Thunderstruck: Oklahoma City Storms Back In Game 1

Miami Heat Outplayed In Game 1, Need More From Wade Thursday Night

The Miami Heat started fast in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and hung with the Oklahoma City Thunder until late in the fourth quarter, but Kevin Durant kicked his game into a gear that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade just didn't have on Tuesday night. James put in a solid performance with 30 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals, but it wasn't enough to carry an otherwise average team performance.

Ben Golliver broke down the game and thinks the Heat need to get much better production out of Wade in Game 2 if they're going to take a split back to Miami.

Game 2 is on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, when much more will be expected of the Heat, especially at the end of the fourth quarter.

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

NBA Finals 2012: Chris Bosh Thinks Crowd Noise In Loud City Is 'Regular'

The Oklahoma City Thunder have managed to build a large and vocal fanbase very quickly. They are so proud of this that they've adopted the nickname 'Loud City' and have managed to get lots of fans and media to talk about how loud their building is. Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat played (and lost) in said loud building on Tuesday night, but Bosh didn't think the crowd noise was a big deal.

"Everybody keeps talking about how loud it is," Bosh said. "It's regular. We've been in a lot of other arenas and it's about the same. Once it gets really loud, it's all about the same."

This might come off as a nice piece of trolling on Bosh's part, but he's probably telling the truth. At a certain point, loud is loud. It doesn't matter if Oklahoma City has the 'loudest' fans if even the 11th loudest building in the NBA is so loud that players can't hear each other on the court.

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

Role Call: Heat, Thunder Need Lesser-Known Players To Shine

The Oklahoma City Thunder came out victorious over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals thanks to Kevin Durant being a closer down the stretch, but role players from both sides kept it close through three quarters.

Heat Vs. Thunder, NBA Finals Game 1: Turnover Switch In Second Half Stands Out

The Miami Heat ran up a 7-point lead at halftime of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but lost by 11. That means something definitely changed in the second half! I laid out the quarterly performance for each time in a graphic way. This chart breaks down how each possession for each team ended in each quarter.

A couple of things here: everything is based on possessions, not points. So 'two made 2-pointers' looks the same as 'two made 3-pointers.' Also, because of this, two missed free throws in the box score is represented by one missed free throw possession on this chart, a simplified estimate that there are two FTs per FT possession.

The first thing that sticks out: the turnover situation reversed completely. Miami had one in the first quarter (allowing them more shots), and three in each quarter thereafter. Oklahoma City had eight in the first half and two in the second half.

Free throws (blue and pink in the chart) also stand out. Oklahoma City made 10 in the third quarter alone, all of them by Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Thabo Sefolosha (who got out in transition a couple of times to earn his trips). Miami didn't make more than five in any quarter, and sunk 10 total in the second half.

Also, holy smokes, there were a lot of missed two-pointers through three quarters for Miami! The Thunder struggled from downtown, but hit 35-60 inside the arc. That was a big factor in the win.

Let's see what holds up and what changes in Game 2.

For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City.

LeBron James Will Guard Kevin Durant Following Loss To Open NBA Finals

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are perhaps the top two players in basketball today, making the NBA Finals matchup between their Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder especially compelling. It's about to get better, too, following some adjustments the Heat plan to make now that they find themselves in an early hole.

Miami led through the majority of the first three quarters on Tuesday night and then, with the game's results hanging in the balance, Durant took over. James has vowed to change that, however, as detailed in a column from Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen.

"KD got a couple looks that we don't like," James said. "He had two transition threes that we gave up where he had nobody on him, and he had a couple jumpers that we didn't like either, with nobody on him. We need to make adjustments. We will make adjustments."

Yes, they will. James will guard him.

"No, it wasn't my choice," James said of his defensive assignment. "It was a suggestion that Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra] brought up, and I thought it was good early on for us. It gave us an opportunity to switch a lot of pick-and-rolls. ... Whatever the case may be, we had a good game plan to start the game."

That likely isn't going to be music to Durant's ears considering he was able to exploit the other Miami defenders late, even despite a really solid effort from an over-matched Shane Battier. It's probably not what James was hoping for either, considering a lot more effort is going to have to be exerted defending Durant when compared to his planned role as a rover.

No, in this switch, only the fans really win -- the two best players in the game will be defending each other in the NBA Finals. Ah, basketball.

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

DEFCON LeBron: Heat Extinguished By Smothering Thunder Defense

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook took over for the Thunder in the second half, and OKC drew first blood in the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, LeBron wasn't quite good enough, and Jeff Van Gundy told us about his cat named Cheeks.

