[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

The Heat and Thunder aren’t the deepest teams but they are both loaded at the top. Look for both teams to go small at times. If so, both OKC and Miami will have stunning matchups.

The Thunder could go with Westbrook and Sefolosha in the backcourt, Harden on the wing, Durant at the stretch four, and Ibaka inside. The Heat could counter with a Chalmers-Wade backcourt, LeBron and Battier at forward, and Bosh in the middle. Those two units have a ton of talent and firepower. Plus, great athletes and finishers as well as tough, defensive stopper glue guys in Thabo and Battier who could swing the series.

Yeah, these two teams aren’t the deepest, but in terms of a 7 or 8 man rotation they are great. Each team features another good key big man. Kendrick Perkins is a good defensive big man who can rebound. He also has a ring. For the Heat, Haslem plays the 4 and 5 and can rebound, shoot, and play defensive. He also has a ring on his resume.

I think both teams will play their top 6 guys huge minutes, but there are still some solid role players who fan bit shots and get stops. OKC has Fisher as a veteran sniper off the bench. Miami can counter with Mike Miller. The Heat have a 3 point specialist in James Jones. The Thunder can counter with Cook. The Thunder have a solid fourth big in Nick Collison who can board and hit jumpers. The Heat can counter, to a lesser extent, with Juwan Howard.

Great matchups with great lineups. Should be a classic!

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

Thunder are pretty deep if you ask me. Harden, Fisher, Collison, Cook and Nazr off the bench is a pretty solid bench. 

[KayjayParticipant]

Thunder are explosive offensively, and are no slouch on defense. The Heat are explosive defensively, and are no slouch on offense either at times. I don’t know why people are calling the Thunder to sweep, these games will be much closer than people think. Its going to be exciting for sure.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I think Miami can steal one of the first two games in OKC. But I can also see the Thunder winning a game in Miami. I see this series going 6 or 7. I give an edge to the Thunder for having homecourt and games 6 and 7 at home. Miami has games 3, 4, and 5 at home but home teams rarely sweep all three. The key for Miami would be splitting games 1 and 2 in OKC. I don’t see Miami having great odds if they are down 0-2 going back to Miami, basically needing to win all 3 home games.

For this series I think Ibaka is important for the Thunder. If he controls the paint and scores he gives the Thunder another weapon. Plus, he can play the 4 and 5 and matchup well with Bosh and Haslem and even Battier and Joel Anthony. I think he can also chase sown LBJ some too. The Thunder had some problems with Tony Parker in the last series but Chalmers won’t present the same sort of problems. Chalmers has a good 3 point shot and good size for a point guard but I think Westbrook can handle him. That will free up Thabo to play Wade and maybe even LeBron. The Thunder could use Fisher more since Chalmers isn’t as much of a scorer, although he is pretty fast.

If Bosh keeps hitting 3’s that will be tough for the Thunder to counter. Bosh is a big man scorer, something OKC lacks. Bosh can also play center which shouldn’t be much of a problem if the Thunder go small with Ibaka at the 5.

I want to see Chalmers be a steady scorer and ball handler for the Heat. If so he is a pretty good option outside the Big Three. Shane Battier is another X Factor for the Heat. If he can hit the 3 and score about 10-12 points a game then the Heat’s chances greatly improve. He can also rebound some and can defend Durant. I think the Heat brought in Battier for many reasons, but one of hem was that he is the kind of player that can defend Kevin Durant. He matched up against Durant in the playoffs last year and has probably done his homework. The addition of Battier is a major reason why the Heat are in better shape to win in the Finals this year.

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