NBA Playoffs 2012 TV Schedule: Heat vs. Thunder Finals Would Light Up TV Ratings

Brian MaziqueJun 7, 2018

A Game 7 matchup of the Heat vs. Thunder in the NBA Finals would set NBA records for TV ratings, and I'd be front and center contributing to the statistics.

There is much to do before that could come to pass. An awfully good San Antonio Spurs team has still won 20 of their last 22 games, and they are impeding the Thunder's progress. An old, but pesky Boston Celtics team won't go away quietly for the Heat.

The NBA playoffs resume tonight with Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at 8:30 p.m. ET, from Boston's TD Garden.

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That said, imagine if the Heat defeat the Celtics, as I believe they will, and the Thunder knock off the Spurs.

The Heat and Thunder would be an epic series.

The storylines are aplenty in this potential matchup. It goes beyond the thought that we're likely to see great NBA action and a series of close games (they split the season series 1-1).

There is more to this would-be NBA Finals.

Preseason Favorites

After the Heat fell short in capturing the NBA title last season, sensible basketball people had them as the favorites in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls didn't do enough to get better, even before Derrick Rose's injury and the Celtics are too old.

The latter will be proven over the next three games.

In the Western Conference, almost no one thought the Spurs would be this good. They were bounced in the first round of the playoffs last season. This was supposed to be Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan's swan song. The Lakers didn't have a ton of believers, and the Mavericks fans had to know the team would desperately miss Tyson Chandler.

That left the Thunder who reached the Western Conference finals last season.

For the two preseason favorites to meet is great for TV. It tells fans, without a doubt, this is truly the best of the best.

Big Town vs. Little Town

This isn't as much about land or population as it is about the personalities of the local fan bases. It's also about the perception of the two teams. The Miami Heat, as Joakim Noah once put it, are "Hollywood as hell."

Well Jo, you can't have Hollywood without stars, and that's what the Heat have.

In contrast, the Thunder's identity is anything but flashy, even if Russell Westbrook has begun to dress like he failed the physical challenge on Double Dare.

The Thunder have a small-town feel to them, and that persona matched against the big stars from the big city is intriguing.

LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant

These two players are the biggest reason the previous two factors exist. They are the best players on their team, and perhaps the league. Because of that, their teams were favored to reach the NBA Finals.

James' celebrity and unrivaled polarizing quality epitomizes the big-town label his team carries. For many NBA fans, he and the Heat are public enemy No. 1, and James is the biggest reason why.

Durant, in many ways, is the anti-LeBron, at least in perception. He is not boisterous or off-putting to the insecure fan base that hate James and his "decision."

He plays the game at an elite level, doesn't talk much and kisses his mother at every home game.

Awww....

That persona symbolizes who the Thunder are to most NBA fans. The two perceived polar opposites also play the same position, and a head-to-head matchup in the NBA Finals is a basketball fan's dream.

From every standpoint this matchup—individual and team—could be special.

Here is the remaining schedule for both conference finals, per ESPN.