Well that was interesting. After looking not so hot in Game 1, the Miami Heat fired up the guns and came out blazing and threw dow the gauntlet against the Thunder.
So let’s take a little look at what transpired in Game 2 in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City Thunder 96, Miami Heat 100: Series Tied 1-1
The Thunder started out the game in an absolute awful way. They trailed 16-2 at one point and they didn’t do themselves any favors in terms of getting a jump start on the Heat.
They ended up coming around but even though the Thunder made it look interesting, it would have actually been a lot more interesting if they hadn’t inflated the Heat’s massive ego for them by nose diving in the first few minutes of the game. And despite the fact it was just a four point loss, the Thunder truly had an off night.
LeBron James threw down 32 points and sucker punched Kevin Durant right back after the wannabe MVP out dueled James in Game 1. But detractors of the Heat will cite the last contested shot by Durant that seemed like a foul by James as the reason fir the win. The fact of the matter is the Heat looked outstanding in Game 2 which is wonderful for basketball fans as it sets up a spectacular Game 3 in Miami.
By the way, anyone still doubting Russell Westbrook as a good point guard can look at his abysmal shooting total and then slide their eyes over to his 27 points on 10 buckets.
However, those ten buckets came on 26 shots and if Russ makes just two more buckets the game goes to overtime.
Every time a team loses on this large of a stage the blame needle needs to gravitate towards someone and when it’s not pointed at James it needs to go somewhere. Tonight it’s Westbrook. It’s not the first time the criticism of Westbrook has been he shoots too much for a point guard but let’s not forget he’s a converted shooting guard.
That’s why the Thunder have such an explosive offense, Westbrook shoots. But he needs to get a little bit better selection on a more consistent level. 10 for 26 is not sexy and if you’ve seen Russ’s post game outfits the man likes his things sexy — or ugly, kind of like his shooting tonight.
If the Heat want to win, they have the blueprint. Make Westbrook take uncomfortable shots and take advantage of the Thunder’s slow starts. However, even with this exact plan enacted to near perfection the game was still close. Seeing Norris Cole at the point ended up looking like a brilliant move by Erik Spoelstra and it took pressure of of Dwyane Wade who used his time to score 24 and shot 50 percent from the field.
Bottom line is the Heat are ready to ball and are heading back to Miami with momentum. Remember last year when they got embarrassed in Game 1 by the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals and then proceeded to look string in Game 2 which set up another three strong wins?
I’m not making a prediction but I will say two things: don’t sleep on the Heat and buckle up because it’s going to be one of the best Finals we’ve seen in a long time.