NBA Playoffs 2012 Predictions: Heat vs Thunder Finals Matchup Is Inevitable

There are two teams this year that, more so than the others, are built for the playoffs, and they'll be the two still playing at the end of June.

The Heat will get the second seed in the East and the Thunder will (probably) get the top seed in the West, and if they both reach the NBA Finals, the two teams will be almost evenly matched.

But Oklahoma City has one big intangible that, try as it might, Miami is missing—genuine team chemistry.

The Thunder are a complete team that actually plays like one.

They haven't been afflicted by the behind-the-scenes drama plaguing some of the other contenders this year.

They don't have a bunch of superstars competing to be the biggest guy on the court.

Granted, the Thunder don't have the best player on the court. That, of course, is LeBron James.

But they have the next best duo of players in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant averages 27.6 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game, while Westbrook averages 24.2 points, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.

Sure-fire Sixth Man of the Year James Harden chips in 16.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Serge Ibaka leads the league in blocks with 3.9 a contest. Kendrick Perkins chips in 6.3 rebounds and about 1.2 blocks every night.

LeBron is obviously an explosive player, dominating the Heat in essentially every statistical category.

However, one player can't dominate a team as complete as the Thunder, especially if he's used to being the go-to guy, no matter the situation.

This isn't meant to devalue Wade's impact on the Heat.

The way Durant and Westbrook—and the rest of the Thunder, for that matter—play together is very different than the way James, Wade and the Heat play together. The Big 3 in Miami is more like the Big 2.5, and with Ibaka guarding Chris Bosh in the Finals, it might officially be up to the Big 2.

In the NBA Finals, it will come down to more than which team has the best player on the court. If that was all it took to win a title, LeBron might have three or four by now.

The teams that win championships are the teams where each player excels in his established role.

True, LeBron excels in almost every role. Wade does, too, at times. But the Thunder have more weapons, and they all function together as one cohesive unit.

LeBron and Wade can't take down that entire unit by themselves.