[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

I could really see the Heat and under playing in the finals at least 3-4 times in the next 5 or 6 years.  They are both young, athletic and obviously super-talented.  We obviously don’t know what moves Boston, Chicago, Lakers, Mavs and Spurs will be mkaing this offseason to put them in contention but I could definitely see a MIA-OKC finals rivalry for the next half decade.  What do you guys think?

[MikezParticipant]

Ill say they meet up once at max during the next 5 years.

[TyroberParticipant]

 Just once? Rose is out next year and Spurs will be another year older. I can easily see this being a finals rematch next year.

[Sewok15Participant]

I would say they might meet 3 times in a row max but after that it is too hard to determine. The contract situations could be very sticky in Miami with James, Wade and Bosh all being able to opt out after the 2014 season. OKC is also in a situation with trying to keep Ibaka and Harden. The way Harden has played these finals I would deal him but I doubt that is what they will do.

[lilballa141Participant]

I saw two or three years before other team start catching up…more power moves and big threes being made..and d rose coming back healthy could potentially ruin that….I’m optimistic so i’ll say my warriors (lmao) could ruin that finals even though they will find a way to mess it up =/

[Jlv2012]

the Miami Heat are in the Finals this year anyways.

[220Participant]

It’s certainly possible. The players are there for each team, it’s a matter of how all of them develop and gel together. It’s also hard to say what will happen with a lot of the other teams in the league towards the top right now.

[KayjayParticipant]

Miami’s depth will be alot better if the bench is shaken up. There will be players coming out of the wood work to get onto the Heat as well as thunder for one last shot at a ring.

As for Rose, we have no garuntee he will be the same Rose when he comes back. There is no way of knowing what the Bulls will be like when he comes back. Yes the bulls had a stroke of bad luck, and so did the Knicks. But lets not be blind to thinking the Heat just waltzed into the Finals. They had tons of adversity this year, and even when having dirt thrown on their face they still defied the odds.

All in all I feel that we could see those teams making it to play eachother again. Isn’t this what we wanted, finally a change from the Lakers battling out with the Celtics? Well now we may just have it.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

The Heat look like a complete team with Chalmers/Cole doing well. All they need is a center and they can draft one of those this year.
Other than that they need to be injury free and the Big Three have to still perform at a high level. So it’s mainly up to them to see how many titles they can compete for. As I said earlier I like the emotional makeup of their team. LeBron and Wade are two energetic, cocky supertars, Bosh and Battier are more laid back but they are both good, professional players who know their role, while Mario Chalmers is young and fiesty. Haslem is a key bench guy who is smart, tough, veteran.

OKC is different. They have a nice young core but Westbrook has a more aggressive personality that sometimes gets them in trouble. If I were them I would use KD like Durant, Harden like Pippen, and Westbrook like an offensive/scoring Rodman– a unique, great talent that does best when he does what he wants. They should start Harden, bring Thabo and Sefolosha off the bench for energy/D and draft Draymond Green as an extra big and offensive facilitator.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 I could easily see both teams back in the Finals last year. As good as both teams are, they both would be really easy to upgrade. OKC is playing Fisher 20+ minutes a night. Replace him with an average NBA PG and they get a lot better. Ibaka looks like he is getting better. Collison continues to be good and Brooks is kind of figuring that out. Perkins isn’t going to get any worse and Brooks will also learn more when to play him and not to play him. 

Miami also could get better easily. Chalmers seems to have reached a new level and that is on top of him just finishing off his best season so far. Cole seems to have potential. It would be easy to see them getting an upgrade at Center. But most importantly, Lebron seems to have figured out how to take his game to the next level by chosing to physically dominate other players in the post instead of turning the game into a long range shooting contest. It seems he can now dominate the best players in the league (including stars who play his position: Melo, Granger, Pierce, and Durrant) as much as he dominates the rest of the league in the regular season. 

So yeah, I think we see these teams for a few more years until salary issues break up OKC. At some point, Harden and Ibaka get a chance to get paid. Then OKC can’t afford them. If Miami wins a championship or two, the big three might easily take less money to sign up after their contracts expire in 2014. Consider this. They like each other. Miami is an awesome place to live (especially when young and rich). Florida has no state income tax (very nice if you have a large income). Riley is cool. And the team will be good even if their skills are deteriorating after 2014. 

[Sewok15Participant]

OKC doesn’t need to replace Fisher…if you remember last year they drafted Reggie Jackson out of BC in the first round. He tore his knee up and has not played in a while. They could really use him right about now. Fisher plays hard and makes some big shots but Jackson seems like he will bring more of an all around game to the table.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

I definitely see them playing a few more times in the finals.  That’s the main reason why I think Durant needs to add some bulk.  If he is going to be defending Lebron and being guarded by Lebron, he needs to get stronger.  Adding 20-25 lbs of muscle will help Durant immensely in future matchups versus Lebron in the finals.

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

Could the Thunder get Marion on a short deal?  If they got Marion for 2 years, their small ball lineup would be utterly unstoppable.

[TC_42Participant]

Sewok,

You’re conflating Reggie Jackson and Eric Maynor.  Maynor is the one who tore up his knee and who the Thunder really need.  Jackson didn’t do a thing this year.  Could improve though.

[Sewok15Participant]

You are correct my bad. I was confused because I am pretty sure Jackson injured his knee at Boston College. Either way they still have Maynor on their roster although he hasn’t really impressed me, especially when he decides to call his own number at the end of a game, he is still an upgrade over an old Fisher.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I could see them meeting up again next year.

Hopefully Derrick Rose can get back to being 100% though. I’d like to see him get the Bulls to the Finals at least once or twice and win a ring.

[Author]

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