Rooting Interest: Who Would Make the Better Finals Matchup for the Thunder?

Three teams remain alive in the NBA playoffs, but for one night, just two of those teams are left to shoulder a world of pressure.

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will play what's sure to be a thrilling Game 7 on Saturday night, all while the Oklahoma City Thunder have the benefit of watching the action unfold from the comfort of their living rooms.

The Thunder will have a far more active role in deciding the fate of the season in the weeks to come, but for the moment, they lack all power to influence the events on the court. They're left to watch and secretly hope, as each member of the team and coaching staff undoubtedly has some preference as to whom they would rather see on the NBA's biggest stage.

And therein lies the question: For the Thunder and the OKC faithful, which is the opponent of choice?

There's no need to find a rooting interest for the sake of storyline—merely the search for the most preferable opponent given the circumstances and the foe most likely to cede Oklahoma City a championship. 

With that in mind, consider the following:  

A Coincidence of Weakness

The closest thing the Oklahoma City Thunder have to a defensive weakness at this point is their tendency to over-reach and over-play.

OKC ranks 13th among playoff teams in opponent free-throw rate, in part due a defensive style that funnels drives toward Serge Ibaka, but more consistently due to an aggressive perimeter defense that is ultimately responsible for a good deal of fouling.

That's likely to be a problem regardless of opponent, but between the Heat and Celtics, Miami is by far the more assertive team in terms of dribble penetration. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are among the best in the league at getting to the free-throw line, and though the Thunder, too, draw fouls at an elite rate, they'd be best served not engaging in a free-throw contest against such a capable opponent.  

The Value of Kendrick Perkins

The Thunder center is bound by situational application, and in a series against the Heat, Perkins would seem to have little to no value.

It's one thing when Perkins can focus on denying Kevin Garnett in the post (as he would in the case that Boston wins Game 7), but when forced to guard Udonis Haslem, Chris Bosh or Joel Anthony, Perkins would be either out of his element or drawn out of usefulness.

Perkins is too much of an offensive liability to keep on the court when he isn't making a defensive impact, and though his marginalization isn't a crippling blow, it does dwindle down the Thunder's rotation of big men.   

The Byproduct of Cross-Matching

Under the assumption that Scott Brooks would likely cross-match Thabo Sefolosha onto Rajon Rondo for much of a potential NBA Finals series, Boston would seem poised to exploit a particular advantage.

Regardless of whether the Thunder would go small, with Kevin Durant defending a Celtic big, Russell Westbrook would be tasked with guarding Ray Allen—who could exploit Westbrook's Wade-like tendency to over-help—or Paul Pierce, who could easily attack Westbrook from the elbow.

Neither Celtic is guaranteed to victimize Westbrook due to their respective injuries, but the Celtics' most prominent lineups don't have many places to hide a small guard who can be tempted into gambling.

Testing Serge Ibaka

Regardless of which opponent the Thunder face in the NBA Finals, Serge Ibaka's ability to cover space will be tested at every turn.

Ibaka will need to deny James/Wade/Rondo/Pierce from getting to the rim, hedge out on pick-and-rolls involving those same ball-handlers and defend a crop of opponents (Bosh/Haslem/Garnett/Bass) who score almost exclusively on mid-range jumpers, all while doing his job on the glass.

Ibaka is an absolutely tremendous shot-blocker, but his discipline and decision-making aren't always pristine.

He'll need to be on top of his mental game in order to defend all of those options as efficiently as possible.

A Challenge for Kevin Durant

LeBron James and Paul Pierce are two of the most difficult on-ball covers in the NBA, and though Durant has improved dramatically on the defensive end this season, either opponent would provide his greatest playoff challenge to date.

Durant's certainly capable of limiting either opposing star, but given the load that he is asked to carry offensively, the length of this playoff run and the minutes he's played thus far (He's currently averaging 41.6 minutes per game in the postseason.), is it totally inconceivable that KD could start to feel a bit of the burn?