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2012 NBA Finals: Q&A With OKC Thunder Writer

Aaron Fischman |
June 12, 2012 | 3:58 p.m. PDT

Senior Sports Editor

 

The 2012 NBA finals featuring the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder tip off Tuesday night and the excitement is palpable. If you enjoyed our Neon Tommy NBA finals preview, we have more for you.

Jessica Lantz writes for and maintains Free Lantz Sports, and she really knows the Thunder, inside and out. That's why we're so excited to present our latest Q&A with her.

Everyone on the Thunder has a defined role, including Perkins, Ibaka and Sefolosha. (Keith Allison/Creative Commons)
Everyone on the Thunder has a defined role, including Perkins, Ibaka and Sefolosha. (Keith Allison/Creative Commons)
 

Fischman: Kevin Durant had an amazing conference finals, as did LeBron James. What can we expect to see in the first NBA finals to feature a matchup between the NBA scoring leader and the league MVP since 1997 (Karl Malone’s Jazz vs. Michael Jordan’s Bulls)?

Jessica Lantz: If we can take anything from the historical significance, impact and amazingness the 1997 finals brought to the table, as a basketball fan you should be salivating right now. In 1997, some of the best to ever play and coach the game were on the sidelines. Not only Jordan and Malone, but there were also Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Robert Parish, Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan and Tex Winter. But who doesn't know about the opening contest's Jordan buzzer-beater or the "Flu Game"? Great, great basketball.

Who knows? In a few short decades we might very well be rattling off a cattle call of Thunder and Heat players that made it to Springfield, Mass. I expect the best of the best to show why they're in the finals and give us a matchup for the ages.

AF: In the Western Conference finals, Durant, Westbrook and Harden, clearly received valuable help from their teammates. Discuss the offensive and defensive contributions of the Thunder supporting cast in the Spurs series. What will those players need to contribute in order for Oklahoma City to win this year’s championship?

Lantz: "Everybody is going to make the most out of the matchup of me versus LeBron, but it's the Thunder versus the Heat," Kevin Durant said while preparing for this series. "One guy versus another guy. It's not going to be a 1-on-1 matchup to win the series; it's going to be all about the team." 

Durant knows what he's talking about and this Thunder squad - in its entirety - is going to have to keep playing as a team, as it has all season, to get that ring. From blocks from Serge to stuffs from Perk, from three-pointers from Daequan and Fish to Collison taking a charge with Eric Maynor screaming his head off from the sidelines. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is going to have to be on point. And will be (at least my homer- self hopes so).

AF: The Thunder are quicker and more athletic than most, if not all, teams they play. With that said, Miami boasts two of the fastest, most athletic players in the game. Will the Thunder’s transition game be less effective against the Heat? Why or why not?

Lantz: Logic says that the transition game won't look quite the same for either team in this series. Both teams are going to be explosive off the break, and I expect both teams to be able to convert turnovers, rebounds and hustle plays into scoring opportunities.

Ball security will surely be on Westbrook's mind during the NBA finals. (Keith Allison/Creative Commons)
Ball security will surely be on Westbrook's mind during the NBA finals. (Keith Allison/Creative Commons)
 

AF: The Thunder have only committed 11.5 turnovers per game during the postseason. How important will it be to keep the turnovers to a minimum against a team (like Miami) that loves to run the fast break?

Lantz: Turnovers, or the lack thereof, will be vital for the Thunder to keep rolling. Protecting the ball well better than their 16.3 turnovers per game rate in the regular season, Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, who catches a lot of heat about not being a "true point guard,” needs to keep the handles on the ball and make wise decisions, as he has been doing all playoffs long. 

AF: What kind a role do you expect Chris Bosh to play in the series? The talented power forward seems to be getting healthy at the perfect time for the Heat.  

Lantz: I think a healthy Chris Bosh has the potential to be a difference-maker. The two times these teams faced off in the regular season, Bosh averaged 15 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2 steals per game in 35 minutes played. 

He's getting healthy at the perfect time indeed, but that doesn't mean he's going to push the Heat over the edge. In those two regular season games, the two teams split with Oklahoma City taking a 103-87 home contest at the end of March. Two weeks later, that game was quickly followed by Miami's 98-93 win in South Beach to kick off April.

AF: How are this year’s Thunder different from last season’s team that fell to the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals?

Lantz: Confidence. They've dispatched the Mavs, a team that has had their number in the recent past. They've slayed the Lakers, a team that killed their dream season in 2009 after a Pau tip in that I will never forget. They've eliminated the San Antonio Spurs, a team that everyone had penciled in to win the title, or at least advance to the finals. 

They've faced deficits and rebounded with decisive victories. They've started off icy at times and have looked close to a meltdown, yet keep finding a way to claw their way out of the loss column. They think they can do it, and they keep proving that it's more than in their mind. They can indeed win, and win big, on the big stage.

AF: To what extent does Derek Fisher’s veteran presence aid the youthful Thunder?

Lantz: Eh. I'm not a big fan of relying on veteran presence or experience. I think it helps, but I don't think it's any big x-factor. Besides, I actually tend to think that the youth of Oklahoma City is actually quite a big asset to its success.

AF: Quality free-throw shooting doesn’t typically grab the headlines, but OKC has ranked first or second in the NBA for three straight years. What impact could that have on the series?

Lantz: Any time you can get to the line at will and then make those shot attempts, it's going to be an advantage. Along with just shooting the ball well from the line, Durant, Westbrook and Harden, in particular, have the ability to manufacture trips to the stripe at a pretty consistent clip and then convert. Points are points, no matter where you get them from.

AF: Please briefly list the keys to the series from Oklahoma City’s perspective.

Lantz: 1.) Maintaining the stellar Oklahoma City home-court advantage. 2.) Limiting Bosh. 3.) Continuing to outplay the Heat bench. 4.) Winning the press conference attire battle (looking at you, Mr. Westbrook). 5.) Doing what Durant said: making this team vs. team, not player vs. player.  

AF: Feel free to add something about Serge Ibaka here.

Lantz: How can you not love Air Congo? He is so fun to watch when he's smashing a ball out of bounds on the block. He is so frustrating to watch when he gets called for the goal-tend after almost getting to it. He is so funny to watch when he eats the ball after a foul call. I don't even want to start talking about contracts and next year yet, but I refuse to picture Serge and Harden in any other uniform other than an Oklahoma City uniform.

AF: Special thanks to Jessica Lantz and of course, to all of our readers!

 

 

Contact Aaron via email or Twitter.



 

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