The time has finally come. After weeks of hard fought battles, great drama, and fantastic team performances, there are only two teams remaining. The #2 seed of the West vs the #2 seed of the East are going to battle it out to prove who is truly #1 in the NBA.
Heat. Thunder. Lebron. Durant. This is the matchup that I've been waiting for since the season started. Despite their #2 seeds, the two teams I predicted to be the best are in the finals. Here's a look at each teams path to their shot at NBA finals glory.
The Thunder have showed everyone just how grown up their young team really is. For the past decade their have been three teams from the west in the Finals. The Mavericks, the Lakers, and the Spurs. It seems only fitting that on their quest for the Larry O'Brien trophy, the Thunder have beat all three of those teams in succession. They made quick work of both the Mavs and Lakers, but when they were truly challenged by the Spurs they had an answer to every challenge. This Thunder team is fast paced, agressive, and boy can they score.
On the other end there's the Heat. Back to the finals for the second year in a row, but this time with a chip on their shoulder. Though they dodged a major bullet in not having to face the Bulls due to the D-Rose injury, the Heat's path to the finals was no easy task. After easily dispensing of the Knicks, the Heat faced real adversity first against the surprising and young Indiana Pacers. The series made it clear of the Heat's shortcomings in depth and in the front-court, and to make matters worse, they lost Bosh to injury. It seemed like the Big Three's season would end in inevitable disappointment when they went down 2-1 in the series with game 4 in Indiana. Then we witnessed one of the greatest individual playoff performances in recent memory: 40pts 18reb 9ast 2blk 2stl. Tack on 30pts 8reb and 6ast by Wade and it was clear that two players on the Heat weren't quite ready for their offseason to start. As a team comprised of superstar talent, it's moments like these where the stars find their super. After getting bailed out by their stars in Game 4, the momentum of the series had completely swung to the Heat. Despite continued dominance by both Wade and Lebron in games 5 and 6, it was clear that after game 4 something had changed within the Heat team. The Heat, much like the Thunder, grew up. After getting pushed around and absolutely dominated in the low post and on the boards, the Heat stepped up their physicality. They took the style of the Pacers and emphatically shoved it in their face. Though it won't show in the stat lines, it was the defense and outright hard work of the Heat team as a whole that was able to shut down the Pacers. The team played gritty, hard working, blue collar basketball on defense, and when the time came to answer on offense, Lebron and Wade were unstoppable. The series with the Celtics would put the new look Heat to the test, but again the Heat answered. It was again clear how vital Bosh is to this team, and his return, though limited, provided a major boost to the team.
This series will be fast paced, over the top, with the superstars coming to play. I know I wasn't able to post this before Game 1, but my final prediction for the series remains the same:
Heat in 7!
Heat. Thunder. Lebron. Durant. This is the matchup that I've been waiting for since the season started. Despite their #2 seeds, the two teams I predicted to be the best are in the finals. Here's a look at each teams path to their shot at NBA finals glory.
The Thunder have showed everyone just how grown up their young team really is. For the past decade their have been three teams from the west in the Finals. The Mavericks, the Lakers, and the Spurs. It seems only fitting that on their quest for the Larry O'Brien trophy, the Thunder have beat all three of those teams in succession. They made quick work of both the Mavs and Lakers, but when they were truly challenged by the Spurs they had an answer to every challenge. This Thunder team is fast paced, agressive, and boy can they score.
On the other end there's the Heat. Back to the finals for the second year in a row, but this time with a chip on their shoulder. Though they dodged a major bullet in not having to face the Bulls due to the D-Rose injury, the Heat's path to the finals was no easy task. After easily dispensing of the Knicks, the Heat faced real adversity first against the surprising and young Indiana Pacers. The series made it clear of the Heat's shortcomings in depth and in the front-court, and to make matters worse, they lost Bosh to injury. It seemed like the Big Three's season would end in inevitable disappointment when they went down 2-1 in the series with game 4 in Indiana. Then we witnessed one of the greatest individual playoff performances in recent memory: 40pts 18reb 9ast 2blk 2stl. Tack on 30pts 8reb and 6ast by Wade and it was clear that two players on the Heat weren't quite ready for their offseason to start. As a team comprised of superstar talent, it's moments like these where the stars find their super. After getting bailed out by their stars in Game 4, the momentum of the series had completely swung to the Heat. Despite continued dominance by both Wade and Lebron in games 5 and 6, it was clear that after game 4 something had changed within the Heat team. The Heat, much like the Thunder, grew up. After getting pushed around and absolutely dominated in the low post and on the boards, the Heat stepped up their physicality. They took the style of the Pacers and emphatically shoved it in their face. Though it won't show in the stat lines, it was the defense and outright hard work of the Heat team as a whole that was able to shut down the Pacers. The team played gritty, hard working, blue collar basketball on defense, and when the time came to answer on offense, Lebron and Wade were unstoppable. The series with the Celtics would put the new look Heat to the test, but again the Heat answered. It was again clear how vital Bosh is to this team, and his return, though limited, provided a major boost to the team.
This series will be fast paced, over the top, with the superstars coming to play. I know I wasn't able to post this before Game 1, but my final prediction for the series remains the same:
Heat in 7!
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