Last Call for OKC

The NBA finals have not been what they were expected to be from the beginning.  I think everyone, myself including, thought that the Thunder were going to close this series and ultimately win their first championship under the Durant and Westbrook regime. Game 1 looked like they were on the right track, but since then everything has been going downhill for OKC.  Miami came back strong in game 2 to steal one for the Heat on Oklahoma's home floor and has been rolling ever since.  Miami has gone onto win the next to games on their home floor, with one more game to go in Miami.

There have been many contributing factors to the Heat stunning many people and putting OKC in a 3-1 hole, which no team in NBA Finals history has ever climbed out of and came back to win the series.  A huge part of the wins in games 2 and 3 for Miami is the fact that they got Durant into foul trouble in both games.  This was a huge loss for OKC because of his offensive output, which won him the scoring title for the 3rd time.  Forcing a player like Durant to sit on the bench and just watch as Wade and James pick apart his team must have been extremely painful for Kevin to watch.  It definitely seems that Miami has found the straw that will eventually break the proverbial camel's back, and if they continue to get Durant into foul trouble then it will definitely end in disaster for the Thunder.

On the other side of the coin for the Miami Heat, Wade, James, Chalmers and Battier have been spectacular to say the least.  James is finally closing games when it counts most and has been ridiculous overall throughout all the finals games.  Wade has fit into his role as he has throughout his career.  In the earlier rounds of the playoffs he had struggled but luckily he has found his game again.  Chalmers came through for the heat in the ladder part of game 4, on the way to a 104-98 Miami win.  He was criticized by both Wade and James in the early games of this series for his poor play and decision making during the game, but he came through when his team needed him most.  Last but not least is Battier, who is the final piece to ultimately in mind win the series for the Heat.  He has been completely unconscious from behind the 3-point line and he is showing the world his spectacular defense which was always his best attribute as a player.  These four guys need to stick together and they will walk away with the most coveted trophy of all.  

Needless to say, the Oklahoma City Thunder will most likely fall to Miami, and it will probably be sooner then later as Game 5 is on Miami's home floor.  Durant wants his first championship so bad he can taste it, but Lebron has been chasing it since he entered the league in 2003. After the whole media frenzy of him "taking his talents to South Beach," he is proving to be the bigger dog in this battle, and for lack of better words, the bigger dog usually eats first.  Durant, Westbrook and the Thunder will just have to keep on waiting for a piece of the pie. 

- Coach

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