Chris Bosh Calls Thunder Crowd 'Regular,' Must Be Giving Heat Fans An Exception

Perhaps playing for the Miami Heat for two years has thrown Chris Bosh's perspective off completely. After all, last season every arena in the NBA booed his teammate LeBron James with passion, and the Heat's own home crowd isn't exactly renowned for its rowdiness.

That's the only possible explanation for these comments, as quoted by Ben Golliver of Eye on Basketball:

"Everybody keeps talking about how loud it is," Bosh said. "It's regular. We've been in a lot of other arenas and it's about the same. Once it gets really loud, it's all about the same."

I've never been on the court during crunch time, so my perspective is solely that of a fan whose game experience is primarily in Sacramento. But it does seem as if most arenas hit the magical decibel level (at least as expressed through the TV) where it's just loud. It's like how once it hits about 95 degrees outside, it's just hot. The difference is irrelevant: it's just hot.

Most NBA arenas (even Miami in Game 7 of the East finals!) simply get loud in critical moments. That's probably what Bosh means.

For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City.

I Am So Confused About Lil' Wayne's NBA Finals Rooting Interests

NBA Finals: Oklahoma City's Role Players Fueled Thunder To Victory Over Heat

The Oklahoma City Thunder made it to the NBA Finals largely thanks to the play of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, but it was the bench that seemed to turn things around on Tuesday night. Durant and Westbrook were both huge in the second half on the way to putting the Heat in a 1-0 hole, but it was the Oklahoma City role players that served as catalysts when the Thunder needed a spark.

Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha likely didn't read their names in the bold print of any headlines when they woke up on Wednesday morning, but SB Nation's own Welcome to Loud City pointed out that the two players came off the bench to provide possibly the best plays of the game.

However, if you don't have unlimited time on your hands, then you should know this when going to the watercooler today. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant might have been offensive beasts in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 straight points. But in terms of defense and hustle, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha are the reasons we won.

Seeing Collison turn into a hustle guy was really strange. He's usually known as a guy who plays smart, takes shots, never shoots the ball, and has good positioning on his defender. But tonight, he looked more like Ronny Turiaf than he looked like himself. He was getting key steals, tipping out offensive rebounds, going aggressively into the paint; heck, he even committed a few stupid turnovers. Honestly, his play during the first half left a lot to be desired, but his play in the fourth more than made up for it.

Sefolosha was similarly awesome last night. He was constantly guarding tough assignments in Wade and James, forcing some key misses outside of the paint from them, getting out on the break, and killing it in the paint. Sure, he missed a few threes, but without his defense, the Heat could very well have been neck-and-neck late in the game.

There probably weren't many people that would have bet on Collison and Sefolosha as the two biggest difference-makers for the Thunder heading into Tuesday night's game, but both role players played their role excellently to help Oklahoma City to the victory.

Now it's up to the Heat to see if they can find some sustainable bench production going forward.

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

Game 1, Summed Up In One Must-See GIF

NBA Finals: Dwyane Wade Struggles In Heat's Game 1 Loss To Thunder

Of the four superstar scorers featured in the 2012 NBA Finals, one stood out as not holding up his end of the bargain. Dwyane Wade, the only one of the four with an NBA championship ring, scored 19 points on 7-19 shooting in Game 1 on Tuesday, with a True Shooting percentage of just 45 percent. The rest of the Miami Heat, LeBron James included, scored 75 points on 65 shots for a True Shooting percentage of 58 percent. While the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense did a number of things well, only Wade and to a lesser extent Chris Bosh had bad shooting nights.

Wade did take on additional ball-handler duties, picking up eight assists. But as we saw regularly during the East finals, Wade is really struggling to get back on transition defense. Against the Thunder, that's murder. Oklahoma City ended up with 24 fast break points against the Heat in Game 1 despite just 10 turnovers (a very low number) by Miami. Wade struggled to get back into defensive position to stop the ball even (or especially) on missed shots.

Again, Wade's the only superstar in this series with a ring. He knows how difficult it is to win on the biggest stage against the best opponents. He needs to be better for Miami to triumph.

For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City.

Heat Vs. Thunder: Are Erik Spoelstra's Substitution Patterns To Blame For Miami Loss?

The Miami Heat had the Oklahoma City Thunder nearly right where they wanted them through the first three quarters of Tuesday night's opening game of the NBA Finals. Things changed quickly in the fourth quarter, however, and Miami now finds itself with an early deficit in the championship series.

