The series is 1-0 and the Miami Heat team does not look capable of competing against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Heat will need massive contributions from everybody not named LeBron James.
James is really putting up great numbers in the postseason. He has scored 30 or more points in nine of the eleven last games in the playoffs.
Fans expecting James to choke in this series will have to revisit video from last year's Finals. He is just not going to do it. James has been the most consistent player in the playoffs.
The only way to expect LeBron to totally mess up is if the Thunder bring over a double team.
By the looks of it, they probably should double team James and force anybody else to step up.
Dwyane Wade has left the entire load on James. Shane Battier can make baskets on the outside, but will eventually get cold.
Think about it Oklahoma City, when was the last time Battier won a game for the Heat with his offense?
Erik Spoelstra will have to worry about Thunder coach, Scott Brooks, who outmaneuvered him in Game 1 and has weapons coming off the bench.
Chris Bosh must start. Every NBA analyst has said this in the past two days. The Heat do not stand a chance in the paint against the Thunder's bigs.
Surprisingly, the player that gave the Heat the most trouble on the boards was Nick Collinson. He led the Thunder with 10 rebounds and had five offensive rebounds, which were both team high and game high Tuesday night.
The Heat will have to step up their defensive or hope that Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden can go cold from the floor.
Miami should focus on stopping players like Westbrook because Durant can shoot from anywhere on the floor. The Heat have to deny Westbrook's penetrations to the paint. They have to force him to get jump-shot happy and let him have the perimeter, but do not leave him wide open either.
The key for the Heat scoring lies in the role players. Mario Chalmers has shown his ability of getting in the paint, a combination that can prove deadly when mixed with his three-point shooting ability.
Not an easy task, but if Miami can get 20 points out of Chalmers, Wade and Bosh, then the Heat will have a great chance of winning. Quite possibly, that will be the only way they could win games in this series.
Bosh can stick to his jump-shots from the perimeter, but Chalmers and Wade have to attack the paint.
Game 2 will be in Oklahoma City again tonight with tip off at 9 PM EDT.
If the Thunder win tonight, you can kiss James' chances of a getting a ring goodbye.
