I must say I didn't expect one of these teams to be here--that team being the Oklahoma City Thunder. It sort of felt like the year the Spurs would get back to the finals. (And given the circumstances, I might have picked them). But considering way back in February, I thought the finals would be OKC versus Miami I'm not surprised it turned out this way. I'm no oracle, though--a lot of people thought this match up was forthcoming.
Picking a winner is a much more difficult decision, though.
OKC is young, fast, and talented. Although their total team age is probably one of the league's youngest, they do have savvy and experienced veterans in Derek Fisher and Kendrick Perkins on the roster. Durant is the best pure scorer in the league. Even though Westbrook is streaky and unpredictable, he's explosive. Then of course you have Serge and Thabo, a few defensive stoppers and the Thunder's X-Factor, James Harden. In this series, with all the other match ups in this series somewhat balancing out, I think the Thunder will go as he goes in this series.
James is coming off arguably his most impressive Conference Finals yet--then again, that could be the vividness effect at work considering we just "witnessed" it. (Pun intended). Bosh is well-rested, Battier and James Jones have begun to Heat up and Chalmers is playing with confidence. Erik Spoelstra, who is likely one of the leagues most underrated coaches likely has quite a few tricks up his sleeve, too. On Miami's end, of course Dywane Wade will be the key decider in closing out the finals and sealing the deal.
A lot of factors that people don't always place top of mind--turnovers, made FT's, offensive rebounding, etc--will play a factor, but this series will come down to poise. Whichever team has the most of it, gets the prize. I think that team will be Miami, in 6 games.
Thanks for reading.
