NBA Finals 2012: Most Important Players Not Named LeBron James or Kevin Durant
We know who the most important player on the Oklahoma City Thunder is. And we know who the most important player on the Miami Heat is.
Well, I know. If you don't, their names are Kevin Durant and LeBron James, respectively.
That much is obvious (I hope), but we must figure out which players not named Durant or James are the most important to their team hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Let's get started.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Serge Ibaka
Ibaka is going to play one of the most pivotal roles in this series. As the protector of the paint, he'll need to keep James and Dwyane Wade from getting to the hoop. When those two have to take perimeter shots, the Heat aren't the same team.
If James and Wade can drive to the rim, it opens up the drive-and-kick offense. Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier and Mike Miller will all be waiting for a kick-out on the perimeter. If that kick-out never comes, the Heat offense is much less formidable.
James probably won't have many more shooting nights like he did in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics, so if Ibaka can keep him from dunking at will, the rest of his teammates' jobs will be much easier.
Thabo Sefolosha
Another guy who means more to the Thunder for his defense than his offense, Sefolosha did a great job of playing perimeter defense on Tony Parker once Scott Brooks decided that it was a smart idea to put his best perimeter defender on the other team's point guard.
Sefolosha will likely have the task of doing his best to lock down Wade. That's not an easy thing to do, but if he proves he's up to the task, his team is going to benefit from it.
Wade won't get shut down by most defenders, but if Sefolosha can hold him to a reasonable total, Thunder fans will look back on him affectionately.
Russell Westbrook
It was a hard choice between Westbrook and James Harden, but it's clear that Westbrook is more important to his team's success. Not just for what statistics he can put up, but for his ability to decide when to default to Durant.
If Durant gets hot, Westbrook needs to keep feeding the beast and not take his own wildly ineffective jump shots. He showed the ability to play second fiddle against the Spurs while Durant dominated, but will he be able to contain himself on the huge stage that is the NBA Finals?
Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade
If the Heat get the mopey, lackadaisical, disinterested version of Dwyane Wade, they're going to lose this series. If they get the motivated, hustling and engaged version of Wade, the Heat are going to push the Thunder to the brink.
When he's on his game, he's one of the best players in the world, but when something is off, you can tell right away that it could be a long night.
He needs to get to the rim, draw contact and get the Thunder bigs in foul trouble early and often.
Bosh provided a huge spark for the Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, scoring 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He was able to score against Kevin Garnett and take some of the focus off of Wade and James.
He's probably going to do battle with Kendrick Perkins down low in the finals. That matchup might be the most important of the series, and whoever comes out on top would give their team a huge leg up.
Shane Battier
Will we see old man Battier in this series, or the sharpshooting, tough defending Battier?
The answer to that question will be the answer to the series. If Battier doesn't hit his open threes, the Thunder will be able to key in on James and Wade. Not that they won't be doing that already, but a poor-shooting Battier complicates matters for the Heat.
It will be interesting to see who Erik Spoelstra has Battier defend. He's a couple of inches shorter than Ibaka, which will make the post defense difficult. His lack of speed will make it hard to cover Harden or Westbrook. LeBron will be on Durant for a substantial amount of time, one would assume.
Batter will need to step up and play above the level he has been for this postseason if he wants any chance at winning an NBA Finals.
