NBA Finals 2012: 5 Reasons Why We're Destined for a Thunder vs. Heat NBA Finals

We're nearly halfway through the 2011-12 NBA season and you know what that means—it's time to start looking ahead to the 2012 NBA Playoffs and the 2012 NBA Finals.

Instead of wasting your time by talking about teams that will be playing in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, I'll just move straight to the two teams that are destined to be in the 2012 NBA Finals: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat.

Oklahoma City and Miami are arguably the two best teams in the NBA right now, tied for the best overall record in the NBA, and they are undoubtedly on a collision course for a seven-game series come time for the 2012 NBA Finals.

So why are we destined for an epic Durantula and Westbrook vs. LeBron and Wade NBA Finals this year? 

Read on and you'll find five reasons why the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat are a lock for a showdown in the 2012 NBA Finals.  

OKC and Miami Are the Best Teams in Their Respective Conferences

The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently sitting atop the Western Conference with a 25-7 overall record, while the Miami Heat are sitting atop the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 26-7.

While those records are the best in their respective conferences, that's not the only reason why they are the best teams in the West and the East.  The way the Thunder and the Heat have been playing as of late, with two of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA and opportunistic defense, makes them two of the most dangerous teams in the NBA.

Both Miami and Oklahoma City have also proven themselves against the top teams in their respective conferences.

Miami has beaten every Eastern Conference playoff team, including the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic at least once, and Oklahoma City has taken down every Western Conference playoff team, including the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks at least once as well.

With Miami winning 18 out of their last 21 games and Oklahoma City winning 16 out of their last 21, there's no doubt that they are two of the most dominant teams this season.

While both teams don't play absolute lock-down defense, with OKC ranking 20th in points allowed per game (96.3 ppg) and Miami ranking 12th (94.2 ppg) they'll outscore you with ease, which is part of what makes them so dangerous.

Unless Miami and OKC prove otherwise by bombing the second half of their 2011-12 NBA seasons, they are the best teams in their respective conferences, which makes them early favorites for a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals.

The Thunder and the Heat Both Have Two Legitimate All-Stars on Their Rosters

There aren't many teams in the NBA that have the star power that the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat have.  With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for Miami and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for OKC, both teams have two 2012 NBA All-Stars on their rosters, which is pretty impressive.

While the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers both have two 2012 NBA All-Star Game starters, the tandems that the Heat and the Thunder have are just as good, if not better.  Just look at each tandem's production so far through the 2011-12 NBA season.

LeBron & Wade - 50.0 points, 11.4 assists, 12.5 rebounds, 3.3 steals per game, 52.3 FG%, combined PER of 60.27

Durant & Westbrook - 51.1 points, 8.8 assists, 13.0 rebounds, 3.2 steals per game, 49.5 FG%, combined PER of 51.09

Even with tandems like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in Lob City and Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum in Los Angeles, the kind of production that the Heat and Thunder get out of their dynamic duos makes them that much more dangerous.

What stands out the most is the impressive efficiency that both LeBron and Wade, and Durant and Westbrook are playing with this year.

If LeBron and Wade, and Durant and Westbrook, continue to play at the level of production and efficiency through the remainder of the 2011-12 NBA season, there's no reason to believe that they won't be facing each other come time for the 2012 NBA Finals.   

Miami and Oklahoma City Both Rank in the Top Three in the NBA in Total Scoring

Miami and Oklahoma City aren't necessarily bad on the defensive side of the ball, with both teams ranking in the top 20 in points allowed, but the strength of their games is found on the offensive side of the ball.

The Heat rank second in the NBA in overall offensive production with an average of 103.3 points per game, while the Thunder rank third in the NBA in overall offensive production with an average of 102.3 points per game.

What's even more impressive than pure offensive production is the fact that Miami and Oklahoma City rank number one and two when it comes to team field goal percentage, at 48.5 percent and 47.5 percent respectively.

It's an absolutely dangerous combination when teams like Oklahoma City and Miami, with the superstar talent they have, are not only leading the league in scoring but are doing so by shooting at the most efficient and effective rate.

I know defense is important, and some even say it wins championships, but there's no doubting that Miami and Oklahoma City can win games even against the best competition by beating them in an offensive shootout.

Miami and OKC are no slouches on the defensive side of the ball either, with Miami ranking 12th in points allowed per game with an average of 94.2 and OKC ranking 20th in points allowed per game with an average of 96.3.

The Heat and the Thunder can play defense when they need to, but what's more important is the fact that they are the two most dangerous and efficient offensive teams in the NBA, and that's a major reason why we'll be watching them battle out late into the month of Jun. 

Thunder and Heat's Bench Production Is More Efficient This Year

One of the main reasons why Oklahoma City didn't reach the 2011 NBA Finals, and why Miami lost in the 2011 NBA Finals, is because they both lacked efficient play from their second units, and luckily that seems to have changed for them this time around.

Just take a look at each team's bench production and efficiency last year as compared to this year:

Thunder 2010 - 11 - 30.4 points per game, 6.4 assists per game, 37.1 efficiency rating

Thunder 2011 - 12 - 32.1 points per game, 7.1 assists per game, 38.1 efficiency rating

Heat 2010 - 11 - 21.4 points per game, 3.9 assists per game, 28.4 efficiency rating

Heat 2011 - 12 - 26.2 points per game, 4.9 assists per game, 32.1 efficiency rating

While those increases in bench production might not seem incredibly significant, the fact that both Miami and OKC's second units are playing at a more efficient and productive level are signs that they're ready to carry more of the load this season.

The one thing the Thunder's bench lacks is a legitimate backup point guard, which the Heat were able to acquire through the 2011 NBA Draft in Norris Cole.

The Thunder's lack of a productive backup point guard for Russell Westbrook has the potential to hold them back when it comes to the production they need out of their second unit, but aside from that, the Thunder have one of the top 10 second units in the game.

The fact that Miami and Oklahoma City are getting more efficient production out of their second units this season makes both teams that much more of a lock for a showdown int he 2012 NBA Finals.     

An OKC Thunder vs. Miami Heat NBA Finals Almost Happened Last Year

The Oklahoma City Thunder were three pivotal wins in the 2011 Western Conference Finals away from meeting the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals, and that might be motivation enough for the Thunder to make a Heat vs. Thunder NBA Finals actually happen in 2012.

The Thunder, as a franchise, were as close as they've been in the past 15 years to making an NBA Finals appearance, and the taste of falling short last year is undoubtedly something that is a huge motivation for them this year.

Miami's motivation this year is more than just proving all of their doubters wrong—it's also the taste of defeat that's undoubtedly still in their mouth from their 2011 NBA Finals loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.

There's no doubt that Miami and Oklahoma City are two of the hungriest teams in the NBA, and the fact that they both made it to their respective conference finals and have only gotten better since that time makes them that much more than dangerous.

I know that every player in the NBA wants to win NBA Championships, but once players reach the cusp of winning that first ring, they become that much hungrier, and that's exactly where guys like LeBron, Westbrook and Durant are at.

We were only a few wins away from a Thunder vs. Heat NBA Finals in 2011, so there's no reason to think it can't actually come to fruition in 2012, as long as both teams keep playing at the ridiculously efficient and effective levels they have been so far this year.

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