Thunder-Heat, Games 2 and 3: The Thunder's Own Worst Enemy

For the past 2 years the NBA has been all about the Miami Heat. This is for good reason. Ever since “The Decision,” the Heat have been the most hated, most scrutinized, and most intriguing franchise in all of professional sports. They, and more specifically LeBron James, have been picked apart and dissected in more ways than I would have thought possible. Their following has been so insane that the Heat’s critics have critics…and the critics’ critics have their own critics…and so on. So with each passing game, don’t be surprised if the headline revolves around Miami in some way whether they win or lose. Even my game recaps always seem to be a little more Miami-centric than I originally intend. Still, to me the real story through 3 games in this series has been the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Prior to the Finals, many wondered aloud whether OKC was ready for this kind of stage yet. The talent and framework was undeniable, but this group is so young that it seemed possible they were a year ahead of schedule. That talk quickly diminished when the Thunder erased a 7 point halftime deficit in game 1 to win by 11. Durant and Westbrook both looked unstoppable in the 2nd half, as they ran right by the older, slower, more tired looking Heat. Even though Miami held on to beat OKC by 4 in game 2, everyone still seemed to believe the young Thunder had proven their mettle. A somewhat controversial no-call on LeBron was all that stood between Durant possibly tying the score with only seconds to play…but all that might have been fool’s gold in the end.

KD has looked unstoppable...in only he got the ball a little more often.

The Heat could very well still lose this series. All anyone needs to do is think back to last year when Miami also held a 2-1 series lead against the Mavericks and what happened the rest of the way. More than that, OKC still very well may be the better team. Ignoring the 1st quarter of game 2, if you watched the 1st 3 games with the score at the bottom of the screen blocked out, it probably always feels like the Thunder are ahead. They are deeper, their pieces fit together better, and they seem to play without fear. They also seem to possess things that Miami doesn’t have an answer for. LeBron might be the best perimeter defender in the league right now, but even he seems to be at Durant’s mercy when guarding him 1-on-1. Russell Westbrook is a nightmare matchup for even the likes of Dwayne Wade. And OKC has enough rim-protecting bigs and perimeter defenders to make life tough for the Heat on the other end of the floor if their jumpers don’t happen to be falling that particular night.

But the Thunder also can’t seem to get out of their own way at times. They got off to very poor starts in the 1st 2 games of the series, trailing by as many as 13 in game 1 and spotting Miami an 18-2 start in game 2. In game 3, OKC started off much stronger, and they even led by 10 midway through the 3rd quarter, but they somehow let Miami chip away. This was in large part thanks to Durant’s foul trouble for a 2nd straight game and what can only be described as 2 ill-advised fouls on Shane Battier and James Jones 3 point attempts. Thunder Coach Scott Brooks probably also shares blame for last night’s 3rd quarter. After Durant picked up his 4th foul, he immediately took a seat on the bench, but then Brooks gave Westbrook his normal 3rd quarter rest as well. It might have been wise to let Durant try to play with the fouls for at least a few of those minutes or cut Westbrook’s break short. Instead, they both were out of the game for a considerable amount of time, and Miami entered the 4th leading by a deuce.

Westbrook's numbers through 3 Finals games look spectacular at 1st glance..."look" spectacular.

The Thunder’s biggest flaw of all may be that their best player (Durant) often looks like the team’s 3rd scoring option. When Durant, Westbrook, and James Harden are all playing at once, Harden and Westbrook usually dominate the ball. They are both great creators off of the dribble, but more often than not they are creating shots for themselves rather than Durant or other teammates. Westbrook in particular has come under fire during this series, but his numbers look fantastic: 24 points, 7 boards, and 7 dimes per game in 3 Finals games while only turning the ball over twice per contest…with that being said, he’s only shooting 41% from the floor and 21% from 3, and he is good for at least 3 wildly out of control, what-are-you-thinking layup attempts per game, most of which seem to occur on possessions where Durant doesn’t even get a touch. Westbrook is ridiculously good, but he just doesn’t seem to have the whole balance between scoring and setting others up thing down yet. Meanwhile, Durant is shooting a staggering 57% from the field in the Finals while shooting 7 fewer shots than Westbrook through the 1st 3 games. The Thunder won’t win if Westbrook alters his game completely, but it’s safe it might do their offensive efficiency some good to get Durant a few more shots…if they don’t, they’re not going to beat Miami no matter what.