Change of Scenery: Game Two Recap and Game Three Preview

Game 2 Recap
Game two finished closer than the game was throughout or should’ve been at all. The Heat came out hot as a team with all of the players playing their roles effectively and making the shots that they were supposed to make. The Heat were clicking on all cylinders and playing like a team determined to tie up the series and re-gain home court advantage. The Thunder started slow again and were hurt by earlier turnovers, poor execution, and early turn-overs. They went to the half down double digits and looking out of the game as a whole. Then it happened, the switch flipped and the Thunder started to feed off their crowd. Some shots went down the momentum changed and next thing you know they had the league to six. Sloppy play by the Heat cut into their lead and the game was as close as two points at one point. The Heat finally regained control (after some clutch free throws by Bron) and sealed the deal with a four point road win to bring the series back to even. Great game as expected with teams this evenly matched.

Heat Game 3 preview

The Heat did a lot of good things in game two, they got Wade involved where he is comfortable, Battier and Chalmers made open shots, and Lebron was Lebron, doing virtually whatever he wanted when he felt like it. All of these things are likely to be amplified on their home-court as they will feel less pressure than in game two and should be riding the emotional wave from the road. This is their chance to gain some ground and put OKC in an unfamiliar situation in this years Playoffs being down a game while playing on the road, and with three straight in South Beach this game could be the beginning of the Bottle Popping for the Heat if they can send a message.

Thunder Game 3 preview

Since game two the media has been absolutely killing Russell Westbrook, with Magic Johnson and Steven A. Smith going as far to say that his performance was

“Russell Westbrook is the Worst Point Guard in Finals History”

while not too many people would agree with those ludicrous statements it was apparent that Westbrook didn’t play his best basketball. The thing is you have to live with that because the main problem was that he was missing shots, but they were makable shots and if he was making them the media’s tone would have of course been different. One thing he must do is make sure that the other two weapons (Harden and Durant) get their shots as well. If he can do that the other players will get their numbers off of put backs and kick outs. The defense has never been bad in OKC and they have played well on the road, if Westbrook’s shots are falling and KD can avoid the foul trouble that comes with guarding Lebron the Thunder could steal a much needed road win. They need to get an early start and put the Heat away early as the Heat haven’t proven that they can come back from a double digit deficit in this playoffs.

Should be interesting tonight for game three in MIA.

video:NBA