NBA Finals 2012: Why Tuesday's Game 4 Is Do or Die for OKC Thunder

The time-tested "must-win" cliche can reasonably be applied to just about every game in an NBA Finals series.

But when you're the Oklahoma City Thunder and you're staring down the barrel of a 3-1 hole against the battle-tested Miami Heat if you fall short in Game 4, then the term is even more apropos.

Since 1985, when the NBA first implemented the 2-3-2 format for the Finals, 13 teams have encountered 3-1 series deficits. None of those 13 have managed to force a Game 7, much less win the series.

Moreover, only three teams—the 1993 Phoenix Suns, 1998 Utah Jazz and 2004 Los Angeles Lakers—have gone down 3-1 with the prospect of hosting Games 6 and 7. The former two lost in six games to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls (pre- and post-baseball), while the latter was pushed aside by the Detroit Pistons in what's been deemed a "five-game sweep."

Luckily for the Thunder, they're more than capable of staving off a historical death trap of this sort in Game 4. They've played the Heat close in each of the first three tilts and could just as easily be up 3-0 if not for a missed call here and a handful of missed free throws—not to mention a curious coaching decision—there.

In Game 2, OKC nearly erased a 17-point deficit in what turned out to be a 100-96 loss and owned a 10-point lead in the third quarter (before relinquishing control and regaining it for a moment in the fourth) in a 91-85 shortfall in Game 3.

Clearly, OKC's Big Three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, along with its supporting cast, is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Miami's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and its supporting cast. Turnovers have been something of an issue for the Thunder, though that's to be expected from the most mistake-prone team in the NBA.

Rebounding, however, should not be quite the problem it's been for OKC, given its superior size and strength in the front court compared to what Miami brings to the table. Yet the Heat have performed better on the boards than have the Thunder in each of the last two contests.

As for experience, the Heat were always going to own the advantage. This is far from the first trip to the Finals for the majority of Miami's roster, with LeBron and Wade having each competed for titles twice before. The Thunder, on the other hand, are in the Finals for the first time as a group, though Kendrick Perkins, Derek Fisher and Nazr Mohammed have all hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy with other teams before.

Nonetheless, every step along the path and every possible scenario that may arise is entirely new and different for OKC's core constituents; just as a 3-1 hole or a 2-2 tie in the Finals would be, depending on the result of Tuesday's Game 4.

The question is, can the young-gun Thunder manufacture enough desperation to win, and by extension, avoid the dire consequences that would accompany a defeat? Or will OKC fall prey to both its own mistakes and the overwhelming gravity of history?

Sure, the term "must-win" gets bandied about a bit too freely at times, but in OKC's current case, lending that label to Game 4 of the Finals is all too justifiable.

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