nba finals preview

sports:  The NBA finals are finally here.  They begin tonight between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The storylines are plentiful and the match-ups are total chaos.  It is the team supposedly of the now, the Heat, against the young up and coming super fast and high flying Thunder.  It is Durant, arguably the best player of the next ten or twelve years against Lebron James, arguably the best player right now.  The question has to be:  can the future beat the present and thus become the present?
The main story of these NBA finals has to be Durant vs. James.  They are easily the two best players in the league right now.  Statistically they have been nothing short of historic, scoring around thirty points per game in the playoffs this year.  The question in this match-up is two fold.  The first is in the basic match-up.  James has a clear size and strength advantage that he can use to get to the basket whenever he wants, not to mention his jumper has been outstanding in the playoffs (see his 73% performance against the Celtics in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals if you need proof).  Durant however has been able to seemingly score at will against anyone whenever he wants.  Not to mention the fact that he has been unbelievably clutch.  Durant has hit some stunning shots in crunch time in these playoffs, not to mention his 18 point fourth quarter against the Spurs in game four is one for the ages.  And that has always been the big knock on James.  He is great statistically, but past that there isn't much to say.  He is arguably, so far in his career, the Dan Marino of basketball.  He is statistically an all time great while no winning any titles.  This year in the post season though he has proven himself to be a bit different coming up with huge, if not historic, performances when his team needed them most.  Given the fact that the Heat won those games by large margins has left people in doubt about James's ability in the clutch.  But watching him in must win games, close or not, has to  have left little doubt this year about his evolution into the player people wanted to see him be.  Just because he wasn't draining buzzer beaters doesn't mean he hasn't been great when needed, considering the injury to Chris Bosh during the series against the Pacers and his outrageous and previously mentioned games against Boston in an elimination game.
The other individual match-ups in this series leave nothing but intrigue.  Russell Westbrook against Mario Chalmers should be nothing short of a nightmare for Miami.  Despite the fact that Thabo Sefolosha has been a defensive stud these playoffs, shutting down Tony Parker in the conference finals, and Dwayne Wade has not been his usual stellar self in the playoffs, it is hard to believe that this match-up wouldn't favor the Heat heavily.  The second unit of the Heat will have to contend with sixth man of the year (and starter on literally any other team in the league) James Harden in a nightmare that will make subbing out for James and Wade even harder than it has been so far.  But the biggest question in the series will be between the biggest men in the series.  Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka have proven themselves to be world class post and help defenders, blocking shots and clogging the lane.  Their biggest challenge, though, will come in the series against the Heat.  They presumably will have to stay tight to the lane to keep James, Wade, and Chalmers from getting to the basket.  They will also have to deal with Chris Bosh.  Bosh is a rather nontraditional big man who can stretch defenses with his range and handle the ball on the perimeter.  This could - not will, but could - force the Thunders post defenders out of their comfort zones, leading to what could be the key match-up of the series.
Despite all I have said this series is all about the drama of stories.  It is about ascension.  Will Lebron James ascend to becoming the star we have all thought he would be?  Will he finally become Peyton Manning instead of Dan Marino, to continue that metaphor?  Will Kevin Durant assume his role as the leagues best player on its most exciting and potentially best team and win a title at such a young age that a seemingly endless future will be filled with Thunders' titles?  Will we get to see a series for the ages between the two best players in the league?  This prospect is something we haven't seen in the finals since Magic and Bird.  And maybe the most important story is that things have worked out the way we thought they would.  Despite the strike shortened season full of injuries and time management and unexpected success (the Clippers, I know Paul and Griffin, but come on, THE CLIPPERS!) and failures, (the Bulls going down in a heap do to health issues that could have future repercussions.  Which by the way, unexpected success, the 76ers!) it is the two teams in the finals that everyone predicited in before the season started?
Most people picked the Thunder and the Heat to be here at this time of year.  Despite all the ups and downs, despite all the injuries, despite all of the unexpected, the two teams we all thought would be here (unless you are a Bulls fan) are here.  Even when there is a strike things seem to work out so that the best teams at the beginning are the best teams at the end.  That is definitely something to expect in basketball.  Now the only question is whether youth will prevail.  Is the future team the present?  Can the best player of the future beat the best of today?