NBA Finals 2012: Why Miami Faces More Pressure Than OKC in Game 5

The Oklahoma City Thunder's outstanding home-court advantage makes Miami's victory in Thursday's Game 5 more important than it may initially seem.

Sure, the Heat currently enjoy a 3-1 advantage in the series. No team has ever made up that margin in NBA Finals history.

But would you really want to test this talented team? If you were the Heat, would you want to breath any form of rejuvenating optimism into the lungs of the Thunder?

Better yet, would you want to open the door to more "do they have what it takes" questions?

I didn't think so.

The Heat, specifically LeBron James, don't even want to think about a return to Chesapeake Energy Arena. They've finally reached the point where they feel they can do no wrong. 

Failure to close out the series tonight negates all of that. Miami's psyche is fragile and, at this point, the Thunder have nothing to lose.

In comparison to the Heat, Oklahoma City barely had anything to lose in the first place. People still debate whether it's "their time" yet or not and, clearly, their better days lie ahead of them.

A loss in Game 5 would obviously leave Thunder players disappointed, but it's far from the end of the world. 

On the other hand if Miami were to lose Game 5, and somehow manage to blow the series, I'm reasonably confident the world would end. 

We wouldn't hear about anything else for months. ESPN would cancel coverage of every other sport and let Stephen A. Smith debate Skip Bayless for days on end about James' "clutch gene".

It would be the equivalent of a sports apocalypse. 

Miami's best interest is to make sure this series doesn't make it back to mid-western America. They've enjoyed back-to-back outstanding performances. Disrupting that momentum would only result in anxiety and unrest.

Ask the San Antonio Spurs what it's like to give this ultra-talented Thunder team new life. They went from a 20-game win streak to four consecutive defeats quicker than you can spell "choke". 

The Heat should be very wary of "poking the bear" in Game 5. 

If this series heads back to Oklahoma City, Sunday night, the roles in this series will flip in the Thunder's favor.

It will still require a tremendous effort to complete the comeback, but that window will suddenly open a half-inch further. A run to start Game 6 would then have the same effect as putting their collective sneaker through the metaphoric window.

The bottom line for Miami is very simple. Come to AmericanAirlines Arena Thursday night, take care of business and do away with any nagging doubts about your championship capabilities. 

It's either that, or lose and sweat it out for a few days while the Thunder work on their new blueprint for victory.