[FUNKYBUNCHParticipant]

I got a feeling the winner of this one wins the series! 

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

Thunder in game 4…..Thunder in 7.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

If the Heat win this game, they’ll win game 5.

If the Thunder win this game, it’ll be a toss-up for game-7.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

@TOL23

I agree with that.

The Thunder haven’t played well the last two games, yet had a chance to win. IF the Thunder team I saw beat the Spurs four games straight shows up, then I like them to win this game. That was a team that made free-throws, limited turnovers and rebounded the ball.

Durant has grown up every series. He needs to make the adjustment and stop getting into foul trouble. It’s time for him to take another step up this series.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Thunder playing like it’s game seven.

Russell Westbrook can be amazing at times. And Durant just makes it looks so easy, even when LeBron is defending him.

[royk927Participant]

 Don’t let up on em

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

I think Westbrook is this electric.

 

[FUNKYBUNCHParticipant]

 Scrappy game so far here in the 1st

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

You think the Heat look better than the Thunder to start this game?

You’re nuts…

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

The Thunder are playing like a team that’s pissed. Westbrook and Durant are playing REALLY aggressive. The Thunder are rotating harder, faster and just doing everything with more aggression.

Westbrook’s first step is so explosive, he even leaves LeBron in a standstill position. Crazy.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Am I the only one who feels like the Thunder’s start seems unsustainable.  I think the Heat have looked better to start, although each team has played sloppy.  The Heat are being outhustled, though.  They need to run the floor better.

[Wahoo757Participant]

Dwyane Wade after missing FT: oh shit. ABC mutes the TV one second later. I don’t know why I found that so hilarious.

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

A Chuck Norris sighting…

Is this some sort of omen?

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Basketball is a game of runs and now the Heat are making their run, led by LeBron and Cole.

D. Wade is the best cherry picker in the NBA.

 

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 I say that and the Thunder start dominating.

@IB: How am I nuts?  The difference 2:00 to 7:00 stretch of the game was all upon making and missing shots. Chalmers missed wide open threes and Westbrook made contested ones.  Plus, LeBron could have shot FT’s and Wade missed FT’s.  After I made the comment, the Thunder started playing better, but the Heat could have easily had the lead at the midway point of the quarter if they played better.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Uh oh… D. Wade goes down.

Good block by Ibaka.

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

Wade’s ego was hurt by that Ibaka block.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

D. Wade is the best cherry picker in the NBA.

 

Without question

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 To clarify:  For the 1st 6 minutes of the game, the Thunder played extremely poor defense, giving up layups on the pick and roll to Bosh, letting LeBron make plays in the post, and giving up open looks to the best 3 point shooter on the floor.  If they didn’t fix their defense, their lead would be unsustainable. 

The Thunder did buckle down, especially when Chalmers left the floor.  But I still say, this will be a close game.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

The Thunder need to man up on defense and block out.

The Heat play a spread offense similar to the Suns/Knicks. Put LeBron and Wade on the floor and just spread the floor with a bunch of shooters. Thunders defenders have to man up period. No more open shots to Cole, Battier, Chalmers, etc.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

Man, the Thunder came out with more energy and were much hotter shooting, but the Heat have executed much better on offense and have taken the lead.  The Thunder will need to make some adjustment of defense in order to win.  They haven’t clogged the paint as effectively as they said they would and they have given up open shots.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Someone just took a charge from Lebron….Thank you!!! I’ve been preaching this for the last few series against Miami. Nobody has had the balls to step in front of Lebron charging to the rim. Have a help defender slide in front of him every time he drives to the bucket. Either make him run you over, pass the ball, or shoot a jumper. Don’t give him easy layups.

[royk927Participant]

 Westbrook dunk

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 The problem with them just manning up is that LeBron will burn them in the post like he did in game two.  They decided before the game they would commit to forcing jump shots.  The problem is that their help defenders are losing their man too much and the Heat have been able to create open shots or dribble penetration opportunities for the Heat, which is the last thing the Thunder want.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I’d force LeBron to shoot the jumper and bring over a help big if he drives, but they can’t keep leaving open shooters on the perimeter.

