Thursday, June 14, 2012

Who's Up Four It?

Ignore options one through three on either team, the deciding factor in the finals will be the fourth-best player on the Heat or Thunder and it's unclear exactly who that is. There are three likely candidates for each side: Battier, Chalmers and Haslem for Miami; and Ibaka, Sefolosha and Fisher for Oklahoma City. It has to be considered discouraging news for the Heat that in game 1, Battier and Chalmers contributed considerably - combining for 29 points (on 11-16 shooting), including 6 made threes, with 6 assists against 1 turnover - yet the Heat still lost. Haslem did his part on defense, hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds. Miami can't realistically expect much more from its scant support staff.

We believe the series' secret savior will emerge from the Thunder's secondary trio, due to the defense of Ibaka and Sefolosha, plus the experience of Fisher, who may not be lord of the rings, but he's at least earned the title of liege. Fisher has knocked down the 2nd-most three-pointers in NBA Finals history so, like David Stern in a room with Jim Rome*, he can't be left alone. LeBron scored 30 points, more than he had in any finals game previously, but he wasn't a force in the fourth, which is why the Heat need to find a fourth or else they'll be forlorn.

if Rome was burning, now he has to be fuming

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