2012 Finals !!

[PosterTime]

so even though im the only 1 who belives okc take the championship let me ask you guys this
if okc can pull of game 5 and go back to okc down 2-3,where do you see ther chance from ther??

IF they win game 5 and bring it back to OKC I think it changes everything.

Aside from a bullshit win for the cHeat in game 2, OKC simply destroys people at home. Their fans, their home, their advantage. The confidence of winning game 5 would also be huge for games 6 and 7. Harden, Durant, and Westbrook all need to play well though for this to happen. I still have slight hope but I'm preparing myself for the worst (LeTwat, D-Whistle, and Dino to get the trophy.)

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

so even though im the only 1 who belives okc take the championship let me ask you guys this
if okc can pull of game 5 and go back to okc down 2-3,where do you see ther chance from ther??

Still pretty low. No team in the history of the NBA finals have ever come back from down 3-1.

 

[Walter White]

My concern if I was Thunder now is being overly aggressive. I know they are gonna play hard, but you still have to play smart. And I'm mostly looking at Russell Westbrook. He played great last game, and he is gonna want to repeat it, but it could cause him to force up a bunch of bad shots and make stupid plays. Its easy for Russell to get out of control. I even saw it a bit last game (even though his shot was falling). I'm sure Miami will have a much better game plan for Rus next game anyway, so he will have to be smarter. I can tell KD is frustrated because they are getting really physical with him and fronting him and showing 2 defenders sometimes. I have a feeling James Harden will have a big game though. His shots hasn't been falling, but odds are it will next game. If LeBron has a monster game, or KD gets in foul trouble it is over though.

 

[PosterTime]

Still pretty low. No team in the history of the NBA finals have ever come back from down 3-1.

Yes when it is looked at like that is it pretty much impossible. I'm trying to look at it differently though. If they win game 5 the series is 3-2. Teams have come back from being down 3-2 before AND the Thunder go back home to play games 6 and 7. It's something that needs to be looked at one game......one possession at a time. If the Thunder go "down 3-1? we can't make history" then this shit is completely over.

 

[Mdog1]

There are all of these other threads on this board of which you can post in as opposed to the one that says "2012 Finals!" if you're ready to move on.

Yes I likely should have replied to your post in the "2012 finals!!!" thread in the "2012 Draft" thread right? Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Mdog1]

My concern if I was Thunder now is being overly aggressive. I know they are gonna play hard, but you still have to play smart. And I'm mostly looking at Russell Westbrook. He played great last game, and he is gonna want to repeat it, but it could cause him to force up a bunch of bad shots and make stupid plays. Its easy for Russell to get out of control. I even saw it a bit last game (even though his shot was falling). I'm sure Miami will have a much better game plan for Rus next game anyway, so he will have to be smarter. I can tell KD is frustrated because they are getting really physical with him and fronting him and showing 2 defenders sometimes. I have a feeling James Harden will have a big game though. His shots hasn't been falling, but odds are it will next game. If LeBron has a monster game, or KD gets in foul trouble it is over though.

I was just watching PTI and Wilbon mentioned something about Harden leaving practice today with his hand heavily taped up. Could be nothing, or maybe he punched a fire extinguisher?

 

[Numbers Guy]

Had the Thunder won game 2 and Miami swept at home putting them at 3-2, I don't think Miami would be overly favorited. IF they can win tomorrow.. they have a decent chance to at the very least take it to a game 7.. the fans in OKC will have that building roaring. However, I don't have OKC winning tomorrow, so my point is moot.

 

[Thunder]

Harden has a bruised LEFT hand. Should only make his shooting woes worse. I have a gut feeling Heat will win the game...it'll be close but the Heat will break it open end of third/beg of fourth and win by double digits. I'm not even being pessimistic, this is how I see it going down. Just like game 7 at Boston.

 

[MDLT]

Yeah, I think the Heat win Game 5 comfortably. I don't think it's necessarily an indication that the Heat are that much better, but the Thunder don't seem to quite have the mental fortitude - it seems like they know the Heat will pull away in the end. Not a good place to be for a young team.

 

[Noonan]

The Heat have outscored the Thunder by five total points in this series. LeBron and Wade have logged a ton of minutes. If a team is ever going to come back down from 3-1 ...

 

[Mdog1]

You guys remember when I posted this?

Does Chris Bosh not count anymore? I mean he is an after thought to most because of the star power of the other two, but Bosh is still a very good player, and while he was out the Heat were 3-2 against Indianna, and 2-2 against Boston (2-1 with him against Boston). It is very impressive to me that the Heat were able to make the finals despite missing Bosh for 9 games in the playoffs.

That bodes well for them I think. The Thunder didn't really face any adversity in these playoffs. Yes they played a good team in the Spurs, but they were never playing for the playoff lives which could lead to either complacency on their part, or them not knowing how to handle the tough situations. In 2011 the Heat lost 3 games on route to the finals (I think, didn't check though) leading them to think they had already won, and as we saw that was not the case. This year they are tested, they have chemistry, and DWade and LeBron seem to have accepted their roles.

Sometimes I think it is better that you get dragged through the mud because it helps prepare you for what is in store.

I think this is a big part of the Thunder's down fall in this series.

Just seems like they look like deer in the headlights in the the two games before last night (when the calls in the third were horrid).

 

[randymoss1881]

Still pretty low. No team in the history of the NBA finals have ever come back from down 3-1.

this will change someday, there is always a first for everything. every game so far has been close has come down to some lucky bounces or bad execution. history means nothing you take each game one at a time.

 

[czvo]

Guys, its over. Game 4 was it for the Thunder, you could just tell. They jumped out to that big lead, and once Cole hit those two threes, the collective faces of their team (minus Russ) said "oh shit."

Miami is going to put this thing away on Thursday.

 

[MDLT]

I will say that, IF the Thunder can win Game 5, then they could be in decent shape heading back to OKC. Just don't see that happening.

 

[JSS2306]

The Thunder beat the Spurs because of their athleticism. They just don't have an inside presence that deters LeBron from getting inside. Ibaka has all the qualities of a great inside defender but Scott Brooks is just not competent enough to teach him when and how he should be at the right place at the right time. I mean by now Ibaka has to sense when LeBron is going ham to the bucket and when Ibaka slides the other players have to be in position to cover. Their team defense as a whole is garbage. LeBron can literally go inside anytime he wants which in turn opens up everything for everybody else.

Half of this is Scott Brooks fault and the other half is Scott Brooks fault.