Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat: Why the Thunder Is the More Complete Team

Disclaimer: This article is being written by a Miami Heat and LeBron James fan.

With that being said, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the NBA, and they are certainly a better overall team than the Miami Heat.

The Heat and Thunder are similar teams, both ranking in the top three in the NBA in offensive production, with averages of 103.8 points per game and 102.4 points per game, respectively. They also both feature two NBA All-Stars in their starting rotation, but when it comes down to which team is the best overall, the nod goes to the OKC Thunder. 

While Miami's been struggling as of late, with two-straight losses without Chris Bosh, there's no doubt that they're still one of the most dominant teams in the NBA. However, the Oklahoma City Thunder is a more complete team heading into the second half of the 2011-12 NBA, for three reasons.

The first reason why the Thunder is a better overall team than the Miami Heat, is because of the explosive production that they have coming off the bench.

Bench Production

 If you look at the first three players who come off the bench for both teams, James Harden, Daequan Cook and Nick Collison for OKC, and Shane Battier, Norris Cole and Udonis Haslem for the Heat,  you'll see that the Thunder have the clear advantage when it comes to second-unit production.

Harden, Cook, Collison: 27.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, with a PER of 41.9

Battier, Cole, Haslem: 19.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, with a PER of 30.7

While Mike Miller could be substituted out for Battier in the Heat's second unit, there's not too much of an increase in offensive production with Miller on the court instead of Battier. That being said, the Thunder have a more productive and more efficient bench than the Miami Heat, offensively speaking, but what about on the defensive side of the ball?

It's hard to give one team an advantage over the other, and while Shane Battier is one of the best defenders in the league, so is James Harden, and Harden's impressive athleticism gives the Thunder a slight advantage. Let's look at both players' defensive performance against arguably the best scorer in the NBA, Kobe Bryant.

Both Battier and Harden held Kobe to 24 points in their respective matchups, but Harden did so by holding Kobe to a lower shooting percentage. Harden held Kobe to 29.2 percent shooting, whereas Battier held him to 38.1 percent. Harden has that extra bit of tenacity and athleticism that makes him stand apart from second-unit defenders in the NBA, including Shane Battier.

As a complete second unit, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the advantage, which is a foundational reason as to why the Thunder are a more complete team than the Miami Heat.

Oklahoma City has a Solidified Closer in Kevin Durant

If you've watched LeBron James play in the last nine years, you've undoubtedly heard comments about his ability to close games and his tendency to fade away when his team needs him. When LeBron took his talents to South Beach, he brought that inability to close out games with him, which put the pressure on Dwyane Wade to be the Heat's primary closer. Don't get me started on LeBron's blunder against the Utah Jazz this past weekend.  

While Wade is certainly capable of handling that responsibility, there's no doubt that he's not on the same level as Kevin Durant when it comes to being the best closer in the NBA. The main reason as to why Kevin Durant is a better closer than Wade is the versatility that exists within his game, rooted in his size.

At 6'9'' and 235 pounds, Kevin Durant has the size of a forward combined with one of the quickest and most deadly jump shots in the league, allowing him to create mismatches based purely on his unique size. Wade, on the other hand, at 6'4'' and 220 pounds, relies on his athleticism alone to create offensive opportunities late in games, which works for Wade, but it makes him more one-dimensional than Durant in late-game moments.

If I was down two points with 2.5 seconds left in Game 7 of the 2012 NBA Finals, and I had the option of giving the ball to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Kevin Durant, I would go with Kevin Durant 90 percent of the time. The reason why I'd go with Durant is because of his quick-release jumper and the fact that he has never displayed any fear to pull the trigger with the game on the line.

Oklahoma City Defends the Perimeter Better than Miami

The final reason why the Thunder are a better team than the Heat is based on the fact that they defend the perimeter much better than Miami does. Throughout the 2011-12 NBA season, one of the Heat's biggest weaknesses has been their inability to defend the perimeter, which has been the foundation for a majority of the Heat's seven losses.

The Heat hold opponents to an average three-point percentage of 36.4 percent, while the Thunder hold opponents to 32.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. That 2.9-percent difference might seem insignificant, but there's no debating the fact that perimeter defense can be the difference between ending the year with an NBA title or not, as the Heat found out last year.

Miami is slightly the better overall defensive team, allowing the 13th least points per game with an average of 94.3 points as compared to the Thunders' 20th-ranked defense, which allows an average of 96.2 points per game.

The Thunder is the more disciplined team when it comes to perimeter defense, and that extra facet that exists in their defensive game is a major piece of why they are a more complete team than the Miami Heat.

While Miami and Oklahoma City are two very similar teams, with high-powered offenses ranking in the top three in the NBA, led by NBA All-Stars, the Thunder are the slightly more complete team.

It could be because of the fact that they've played together for longer, or that they have the advantage when it comes to their head coach, but at this point in the 2011-12 NBA season, the Thunder is the better and more complete team.

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