2012 NBA Finals: 4 Thoughts After Game 1

In the 2012 NBA Finals, either the Miami Heat will hoist their second championship banner and validate the hoopla that surrounded the assembly of the Big Three, or the Oklahoma City Thunder will win a title for the Great Plains and make Seattle feel even worse.

Not much is on the line besides LeBron James' legacy, the fate of the Big Three and the future of the NBA.

That said, the Thunder Rolled in Game 1, storming back in the second half.

Of course, after any game like that there are many topics and conversation pieces to take from it. Being your dutiful writer, I have selected four for you to dissect and consider.

1. Pass the Ball, Russ

Russell Westbrook brings a lot of good things to the table.

He's an incredible slasher. He's like a top fuel dragster; one second he's idling at the top of the arch, checking out his surroundings. The next second, he puts the hammer down and is slithering to the basket before his unwitting opponent has a chance to process a thing.

He can shoot the ball. He loves to shoot the ball. In fact, I think he might crave to shoot the ball.

Even if it is taking away some of the 2012 scoring champ's shots.

Playing all but two minutes of the game, Kevin Durant shot 60 percent from the field, 89 percent from the line and 50 percent from behind the arc for 36 points.

In 42 minutes, Westbrook shot 42 percent from the field, 78 percent from the foul stripe and went 0-of-4 beyond the arc. He scored 27 points while shooting four more times than Durant.

Why is he shooting more than Durant if he is not making anything at nearly as high a percentage as Durant has been?

Far too often during Game 1, Westbrook pranced around and whittling 10 to 12 seconds off the clock while his teammates waited for him to do something. Far too many times was Durant open and Westbrook just flat missed him. Far too many times did Westbrook sprint up the court and absolutely brick a 14-footer with 20 seconds still left on the shot clock.

He is the single most frustrating player in the NBA to me.

He started off the game somewhere between full throttle and out-of-control while Durant was cool and calm and sinking everything. 

In the second half, Russell calmed down and was starting to do Russell things. One possession he would do something that makes you exclaim: "Holy #$@&! This guy's Amazing!" Then on the next possession, he'd do something that would cause you to drop your head in your hands and groan.

Westbrook needs to play calm-and-collected. He should only go one-on-five in select moments, not the entire third quarter.

Durant could average 40 per game if Westbrook gets it to him. If Russell's playing collectedly and Durant's making everything, then the Thunder will be impossible to stop.

2. Where Was Wade?

I'm mostly referencing the second half of Game 1, which was the time that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were supposed to take over.

In the first half, we saw some of the best team basketball the Heat have ever played. Everyone was in on the act. Shane Battier was knocking down threes and so too was Mario Chalmers while mixing in some precise passes.

Chris Bosh came off the bench to reek havoc on Nick Collison. Udonis Haslem was cutting to the rim and playing his role. LeBron was being the superstar that he is and impacting the game in every phase of it.

Then there was Wade. Did you know that he had 19 points? I didn't until I saw the box score.

He was transparent in the first half and missing in the second.

At the point when Miami needed LeBron and him to take control—like, the entire second half—they didn't deliver. These are two of the best three players in the world. They had the lead. They had the chance to rip home court advantage away, in Game 1 no less, and they failed to do so.

I know it's early.

I know they have games 3-5 at home.

But the Heat is playing an inexperienced but very good Thunder team, and Miami left the opportunity to shatter their confidence on the table.

Wade deciding to let LeBron be the man is a great move, but if he wants to be Pippen, then he needs to have an all-around impact on the game like Pippen used to.

Sure he had eight assists, but he didn't have an impact on the defensive end and wasn't converting many of his reckless drives to the basket.

If Miami wants to validate themselves, they need Wade. LeBron can't do it on his own, not in this series; Durant will cancel him out. Wade needs to step up.

3. The Crowd Was Great

Time for a positive.

That was a tremendous crowd during Game 1.

I first noticed how in-to-it the Thunder fans were during Game 6 of the Western Finals. The place was rocking. As someone without rooting interest in that series, it was great to see and hear.

The vibe continued throughout Game 1. Even when the Heat looked like they were going to run-away with it, the Thunder faithful didn't give up. They backed their team the entire way, and it was evident the players rode the support.

The way Durant would nail the three and jog back to the defensive end while the crowd erupted was reminiscent of all the great killers— Larry Bird, Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller—of old. When Westbrook and Battier got their duel techs, Russell couldn't care less, wanting to share in the fans exuberance more than jaw at the ref.

Moral of the story is that it was a great atmosphere.

In an unrelated note, Seattle is a wonderful place.

4. Who Will Be This Year's Unintentional NBA Champion?

Let me explain.

I was watching the 2011 NBA Finals and noticed something. American Airlines is just as prevalent in the finals as either of the teams are.

You see, both the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat have separate affiliations with American Airlines. Dallas plays in American Airlines Center while Miami plays in AmericanAirlines Arena.

After seeing AmericanAirlines everywhere for two weeks, I thought something had to be done. 

But I didn't act quickly because I thought it was just an anomaly or something.

Then I watched the 2012 Super Bowl, and noticed a similar event. The city of Indianapolis is getting praised every seven seconds.

I was in downtown Indy the day before the game, and heard compliment after compliment about how wonderful Indianapolis was. Normally, it was from someone from out of town that said something like, "I had no idea Indy was so nice."

I thought something has to be done.

How can American Airlines and Indianapolis get so much attention and not be recognized for it?

So I came up with an award: The Unintentional Champion of (fill in the sport). So far there are three:

2010 World Cup: Vuvuzelas (After all you couldn't watch a game without noticing them.)

2011 NBA: American Airlines

2012 Super Bowl: Indianapolis

That's all I've got so far. But this should be an annual thing, no?

So from now until whenever the finals end, I'm trying to find out who or what will be the 2012 Unintentional Champion of the NBA.

There are 3 Ground Rules.

1. It can't be either of the teams involved. The actual champion of the sport can't also be the unintentional one. That would rip a hole in the space time continuum or something like that.

2. It can't be a player on either of the teams involved, unless a bench player like Eric Maynor has some blooper-reel-forever like play that has to be acknowledged.

3. It can't be directly related to the actual game. No highlights or bad calls or officials or coaches—you get the idea.

Anything else is fair game.

Currently the hipster glasses that LeBron, Westbrook (above) and others are sporting is the early favorite. In second place is sports teams with both abstract and singular nicknames (Thunder and Heat). But I'm open to suggestions.

The Unintentional Champion will be announced after the series finale.