We going to the finals and I want Lebron to meet us there

[MvPderozan]

We have a great squad this year, i like how our guys are playing as a group. Reggie Jackson & lamb have all stepped up and played a key role in a great start to the year. I have a great feeling that we are making a another trip to the finals. And I want Lefraud and his bois to meet us there. Because i know KD is not one of those guys that is going to keep losing to Lebron like Paul George and the rest of them bois in the East. WE GOT THIS.

[spearsy23]

I'd be surprised if we beat the heat this year unless steven Adams comes on extremely strong towards the end of the season. We don't have anyone who can handle Lebron in the post (although how he manhandles KD is exaggerated), and we're lacking in three point shooters. Depth is less important in the playoffs when rotations shrink, and our second superstar is working his way back from a fairly serious knee injury and hasn't looked spectacular. Overall, we're a top tier team and that's exciting, but we still have a ways to go before we look like championship front runners. And remember, the team we're seeing in Miami right now is not the team we'll see at the end of the season.

[ThunderUp1234]

I dont, OKC matches up awful with Miami.

OKC plays right into their strengths.

[Bravenewworld]

I really want to see an OKC/Heat finals again. I think KD and Westbrook learned enough the last time and they would not lose this time around.
That being said the team i think could beat us is the Pacers. Roy Hibbert and West can exploit the hell out of us and i think our only chance of beating Indy would be with our experience advantage.

[HeartSouloma]

OKC still needs a good big/ sg to put them over the top. And no body can't guard Lebron, and I don't feel confident facing Heat's.

[comingbacktousa]

I rather play Indy than Miami. Miami just matches up better. I think Indy is the better team overall but plays into OKC's strengths. Indy's defense is at its best at teams like Miami and Houston that basically either drive to the basket or shot 3's. Thabo also matches up better with George since George can't out muscle him.

I'm really more worried about the Spurs. Manu seems to have caught a 2nd wind in his career like Duncan did last year and they improved their bench even more with Marco and Mills.

[bbms]

That Brooks coaching job against the Heat in 2012 Finals still gives me goosebumps.

No, thank you.

[bondom34]

There's no guarantee on anything. Just let the season play out, the team is playing very well now, I'd rather not jinx anything. They looked great last year too, and it didn't end well. Too much time until then to even talk about it.

[wizkid27]

That Brooks coaching job against the Heat in 2012 Finals still gives me goosebumps.

No, thank you.

Brooks has come a long way in the last 18 months as a coach. I've been pretty critical of him before, but he really seems to have heard all of the criticism and made large steps towards fixing most of the things.

[JazzMatt13]

I think OKC is the best team in the league right now. They have strength, youth and power. Most other top teams are very injury prone, lack in key areas and don't have the versatility or depth that OKC has.

Heat have the 28th hardest schedule so far, meaning they won't be as battle worn when playoffs come, while OKC has the 4th hardest schedule, which is why I wouldn't worry about beating Heat in regular season, I would worry about winning the right games, like the ones that get you home court advantage!

OKC has weaknesses and Heat will find it, so will any team who makes Conference Finals or further (on both sides). OKC needs to establish what their weaknesses are, and learn to protect against it, and of course what other team's weaknesses are. OKC has such a versatile team, because your like a hybrid of all the major types of line ups. Meaning you can easily adjust to beat anyone! I think it doesn't matter who you face, it would just feel better to be LeBron and Heat.


Match Ups:
Vs Heat: Your both fast and can play small. But your facing 2 experience super stars and one is in prime

Vs Pacers: You would be undersized but faster. You face 1 "young" super star, and big defensive team.

Pacers have least amount of "Winning the Title" experience, but I might choose Heat because they might slip from over-confidence and lack of preparation this time. If OKC can beat Spurs and go this year, than OKC will win the title.


I think OKC is the best Hybrid of the 3 major types of teams that are good:
(these are based of the main functionality of a team)

Type 1: Point Guard and Forward Duo (Spurs, and much like Jazz)
Type 2: Super Star(s) (Heat, and much like Bulls)
Type 3: 5 equal'ish players on defense and similar on offense (Pacers, much like Bad Boys of Detroit)

[MvPderozan]

It's not like we got destroyed by the heat last time around. I mean i know we lost in 5 games, but wade and Lebron dropped over 20 points each night. Bosh was playing outstanding. Both wade and Bosh have declined tremendously since then. Most of the games we lost were by less than 6 points. Take in game 2, if the refs called a foul on Lebron, it might of been a different series. If westbrook never fouls late in game 3 or 4 i believe, it could of turned out different. They didn't blow us out until the last game. James Harden wasn't even a factor in that series, so that eliminates that.

[NBADraft2003]

It's not like we got destroyed by the heat last time around. I mean i know we lost in 5 games, but wade and Lebron dropped over 20 points each night. Bosh was playing outstanding. Both wade and Bosh have declined tremendously since then. Most of the games we lost were by less than 6 points. Take in game 2, if the refs called a foul on Lebron, it might of been a different series. If westbrook never fouls late in game 3 or 4 i believe, it could of turned out different. They didn't blow us out until the last game. James Harden wasn't even a factor in that series, so that eliminates that.

You really don't know what you're talking about. Bosh and Wade has declined since then? So I guess scoring 20+ points on 50+% shooting is declining. Doug Collins said it best when we faced Indiana but I already knew that Wade doesn't go in to dunk then he's declining, it's how his jump shot is feeling. People who said Wade is on a decline don't know what they're talking about. Wade had a really bad knee injury last year and is finally healthy but not 100% healthy. How is Chris Bosh on a decline? We also have much more depth than that year as well so...