Like Thibs says, you have to flat out man up. That’s what it comes down to sometimes. Man to man.

Thunder need to play better defense period.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 JVG puts it perfect.  

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Good half for Heat.  The Thunder shoot really hot and the Heat miss some easy finishes and open shots, but are only up three.  If the Thunder don’t play better in the 2nd half, they will lose.  

The Thunder need to find a way to create more shots for Durant.  He got some scores, but they didn’t come easy or often enough.  They should commit to running Durant off even more pin downs and try to get him the ball in the middle of the floor.  I am not a fan of him catching the ball so far on the elbow, like he has.  They need to try to get him curling to the free throw line-extended area.  That is where he is most dangerous.  

Heat need to just be patient.  They were at their worst when they played out of control in transition.  When the Heat moved the ball around, they got easy shots.  They committed some silly TOs, especially considering how good LeBron has been in the half court.  LeBron has been insanely good in these playoffs.

Cole is being hyped up, but he wasn’t respected by the defense at all and didn’t play great overall.  Him making those big threes was huge, though.  

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Kendrick Perkins is useless… Like literally useless.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

The Thunder still will leave shooters open when LeBron drives, though, if they help with bigs.  I do completely agree with you that they shouldn’t double so aggressively on the catch and should instead help when he drives, with bigs rather than smalls.  

I think the Thunder aren’t trusting their defensive rotations enough.  They should just pack the paint, but not send any double on LeBron.  If they just double off the entry passer, LeBron will just continue to pick them apart with his passing.  I think they should have a big continually ready to close in the lane and have a guard ready to reach in, and then just trust the weakside defenders to use their athleticism to close on shooters.  Of course, the Heat can counter this just by being patient and swinging the ball around, but it is better to force the Heat to use as much time as possible.

[avavalisParticipant]

Wade is a FLOPPER!!!!!!!

[B-ball fanParticipant]

Westbrook is such a good shooter off the dribble.  He is the only reason OKC is in this game at all.  He is the classic example of a player who gets underrated because he can and does make shots other people think he shouldn’t take.  Of course, he won’t make quite as many as he has so far for the whole series, but it is still so impressive that he can stop and pop like he can.  He does get a little carried away sometimes, though. 

[derrickrose231Participant]

 no hes not he aint a very good finisher but he he plays great defense

[royk927Participant]

The officiating in this series has been terrible. And it’s kinda hard to play defense when the whistle are blowing.

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

"The officiating in this series has been terrible."

You mean the whole playoffs, right?

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 LeBron hasn’t been posting up as much, but the Heat’s offense is continuing to look good and create open shots.  The Thunder are showing resilience, though, still looking good attacking the basket right now.

Also, Ibaka has made two fade-away jumpers tonight, plus another contested jumper.  Looking good, although I am not sure those are exactly the Thunder’s ideal shots.

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 KD needs to step up and demand to guard LB. Length can negate strength.

[avavalisParticipant]

length can negate strength but length can’t negate refs and durant’s 4 and 5 fouls would be killers

[GrandmamaParticipant]

The officiating in this series has been terrible.

 

I’ll 2nd that

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Weird spacing by Thunder on that Westbrook-Collison pick and roll.  Westbrook made the most of it, though.

[PAUL125Participant]

the thing that really stands out to me is that Kevin Durant has ZERO rebs

[frogmanParticipant]

Has anyone else noticed the one Seattle Sonics fan that is going nuts whenever the Heat score a basket lol

[FUNKYBUNCHParticipant]

 I don’t think I’ve ever seen Harden play this bad until this series before…

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Bad way to end the half for Heat.  That was a settle by LeBron and poor transition defense by the team.  

Durant deserves an Oscar.  Guess that makes up for LeBron successfully working the refs for that bogus foul on Harden. 

[ghettosermonParticipant]

 Harden this finals has looked like Romo in the playoffs. He’s been comically turrible, and it’s hard to understand why. It’s not just that he can’t shoot these finals but his decision making and court awareness has been horrific. It’s like he has no sense of urgency for the moment. 

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 I believe this series has proven that James Hardin is very good, but not a Max contract player. 