There are going to be a number of things blamed as to why the Heat weren't able to close out the final quarter -- Oklahoma City's defense, Kevin Durant's closing ability and the narrative that LeBron James isn't clutch among them -- but SB Nation's own Heat blog has a different idea.

Surya Fernandez wrote in his recap over at Peninsula Is Mightier that the reason the Heat were unable to close out the game was because Miami's roster was tired. Whether it's due to lack of depth or simple substitution errors by coach Erik Spoelstra, fatigue definitely played a factor.

The Heat looked sluggish on both ends in the second half and were slow to set up their offense as the Thunder started picking up the pace and kept attacking the basket while making jumper after jumper. Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison and Derek Fisher provided quality minutes in support of Durant and Westbrook.

Part of the overall team slump might have been fatigue, with coach Erik Spoelstra making a curious decision to reduce his rotation to just seven players after coming off a grueling seven-game series against the Boston Celtics. This may have been due to to the fact that James Jones was held out of the game because of migraine symptoms. Joel Anthony was only used for two minutes and Ronny Turiaf did not play at all.

A seven-man rotation coming off of a seven-game series seems like it certainly could have been an issue like Fernandez wrote, but he provided further evidence from James at the post-game press conference, ensuring us that it wasn't a factor (while saying yes it was, kind of).

After the game, LeBron wasn't going to use fatigue as an excuse for letting a winnable game slip out of their fingers.

"I don't think so," he responded. "We know we have to have more production for sure. We have to have more guys in there and give me and D-Wade a rest...and Shane (Battier), he played a lot of minutes. Spo will figure that out. We'll be more conscious about it and just try to get a minute or two here and there so we can finish strong. But I don't think it was much of a problem today."

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the rotations going forward because, if James and Wade are counted on to play as many minutes as they did on Tuesday night, it'll be awfully difficult for them to keep up the energy later in this series.

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

Thunder's Superior Depth On Display In Game 1 Win Over Heat

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were great as usual, but it may be the Thunder's superior depth that will prove to be the difference in the NBA Finals.

Thunder Vs. Heat, 2012 NBA Finals Game 1: Oklahoma City Battles Back For 105-94 Victory Over Miami

The Miami Heat were unable to close out Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals and allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to pick up a 105-94 victory. The Heat led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter before squandering that permanently with 16 seconds left in the third quarter. The Thunder were unstoppable in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat 31-21 on the way to the 11-point victory.

Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder with 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He nailed 4-of-8 three-pointers and contributed eight rebounds. Russell Westbrook nearly pulled off a triple-double, scoring 27 points, dishing the ball out for 11 assists and grabbing eight boards. Durant and Westbrook combined for 41 points after halftime, outscoring Miami's entire roster (40).

Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison had solid defensive games, especially in the fourth quarter, with the latter grabbing 10 rebounds.

LeBron James scored 30 points and had nine rebounds for the Heat, but the team shot just 46.2 percent from the field. The Thunder hit 51.9 percent of its shots. Dwyane Wade was second on the team with 19 points and Shane Battier, who was instrumental in the Heat's early lead, added 17 points.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals stays at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and will be played at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday. Will Oklahoma City take a 2-0 series lead?

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

Pat Riley And Alonzo Mourning Seem Thrilled

So, Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning, what are your thoughts on Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals?

Figured that'd be your reaction, guys.

(via @bomani_jones).

Russell Westbrook And Kevin Durant Make Huge Plays

The Heat tried, they really did. But in the end, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were too good. Miami defended the Thunder well in three of four critical defensive possessions, but Durant spoiled two by drawing a foul and finding Nick Collison for a dunk on a beautiful pass, and Westbrook spoiled one with a tough fadeaway over Dwyane Wade’s outstretched arm after the Heat shut off the pass to Durant.

Too good, really. The Heat did all they could, but the Thunder were better.

Heat's Offense Is Too Predictable

Major credit to the Oklahoma City Thunder: their defense has been great, and this lineup they’ve played with Nick Collison as the only big man has been great. But man, the Miami Heat have to do better offensively. Their crunch-time offense has been filled with isolations, which has allowed the Thunder to load up their defense to the ball.

Where’s the motion we saw in the first half?

No More Basketball Anymore

Welp, looks like the ball is stuck on top of the backboard. Guess this game can't continue.

(via @jon_bois)

How Will Thunder Run Their Offense In Crunch Time?

It’ll be interesting to see how the Oklahoma City Thunder finish this game off. Their offense is getting good looks, but Miami has made a key adjustment, putting LeBron James on Russell Westbrook, switching every ball screen and having James, Shane Battier and Chris Bosh take turns guarding Westbrook. Westbrook has so far made strong decisions, but the onus will be on him to keep doing that.

