the fourth qtr and withstood their obvious rally. The game was over to me when we were up 7 with a minute to go. Yes Durant scored immediately and we were up 5 with 50 seconds to go. But if the steal/3 didn't happen it would be a free throw fest which we were hitting all day. I understand the steal happened but I can guarantee it won't happen again, next time they can simply call a time-out and advance it to half-court and none of this added layer of intrigue would've happened. The heat learned a great lesson about the full-court press at the end and the escaped with the victory but again we were UP BY 7 with ONE MINUTE TO GO. So I view there rally as simply cutting 4 points off the original 4th qtr score and we held serve. Whatever the ending score is, is whatever and a victory is a victory. But if we play like we did in Game 2, I think we will mop the floor with them and this will not go 7 games. Shoot if we defended Harden even half as well like game 1 in game 2, we wouldve been up by 20 at the half

My impression of the Thunder is that they are not as tough of a matchup as 2010-2011 Dallas Mavericks.

Who are we kidding? the thunder are an amazing team, with amazing talent..I just think The Heat will find a way to win..But Props to Kevin Durant, wow he is amazing & a true class act...I just feel The Heat will pull it out.

Axel wrote:My impression of the Thunder is that they are not as tough of a matchup as 2010-2011 Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs were more well rounded last year. Keep in mind LeBron didn't really show up either (scoring 8 points in game 4 I believe).

The two 2nd halves kind of say otherwise to your statement. The Thunder team gives us a lot of problems. We start off great against them, but if they get going and we stop, we're in trouble.

Again a missed shot is like a turn over against this team.

Sometimes the Thunder play like a mirror image of us. Sometimes Westbrook and Durant get hot, in game 1 outscored our whole team by themselves. Wade and LBJ would do things like that.

We are still up against a guy that can actually shoot and is the star of the team. But instead of Bosh or a PF on him, it can be Battier or LeBron, as opposed to having an injured Haslem try to guard Dirk. Or Bosh.

The Mavs had more depth. Our roster is a bit better this year in the Finals than last year. It was literally just the Big 3 with LeBron shrinking at times.

The Thunder can keep up with us, we can't outrun them. I feel like that makes it a tougher match up.

Why can't we outrun them? All we have to do is continue to attack the basket and not settle for long jumpshots, like we do at the end of games, and execute defensively. They are like the Phoenix Suns.... just play smart and limit our turnovers and they won't get out in transition. We contained them for most of game 2. LeBron can punish Durant on the post up, and Bosh can easily beatPerkins and/or Ibaka/Collision in isolation....these are matchups we could take advantage of. LeBron can guard everyone on the Thunder, including Durant. Dirk is much tougher and LeBron couldn't affect him with his strength (like he can Durant). I still can't believe people are making excuses for OKC and doubting LeBron, seriously. I heard on the radio today that OKC would probably "loosen up on the road and play better".? Wasn't it just a couple of days ago people were saying they had the best HCA in the league?

Am I the only one who is surprised at how resilient the Thunder are? The part that still scares me about OKC last night was the fact they once again rallied back into the game and nearly won it... The only real difference between Game 1 (Heat had a 13-14 point lead) and 2 (17-18 point lead) was that the Heat were able to simply slow OKC's run down in the 2nd half of Game 2 instead of just flat out collapsing and letting the Thunder take over like in Game 1. No matter how hard we fought them off they just kept coming at us. The Thunder did the exact same thing to the Spurs by coming back from a large deficit and winning the game in the end, which ended up knocking the Spurs out of the playoffs.

Is this real life? At this stage in the playoffs no team at home is going to just lay down and die. This isn't the regular season. Neither team got here by luck. If the Heat are chasing 11 at the end of the half or 3rd quarter at home I fully expect them to make a run. An 11 point lead is nothing, two baskets make it a 5, 6, or 7 point game. It's not like we were up 30.

Heat11114 wrote:

Am I the only one who is surprised at how resilient the Thunder are? The part that still scares me about OKC last night was the fact they once again rallied back into the game and nearly won it... The only real difference between Game 1 (Heat had a 13-14 point lead) and 2 (17-18 point lead) was that the Heat were able to simply slow OKC's run down in the 2nd half of Game 2 instead of just flat out collapsing and letting the Thunder take over like in Game 1. No matter how hard we fought them off they just kept coming at us. The Thunder did the exact same thing to the Spurs by coming back from a large deficit and winning the game in the end, which ended up knocking the Spurs out of the playoffs.

Is this real life? At this stage in the playoffs no team at home is going to just lay down and die. This isn't the regular season. Neither team got here by luck. If the Heat are chasing 11 at the end of the half or 3rd quarter at home I fully expect them to make a run. An 11 point lead is nothing, two baskets make it a 5, 6, or 7 point game. It's not like we were up 30.

It's not just the fact that they go on runs it's also the way they're able to consistently do it that impresses me (when I say "the way they do it" I'm mostly talking about watching Durant just go off in the 4th). Overall I haven't watched too many Thunder games during the regular season so I'm just really impressed with what I've seen from them since the playoffs started... They're a tough group of kids.