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Nice pindown for Westbrook.  Sweet offensive set for OKC.  Harden couldn’t make the shot, but Durant cleaned it up.

[What The DevilParticipant]

 Not a Westbrook fan….but damn…dude is on fire

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

Remember when Westbrook shot too much?

[HaleParticipant]

Westbrook is looking unstoppable.

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Westbrook is killing it.

[PAUL125Participant]

 Westbrook may shoot to much at times, but no one can challenge him on his competitiveness to win.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 C’mon, LeBron.  He needed to just attack Collison and maybe not demanded the ball so soon.  Haslem bailed him out.

Heat need to find a way to get LeBron the ball closer to the rim the way they did in the 1st half.  The Thunder’s defense has looked better this quarter and LeBron hasn’t quite had the monster half the way he had in the 1st half.  

Thunder looking better offensively, but just aren’t getting the shots to fall.  They used up the rim’s kindness in the 1st quarter and now can’t even make the open ones. 

 

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

Westbrook looks phenomenal. I was one of those guys who got on him a lot last year for shooting too much, but man is he really playing his heart out. Hell of a game for him.

Looks one another great finish is on its way, guys!

[HaleParticipant]

Shit.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 The roles are reversed in this half.  In the 1st half, the Heat outexecuted the Thunder, but were undone by a lack of shot making and hustle.  Here, the Heat are making the crazy shots and hustle plays, but the Thunder are getting more of what they want on offense.

[Seamo15Participant]

Not concerned about the Lebron injury, think he’s just cramped up

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

He reminds me of a young Wade in this game.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Westbrook coming up biiiiiig.

lmao at Wade crying about that foul call….

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Really stagnant offensive possession for Heat out of a time-out.  That shouldn’t happen.  No ball movement, np catch close to the rim.  Heat needed that transition LeBron floater.  

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

Clutchness.

[FUNKYBUNCHParticipant]

 Big shot by LeBron- big no call foul on Durant

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Sh!t there goes the Dynamite.

[mgreener_34Participant]

 I can’t watch these finals. The Heat have an unfair advantage playing 8 on 5 

[PAUL125Participant]

big shot by Lebron James

[FUNKYBUNCHParticipant]

 Wade’s clutch on D 

[PAUL125Participant]

 Haven’t seen Dwade this locked in on Def for a long time. kudos to him

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

The Thunder missed a great time to pass it to Westbrook cutting into the lane.

[Jlv2012]

is having a Paul pierce 2008 finals moment

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

Did you know, this is LeBron’s first triple-double all season?  Playoffs included.

[DeShawns PotentialParticipant]

 LeBron is in some serious pain 

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

Chalmers needs to play with this confidence in every game.

[HaleParticipant]

Why foul?

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

Westbrook made a whoopsie…

[FUNKYBUNCHParticipant]

 What a crazy game! Westbrook went off- looks like MIA is in the driver’s seat now though. 

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 He made a mistake get over it. He carried the whole team on his back.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

Dwayne Wade is playing out of his mind.  Absolutely ridiculous.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

If it wasn’t for Westbrook, they wouldn’t even be in this game in the first place.

[Seamo15Participant]

 Terrible ending to what has the potential to be an amazing game

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 I meant that to the people announcing the game, not anyone here.

[akhan786Participant]

Where the fuck was Kevin Durant the last 5 minutes of this game…

[avavalisParticipant]

Leave westbrook alone even after this..he was the only reason this game was a close one

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

B-ball fan

Yeah, he actually didn’t get a triple-double tonight either but he hasn’t picked up a triple double all season long.

[Jlv2012]

winning plays.  Also, after they lose they need to trade Westbrook for rondo or someone of that caliber.  They also need a solid big man with post skills.  Congrats on their season. 

[GrandmamaParticipant]

F*cking terrible decision there fouling….unreal

[buckeyefan17Participant]

With fair refs 3-1 Thunder

NBA 2012 refs 3-1 Heat

The worst fans in sports are one win away from the title…

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 I feel bad for Westbrook.  If they lose, than Westbrook’s unclutch foul may overshadow the fact that he singlehandedly kept this game from being an easy win for the Heat.

