OKLAHOMA CITY — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it best Tuesday when speaking about the Oklahoma City Thunder, saying “they imposed their identity” on Game 1, and the Heat will need to dictate the “force, will and energy” in Game 2 in order to avoid falling behind 0-2 in the NBA Finals.
Do you know what I take that to mean?
They are going to knock Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on their asses Thursday night, and they will test the maturity of the young Thunder. Miami also will try to force Oklahoma City into coughing the ball up after they committed only 10 turnovers in Game 1, knowing that if the Heat cannot get the requisite number of transition opportunities, they are likely to lose the battle of halfcourt offenses.
And if the Heat lose Game 2 in the same manner they lost Game 1, there is going to be a whole bunch more chatter about who is the best player in this series — LeBron James or Kevin Durant. For more on that particular debate, click here for our Game 1 column.