NBA FINALS 2012 (MIAMI HEAT STEALS OKLAHOMA CITY's THUNDER)

On Thursday,the Miami Heat completed a 4 game demolition of the Oklahoma City Thunder (the team we successfully predicted will make it to the finals this season) in the 2012 NBA finals to secure the franchise's second NBA Championship. The Heat defeated the Thunder 121-106 at the American Airlines Arena. For some,this signifies the emergence of "The New World Order". After losing the very first game of the series,the heat went on a rampage and although games 2 to 4 were close in terms of scores and all,game 5 was a thorough basketball lesson handed to the thunder. The Heat were unstoppable. According to Pat Riley "we have built a team to be around for awhile" This statement will no doubt put the rest of the American Basketball community on High Alert

 

Its impossible to talk about the Victory of the Heat without talking about Lebron "KING JAMES" (yes in my opinion he's earned the right to be called that now). Lebron James finally got the proverbial monkey off his back and it seems like his promise to deliver multiple titles to the Miami heat is well underway. The man was just amazing as he was throughout the post season and he was absolutely dominant in the final win sealing a triple-double en route to being named the NBA finals MVP.  26 points , 11 rebounds and 13 assists. An honour which nobody can really question he deserves.

His outstanding performance in the playoff and of course the finals has gone a very long way toward dispelling the notion and the tag of a "Choker" who hides and fades away in Big games. The pain of last Seasons finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks pushed Lebron to make drastic Changes on and off the court. He had to reinvent himself,stop the petulence and be humble. That probably explains why he played like a man possessed. "Its about damn time," James said after receiving his MVP trophy

He however didn't do it all by himself though. He had help from the rest of the team who all turned up for the party. Dwayne Wade was excellent,so also Chris Bosh after managing to stay fit and healthy throughout the finals. Chalmers and Battier chipped in too. Mike Miller the Heat forward was however the star off the bench in the finals. Miller ended with 23 points on seven of 11 shooting from the field,all seven from 3 point range thus tying a franchise playoff record set by Damon Jones against the New Jersey Nets in 2005. Miller got a standing ovation from the continuously howling and electric American Airlines Arena crowd when he slowly trodded off the court to be replaced by Shane Battier with 4:50 left on the game clock. Shane Battier ended with 11 points,4 rebounds and 1 assist,1 steal and 1 charge drawn in 28:42,

collectively the Miami Heat hit 14 three pointers,one short of their 2009 playoff record of 15 against the Atlanta Hawks in 2009.

For The Oklahoma City Thunder,well they just have to go back to the drawing board and ask themselves questions. Truth be told the Thunder just didn't have enough to go all the way. They got too much "Heat" *Pun Intended* . Not enough strength defensively,not enough intensity,not enough help from its ensemble and not enough to stop the Miami inferno. And so sadly the OKC season ended with a loud thud Thursday, the thunder losing 4 games in a row for the 1st time in 276 games which had been the NBA's longest active streak. Any chance of an OKC comeback fizzled with a 19-1 third quarter eruption that expanded the Heat's lead from 7 - 25

A game after notching 43 points OKC guard Russell Westbrook was brought back down to earth missing 16 of 20 shots and finishing with 19 points , 6 Assists and 2 turnovers. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade went all out to frustrate him on the night with Wade blocking 2 of his power driving layup attempts,seemingly out of nowhere within a 2 minute Stretch in the 3rd quarter.

Kevin Durant played his part  notching up 32 points,13 for 24 shooting but in no way was he going to stop the mesmerizing Heat all alone without help from his supporting cast

Serge Ibaka 3 for 9 and Kendrick Perkins both combined to shoot 4 for 13 with 4 rebounds each. James Harden chipped in with 19 points,he shot 18 for 48 over the 5 games.  The Energy the Heat brought to the series was never really matched by the Thunder. "They were challenging every dribble,every pass,every shot, They played an intimidating brand of basketball," Coach Brooks said

Defensively,the Thunder was a step inferior and most times all looked frustrated and agitated as a group with players arguing among themselves about who picked up who and who didn't do what. An incident which summed this up was when they lost track of Chris Bosh and he powered straight to dunk early in the 3rd quarter leaving an angry and frustrated Ibaka throwing his hands up in agitation. Even when the tried to double team Lebron James and sometimes Wade, the ploy backfired as this resulted in open shots for the likes of Miller who banged in 7 three point shots.

Offensively, the OKC thunder shot 41.4 percent and its ball movement as a team was unusually erratic. As the Heat went out of reach the Thunder became increasingly desperate and resorted to floating quick jumpers which more often than not failed which led to them turning over the ball and encouraging wave after wave of marauding attacks from the Heat. They also lacked touch around the rim. On shots inside the paint,the Thunder opened 4 for 12 and closed 20 for 41. Not an impressive return to be honest

According to James Harden "Miami Heat had their ups and downs this season,but in this series they brought it."

So there we have it. The NBA has a new Champion and Lebron James finally has a ring. Hate him or love him but his name will be written in the history books. It remains to be seen if this team can however dominate and reign Supreme for years to come. I sure can't wait for the 2013 season........

Note

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Seyi Ajayi (@seyimanu)

Head; Media & Publicity

Tactics IQ Limited

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