[llperez]

westrbook was phenomanal and there are few people on ths site who are bigger fans of his then myself, but he went full retard on that foul. I mean every single person on the court was talking about how there was only 5 seconds left on the clock before the jump ball. No excuse for not knowing the clock, he choked big time.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 I just looked that up when you said that, because I could scarcely believe it.  He has had so many double digit assist and double digit rebound games that I couldn’t believe that he never combined both together.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

It’s funny how the closer LeBron James gets to a title, the more LeBron-haters whine about refs.

Look, referees are always going to be terrible with different fanbases.  Nobody will ever agree and nobody will ever say a game was perfectly refereed.

[What The DevilParticipant]

 I blame the Thunder being down 3-1 on James Harden…where in the holy hell has he been in the finals?!

[mgreener_34Participant]

 "Terrible ending to what has the potential to be an amazing game"

Story of the finals so far to be honest. One this is for sure when it’s all said and done. 1.) Harden isn’t anywhere near a max deal at this time 2.) I don’t ever want to here how LeBron/Wade took over these games; the Heat role players have been playing out of their minds and deserve most of the credit. Not just for making their shots but for controlling momentum with big shots  

 

 

[avavalisParticipant]

Do you need to be a lebron hater to see the obvious? This Championship must and will go to Miami . It’s as simple as that.

[buckeyefan17Participant]

 So what finals series can you tell me that has had more controvisal calls? Are they going to be perfect? No that’s impossible and not fair to expect  but even you have to admit how much bullshit calls are favoring the Heat.

[llperez]

Scott Brooks dodging that Westbrook foul question….I want to know if he communicated the situation to his team or not. He should have told his guys that the shot clock would reset to 5 if the Heat won the tip and that he didn’t want them to foul. Instead he side steps the question.

he dodged it becasue he didnt want to call his pg out for making a dumb mistake that should have never required the coach to have to explain how the clock works to players.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 I’m sorry LeBron left Cleveland, but pretending that the refs are fixing it for Miami doesn’t make it any better.

[Winning_TimeParticipant]

 Am i the only one who thought that they saw the shot clock reset to 14 before the jumpball and then they changed it, I’m gonna have to check it again but i could have sworn I saw it at like 13 when Chalmers caught the ball.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Scott Brooks dodging that Westbrook foul question….I want to know if he communicated the situation to his team or not.  He should have told his guys that the shot clock would reset to 5 if the Heat won the tip and that he didn’t want them to foul.  Instead he side steps the question.

[Winning_TimeParticipant]

 Nevermind just rewatched the film

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 According to the television graphics, the shot clock reset to 5 for the jump ball and started normally.  I didn’t see the actual shot clock, as I don’t look at that when watching a television game.

I’m sure it will be replayed from every angle tomorrow, so your question will be answered. 

Edit: OK, never mind.

[Im Your FatherParticipant]

Everybody get ready for Skip Bayless’s "Lebron was faking it" speech tomorrow.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 I think Westbrook might have thought that the original shot caught a little bit of iron and therefore there was a new shot clock. If he didn’t realize it was an airball and no one points it out to him, he might not check the shot clock. 

Anyway, Westbrook was fun to watch and he played a great game. I will cut him a ton of slack on that mistake. It probably didn’t change the outcome of the game anyway. 

Lebron seems to finally be understanding that he must post up to dominate an elite team like the Thunder. His outside jumpers are just not good enough to match up with the Thunder’s offense. He continues to drift farther and farther from the post as the game goes on, but some of that might have been cramps tonight. Also, all we really want out of him is 10 to 15 post touches a game. He doesn’t have to do it everytime down the court. (Though to be honest against this Thunder team it sometimes looks like Lebron does have to touch the ball on every play.)

[HaleParticipant]

I was thinking the exact same thing. 

[akhan786Participant]

[Cavaliers420Participant]

 I can’t believe some of the calls in that game. Perkins fouling Wade by grabbing a rebound? Derek Fisher "knocked" lebron down? Really? Props to the Heat for the win and most likely the Championship but wow can’t believe some of the calls and no calls.

[Author]

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