After two grueling, hard-fought conference final series, it's time for the NBA Finals. This years final presents a very intriguing matchup between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Could this be the year Lebron James finally gets a title? Or could this be the year Kevin Durant and the young gun Thunder become an elite team and secure a title in their first trip to the Finals?
My Prediction is: Thunder over Heat in 7
This is a very-close matchup, but I like the Thunder overall. The primary reason is the depth this team has. Clearly Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the two biggest threats, but when you have guys like James Harden, Nick Collison, and Derek Fisher coming off the bench it bolsters the team big time. The Thunder also have a huge paint presence as well with Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. With a banged-up Chris Bosh and lack of other quality big men, the Heat could suffer big time in the paint. The Thunder's inside game could very well prove to be the X-factor in the series. As good as the Heat are and the stellar play of Lebron James of late, I don't think they can pull it out. James can't do it my himself and he's going to have other players besides Dwayne Wade step up if they are going to win a title. Chris Bosh is also still a question mark. Clearly they are a better team when he is in there, but with him being injured and the Thunder having a young roster more suited to shutting him down on both ends of the floor opposed to the Celtics old, seasoned roster could make him a complete non-factor. The Heat's lack of depth very well could be their downfall as a team once again. Not ruling out that the Heat couldn't win it all this year and it should be a tight, competitive series, but I think the Thunder's speed, depth, and unselfish brand of basketball will be too much for the Heat to overcome.
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