Heat Starting To Drive To The Basket Again

After falling in love with missed jumpers, the Miami Heat have started to attack the Oklahoma City Thunder defense off the dribble again. The goal: get to the free-throw line and slow this game down. It’s working, even though a couple of the foul calls have been questionable.

Remember This Sequence

With the Miami Heat down by three, LeBron James drove, drew defenders and dropped a pass off to Chris Bosh. Bosh fumbled the pass, though, and Kevin Durant got a dunk on the other end.

That’s a big swing there.

Dwyane Wade Is Killing The Heat Right Now

Dwyane Wade was 3-11 on jump shots in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals coming into the fourth quarter. Why he decided to launch a three-pointer with 10:42 left instead of getting the ball to LeBron James on a switch is beyond me.

Snap out of it, Dwyane.

Russell Westbrook Had An Awesome Third Quarter

Russell Westbrook was not very good in the first half, but things changed drastically in that third quarter. He was 2-9 at halftime, but was 5-7 in that third quarter, slashing to the rim and breaking down the Heat’s defense. He’s the major reason Oklahoma City now leads by one after three quarters.

The Heat have to clean up their pick-and-roll defense, because Westbrook is killing it. Dwyane Wade has defended Westbrook most of the time, and he’s taking poor angles to try to cut Westbrook off. Miami’s help defenders aren’t helping either, as they’re not plugging the middle well enough. Westbrook is splitting the pick-and-roll and getting right to the basket, like so.

(via @jose3030).

Great point guards can give Miami trouble. Rajon Rondo lit them up in the Eastern Conference Finals, and now, Westbrook is doing the same.

James Harden Is Not Playing Well

The Thunder’s ace sixth man has just five points on six shots, and now, he has four fouls. His defensive effort has been lazy all night, as he’s reached too much, failed to slide his feet and was caught ball-watching when his man didn’t have the ball.

Still, he’s James Harden, so his absence will be significant. Will the Heat start to guard Russell Westbrook better now that they don’t have to worry about Harden? It’s a good question.

Once Again, Time To Take Kendrick Perkins Out

Kendrick Perkins is a warrior, a team leader and a guy who is tough as nails. He’s also killing the Thunder, because with him in the game, the Heat can afford to rest LeBron James on defense.

Once again, it’s time for the Thunder to go small. Or, if they’re going to go big, play Nick Collison, not Perkins.

Dwyane Wade Is Struggling Again

After a poor series against against the Celtics, Dwyane Wade is 4-13 in Game 1 against the Thunder, settling for jumpers and playing poor defense on Russell Westbrook in the third quarter. When is he going to emerge? Will it ever happen?

Thunder Starting To Switch Screens Too

The other reason the Thunder have gotten back into this game is that they’ve taken a page out of the Heat’s defensive playbook. Much like Miami, Oklahoma City is starting to switch screens, disrupting the Heat’s flow and forcing them to try to go one-on-one to exploit the mismatches. Seeing as LeBron James is more interested in surveying that driving right now, it’s working.

Thabo Sefolosha Dominating The Passing Lanes

Finally, the Thunder’s defense has arrived, and it’s mostly been in the form of Thabo Sefolosha. The Thunder guard has started to step up his defensive pressure, jumping into passing lanes to make it impossible for the Heat to rotate the ball as crisply as they did in the first half.

It’s about time for that aggressive Thunder defense to arrive. Maybe they just needed a quarter and a half to find their legs.

Thunder Starting To Find Their Offense

The Thunder’s defense is still an issue, but I think their offense has started to figure Miami out. For one thing, as discussed in our series preview, the Thunder have been successful using Durant off baseline curls, both to get Durant points and to free others for open shots. For another, Russell Westbrook has started to calm down and has made a couple nice decisions to find teammates on the pick and roll.

The Thunder will need to step it up defensively to put a bigger dent into the Heat’s lead, but they’re starting to make a run.

Scott Brooks' Mom Looks Tough As Nails

I know I shouldn't be making too much out of one photo, but man, Scott Brooks' mom looks like someone I don't want to mess with. Now I see where the younger Brooks gets his toughness.

(via @cjzero).

VIDEO: LeBron James Gobbles Up All Your Passes

LeBron James is the last guy you want in your passing lane. He's so explosive on the fast break than anyone should think twice before throwing the ball in his direction. Kevin Durant forgot about this when he tossed a lazy pass that James picked off, leading to this thunderous James dunk.

(Via Eye On Basketball).

Lil Wayne And Jimmy Goldstein Are Bros

Don't you love the NBA Finals?

