Jun 19 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh (1) embraces Dwyane Wade (3) against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter of game four in the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Tuesday night it was 1 on 1 in more ways than…one. Mano-a-mano defense, match-up and highlights were expected, but a point guard shootout wasn’t.  OKC received honorable mention and fantasy points, but the HEAT got the win and a 3-1 edge while teaching school on team defense and offense. Headlines being of least worry and winning being the only acceptable result in Miami.

Russell Westbrook posted 43 points on 20-32 shooting and ended with a Rondo-esque losing performance in a critical must-win game 4 in Miami, losing 98-104 to the HEAT and getting a lesson in NBA Finals basketball.  If Westbrook was the hit-man, in the end it was the HEAT’s collective group of assassins that triumphed over the Thunder’s singular and un-united performances on both sides of the ball.

The heroin was unlikely for the HEAT; Mario Chalmers’ 25 points on 9-15 shooting this night bested Westbrook’s lights-out from everywhere efforts to provide the missing link to the HEAT’s offense and get the pivotal win. First mistake by the Thunder was allowing Kevin Durant to play supporting cast in a game he should have been certainly lead actor on the playbill.  Lesson learned for a talented team that will no doubt improve with age, and without question get another crack at a future title.

Jun 19 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) blocks the shot by Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) during the first quarter of game four in the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James, knee-deep in highlight reels of his own that only Magic Johnson himself could appreciate ended with 26 points 12 assists, 9 rebounds including a crowd-erupting 3 pointer with 2:50 left to seal a HEAT lead they would not relinquish.  He would later go down, buckling to the floor in agony and confusion trying to shake off a leg injury later confirmed as leg-cramps which provided an uncomfortable silence throughout the AAA.  Supporting cast and HEAT-fam would have enough still in the tank to close out the win, hitting the exit ramps all smiles, knowing they may have just delivered the dagger to the Thunder’s championship hopes.

OKC’s efforts by a Westbrook led, Durant/Harden assisted 79 points/19 rebound performance was never, at any time enough to silence the HEAT’s efforts.  The Big 3 posted 64 points/23 rebounds plus an added 12 assists by LeBron himself.  Mario Chalmers’ unlikely but fully welcomed performance was the true difference and exclamation point in the win.  In the end, the Thunder got a lesson in Finals hoop similar to the Celtics lesson passed along only weeks earlier.  Down 1-3 the annuls are almost written and signed on this series, OKC posting their best scoring and terminator combinations over four complete games, and still no result or answer to the HEAT’s depth of scoring, rebounding, defense and poise.

Jun 19, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh (1) hugs point guard Mario Chalmers (15) during the fourth quarter of game four in the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena. Miami won 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

After four NBA Finals contests, the HEAT are the only ones deserving of championship calibre title or accolade.  The Thunder show only as the kohai; the student, the young-blood with more to learn than can possibly achieve due to their age and experience. The doubt with the OKC Thunder has never been their talent, where at many levels they truly excel.   It’s about the maturity that perhaps they have yet to learn, and from who better than a Miami HEAT professor that has experienced such lessons first hand.  The series is still 3-1; with a fighter’s chance they may still recover and press for an extended stay of execution.  Unlikely, however given that past production leads to future results (as Shane Battier may say?), this series is all but written at this point.  In the meantime, the Miami HEAT have found the smarter, more efficient path to the NBA Championship, with only a Thursday night’s home game in the way of glory and redemption.

Pace. The Pacers are primarily a halfcourt offense. Their main weapon is the dribble penetration. They also like feed their big men Roy Hibbert, who plays more in the paint and can be dominating in stretches, and David West, who has range anywhere inside the arc and is a great passer. Every now and then the Pacers will speed up and try to run.Big Men. The Pacers are BIG. Much bigger than the Heat, and that could cause problems throughout the series. They have 4 big men in their rotation, Hibbert, West, Tyler Hansborough, and Lou Amundson that provide them with great length and make them one of the best rebounding teams in the league. That rebounding also leads to a lot of 2nd chance points. The undersized Heat bigs will have their work cut out trying to limit this size. Roy Hibbert (55)

Wing Versatility.  That size also extends to their perimeter players.  Their perimeter players have great size with the ability to defend point guards allowing them to switch on pick and rolls.

Those were some of their strengths, here are some of the Pacers’ weaknesses:

Assists.  They don’t have a lot of them.  The Pacers have a few guys that can create their own shots, which at times causes the ball the stick.  They are not very effective when running plays, and they try to set up their offense out of the post.  For the most part their ball movement is weak and they are turnover prone.

Transition.  They aren’t the worst, but they aren’t the best.  They are an average transition team, but don’t look to run all that much.

Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison (2)

Hibbert’s Lateral Quickness.  For  a man with his size, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Why am I mentioning this, then?  Because the Heat should take advantage of this and try to involve him in the pick and roll as much as possible.

Fouls.  The Pacers are an aggressive team, at times too aggressive.  They committed the 3rd most fouls in the league.  Their big men are susceptible to getting in foul trouble.  A team like the Heat, on their own a very high free throw shooting team, should be licking their chops.  Expect Wade, Bron, and Bosh to attack, attack, attack, and get them in foul trouble.

Indiana Pacers power forward David West (21) reacts after being called for a foul

Prediction:

Heat in 5.  The Heat take first 2 at home, Pacers take Game 3 at their place, Heat take the last 2.