[spearsy23]

It's not like we got destroyed by the heat last time around. I mean i know we lost in 5 games, but wade and Lebron dropped over 20 points each night. Bosh was playing outstanding. Both wade and Bosh have declined tremendously since then. Most of the games we lost were by less than 6 points. Take in game 2, if the refs called a foul on Lebron, it might of been a different series. If westbrook never fouls late in game 3 or 4 i believe, it could of turned out different. They didn't blow us out until the last game. James Harden wasn't even a factor in that series, so that eliminates that.

You really don't know what you're talking about. Bosh and Wade has declined since then? So I guess scoring 20+ points on 50+% shooting is declining. Doug Collins said it best when we faced Indiana but I already knew that Wade doesn't go in to dunk then he's declining, it's how his jump shot is feeling. People who said Wade is on a decline don't know what they're talking about. Wade had a really bad knee injury last year and is finally healthy but not 100% healthy. How is Chris Bosh on a decline? We also have much more depth than that year as well so...

The Heat are obviously more vulnerable right now than they were during the playoffs 2 years ago, if you don't think so you're being obtuse. That doesn't mean that, come playoff time, they'll still be the team they are now.

[NBADraft2003]

It's not like we got destroyed by the heat last time around. I mean i know we lost in 5 games, but wade and Lebron dropped over 20 points each night. Bosh was playing outstanding. Both wade and Bosh have declined tremendously since then. Most of the games we lost were by less than 6 points. Take in game 2, if the refs called a foul on Lebron, it might of been a different series. If westbrook never fouls late in game 3 or 4 i believe, it could of turned out different. They didn't blow us out until the last game. James Harden wasn't even a factor in that series, so that eliminates that.

You really don't know what you're talking about. Bosh and Wade has declined since then? So I guess scoring 20+ points on 50+% shooting is declining. Doug Collins said it best when we faced Indiana but I already knew that Wade doesn't go in to dunk then he's declining, it's how his jump shot is feeling. People who said Wade is on a decline don't know what they're talking about. Wade had a really bad knee injury last year and is finally healthy but not 100% healthy. How is Chris Bosh on a decline? We also have much more depth than that year as well so...

The Heat are obviously more vulnerable right now than they were during the playoffs 2 years ago, if you don't think so you're being obtuse. That doesn't mean that, come playoff time, they'll still be the team they are now.

How are they more vulnerable?

[MvPderozan]

You really don't know what you're talking about. Bosh and Wade has declined since then? So I guess scoring 20+ points on 50+% shooting is declining. Doug Collins said it best when we faced Indiana but I already knew that Wade doesn't go in to dunk then he's declining, it's how his jump shot is feeling. People who said Wade is on a decline don't know what they're talking about. Wade had a really bad knee injury last year and is finally healthy but not 100% healthy. How is Chris Bosh on a decline? We also have much more depth than that year as well so...

The Heat are obviously more vulnerable right now than they were during the playoffs 2 years ago, if you don't think so you're being obtuse. That doesn't mean that, come playoff time, they'll still be the team they are now.

How are they more vulnerable?

I Don't remember Wade battling knee problems like this two years ago. He is obviously a key to miami's success when healthy. But that is not a guarantee. Therefore they are vulnerable.

[bbms]

It's not like we got destroyed by the heat last time around. I mean i know we lost in 5 games, but wade and Lebron dropped over 20 points each night. Bosh was playing outstanding. Both wade and Bosh have declined tremendously since then. Most of the games we lost were by less than 6 points. Take in game 2, if the refs called a foul on Lebron, it might of been a different series. If westbrook never fouls late in game 3 or 4 i believe, it could of turned out different. They didn't blow us out until the last game. James Harden wasn't even a factor in that series, so that eliminates that.

Not only Bosh played outstanding against us, but Battier too. It was not a technical matter, but a tactical one. Perkins is slow and heavy, can't guard Bosh in the elbow. Ibaka was guarding Battier in the three point line. Ibaka has always faced issues defending when he's away from a position to protect the weakside. The Heat made changes in the starting lineup, the Thunder didn't. Brooks refused to. And we went through a series starting from behind by a lot in 3 of 5 games.

That's it. I don't want the Heat again. People just can't remember, that the Thunder in that playoffs was playing lights out and we backdoor swept the best team in the league by then, the Spurs, who, I suppose, would have won the Finals. The Thunder was the favored side, betting houses were on the Thunder. Thunder didn't lose because they were worse than the Heat, we weren't. Thunder lost because Brooks refused to adjust our lineups to Heat's small ball early on the game.

[NBADraft2003]

The Heat are obviously more vulnerable right now than they were during the playoffs 2 years ago, if you don't think so you're being obtuse. That doesn't mean that, come playoff time, they'll still be the team they are now.

How are they more vulnerable?

I Don't remember Wade battling knee problems like this two years ago. He is obviously a key to miami's success when healthy. But that is not a guarantee. Therefore they are vulnerable.

He actually was...the entire 66 games.

[colonel_von]

Not going to the finals if you can't beat the Raptors, just sayin'

[wizkid27]

Not going to the finals if you can't beat the Raptors, just sayin'

Every team is going to drop a couple of inexcusable games throughout the season. Even clear-cut title favorites. That said... that was an awful 4th quarter leading to an awful loss.

[bondom34]

These games are why you NEVER look ahead like that. Can this team win it, sure, but they need to keep focused. I'm actually kinda glad this was a loss. I hope/think it focuses them for Xmas and the Rox game nexr Sunday.