(Via @NBA)

Heat Having Issues Matching Up In Transition Too

The Miami Heat have hit too many jump shots for this to matter yet, but in the rare instances where they’ve missed, they’ve struggled to match up with the Thunder in transition. The Heat’s decision to go with some odd defensive matchups has opened up their transition offense, but in the process, it’s hurt their transition defense. The Thunder have begun to get good shots on the break in this second quarter, mostly because the Heat have taken too long to find their men.

It now becomes extremely important for the Thunder to force the Heat to shoot jumpers and contest those shots well. Missed Heat jumpers will spur a Thunder comeback, but the Thunder have to force them.

Derek Fisher Just Went Coast-To-Coast For A Layup

Jeff Van Gundy said Fisher “slowed the Heat to death” on the shot. Beautifully put.

Thunder Playing Their Bench, Heat Playing Their Stars

The Oklahoma City Thunder began the second quarter playing a unit with mostly bench players, including Derek Fisher and Daequan Cook. The Miami Heat kept their stars in.

It’s no surprise the Heat’s lead is back up to double digits.

Heat's Offense Is Running Beautifully

Couper Moorhead of Heat.com was being only half-serious when he tweeted that the Thunder’s defense isn’t the Celtics, but it’s a salient point. Freed from the shackles of the league’s best defensive team, the Heat’s offensive sets suddenly look fluid.

The Heat have occasionally run some more complex stuff in this first quarter, but really, they’re just running the same kind of sets they normally run. They just are doing it better because the Thunder aren’t bumping cutters and loading up the strong side to prevent easy passes. With the passing lanes more open, the Heat are naturally creating easier shots.

Oklahoma City’s defense needs to step it up. Right now, Miami is running its sets far too easily.

Thunder Need To Go Small

Here’s the problem with the Thunder’s start: their defense is all out of sorts because of the Heat’s own defensive matchups. When the Thunder miss, they’re having a lot of problems matching up in transition, leaving three-point shooters wide open behind the line. This is an issue.

The obvious solution is to take Kendrick Perkins out and go small, with Serge Ibaka as the only big man. Ibaka can defend Udonis Haslem and stay near the hoop instead of having to chase around Battier. Instead, Scott Brooks took Ibaka out and replaced him with Nick Collison. I’m confused too.

Heat's Switching Defense Confusing Thunder Early

One of the reasons why the Heat’s defensive matchups may not matter as much as we think is that they’re switching all screens again, like they did at the end of the series against the Celtics. It’s frustrating the Thunder’s offense, which has relied more on player movement in these playoffs than during the regular season. They seem to be expecting the Heat to trap or fight through screens. When they switch, the offense shuts down and one guy tries for an isolation.

I’m surprised the Thunder seem so surprised by Miami’s strategy, considering how much they used it in the Boston series.

Miami Heat Begin With Some Weird Defensive Matchups

Remember that great LeBron James/Kevin Durant duel that was supposed to dominate this series? It’s not happening, at least when the Thunder are on offense. Coach Erik Spoelstra is instead going to some really unique matchups.

James isn’t on Durant. Instead, he’s guarding Kendrick Perkins of all people. Meanwhile, Shane Battier, who is starting instead of Chris Bosh, has begun the game by guarding Durant.

Why is Spoelstra doing this? I think he realizes he needs to rest James. I suspect James will slide over to Durant at some point, but there’s no reason to wear him out by forcing him to run through a maze of screens trying to defend Durant all game.

NBA Finals 2012: Lil Wayne Returns To OKC

A few weeks ago Lil' Wayne was denied entry to the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs game because he didn't have a ticket and the arena wouldn't let him in for free. Absurd, right?

Well, no worries. Lil Tunechi will make it to Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Thunder on Tuesday night.

In the house tonight for Game 1 will be none other than Lil Wayne (@LilTunechi)...He bought two courtside tickets.

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) June 12, 2012

I guess Lil' Wayne didn't want to take any chances in the first game of the series and actually purchased court side seats for the matchup. I guess this means Lil' Wayne is rooting for the Heat, since the Spurs were eliminated right?

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.

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The Heat and Thunder should stage a great NBA Finals, but what are the keys to figuring out which of the two evenly-matched teams will come out on top?

NBA Finals 2012, Thunder Vs. Heat Game 1: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The NBA Finals begin Tuesday with Game 1 between the Heat and Thunder.

NBA Finals: Attempting To Predict Heat Vs. Thunder Series

This NBA Finals has become the series no one wants to pick -- because no one has a clue as to what will happen. But we'll take that plunge.